Christopher Magirl
Chris Magirl is a Bureau Approving Official (BAO) in the USGS Office of Science Quality and Integrity, reviewing interpretive science products (that is, written reports, journal articles, book chapters, and other pieces for public release) on behalf of the U.S. Geological Survey to ensure quality and consistency with USGS Fundamental Science Practices.
From 2015–2020, Chris was the Associate Director for Investigations at the USGS Arizona Water Science Center, disseminating high-quality hydrologic data and scientific reports on water resources in Arizona and the Southwest. Chris worked closely with cooperating state, local, and federal agencies, tribes, and academic researchers. From 2000–2015, Chris was a hydrologist, research hydrologist, and project chief at the USGS, working on multiple projects involving fluvial geomorphology throughout the western United States. Chris researched rapids on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon and Cataract Canyon, the Elwha River dam-removal project, sediment production from Mount Rainier and other glaciated stratovolcanoes, and the interactions between geomorphology and aquatic ecology pertaining to salmon. Chris was closely involved with the USGS response to the March 22, 2014, Oso Landslide of Washington State.
Before joining the USGS, Chris was an engineer and R&D project manager with the Hewlett-Packard Company building color inkjet printers. As a youth, Chris was fascinated with fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, thunderstorms, flash floods, airplanes, rockets, and rivers. For over 25 years, Chris has been fortunate to enjoy fluid mechanics and thermodynamics in his professional research and engineering career. Chris is the inventor of 5 patents and has authored or co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed papers and reports on topics ranging from directional solidification, microscopic droplet ejection, landslides, debris flows, extreme rainfall events, extreme floods, to the hydraulics of rapids—it’s all fluid mechanics, just different scales and viscosities.
Professional Experience
US Geological Survey, Tucson, AZ, Studies Chief, 2015–present
US Geological Survey, Tacoma, WA, Research Hydrologist, 2008–2015
US Geological Survey, Tucson, AZ, Hydrologist, 2000–2008
Tetra Tech, Inc, Tucson, AZ, Hydrologist, 2000
Hewlett-Packard Company, San Diego, CA, Project Manager and Engineer, 1992–1999
Education and Certifications
The University of Arizona, PhD, Hydrology (minor in geology) 2006
Purdue University, MS, Mechanical Engineering, 1992
The University of Arizona, BS, Aerospace Engineering, 1990
Science and Products
River turbidity and sediment loads during dam removal
Dam decommissioning has become an important means for removing unsafe or obsolete dams and for restoring natural fluvial processes, including discharge regimes, sediment transport, and ecosystem connectivity [Doyle et al., 2003]. The largest dam-removal project in history began in September 2011 on the Elwha River of Washington State (Figure 1a). The project, which aims to restore the river ecosys
Changes in sediment volume in Alder Lake, Nisqually River Basin, Washington, 1945-2011
Geomorphic setting, aquatic habitat, and water-quality conditions of the Molalla River, Oregon, 2009-10
Sediment load from major rivers into Puget Sound and its adjacent waters
Vegetation of the Elwha River estuary: Chapter 8 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington- Biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
Elwha River dam removal-Rebirth of a river
Coastal and lower Elwha River, Washington, prior to dam removal--history, status, and defining characteristics: Chapter 1 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
Anticipated sediment delivery to the lower Elwha River during and following dam removal: Chapter 2 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
Vegetation of the Elwha River Estuary
Vegetation of the Elwha River Estuary - Chapter 8
Coastal processes of the Elwha River delta: Chapter 5 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
Science and Products
River turbidity and sediment loads during dam removal
Dam decommissioning has become an important means for removing unsafe or obsolete dams and for restoring natural fluvial processes, including discharge regimes, sediment transport, and ecosystem connectivity [Doyle et al., 2003]. The largest dam-removal project in history began in September 2011 on the Elwha River of Washington State (Figure 1a). The project, which aims to restore the river ecosys