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Dan Armstrong

Dan has been a Civil Engineer with the WY-MT WSC since 2018.

Dan recently completed his Master’s degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in ecohydraulics and stream restoration.  His graduate project was developed in conjunction with the Montana Department of Transportation and the USGS to examine the use of Large Scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LSPIV) to determine hydraulic forces and flow measurements on bridges around Montana.  Currently, he is helping to develop flood frequency analyses for Montana and Wyoming, along with continuing the LSPIV research and data collection from gages around the state.  He has worked many years as a biologist, including a year spent in South Africa on a leopard conservation project and with endangered species around the western United States.  For his undergraduate thesis at Western Colorado University, Dan worked on modeling the effects of climate change on Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly colonies and changes in their spatial distributions over multiple years.

Education and Certifications

  • Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Montana State University (2020)

  • Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Western Colorado University (2011)

Science and Products

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Peak-flow measurement at Flathead River at Flathead, British Columbia

Peak-Flow Frequency Analysis for Selected Montana Streamgages

Peak-flow frequency information is needed for flood-plain mapping, design of highway infrastructure, and many other purposes across Montana. The USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center has an ongoing project working to update peak-flow frequency estimates at USGS streamgages across the state.
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center
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Peak-Flow Frequency Analysis for Selected Montana Streamgages

Peak-flow frequency information is needed for flood-plain mapping, design of highway infrastructure, and many other purposes across Montana. The USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center has an ongoing project working to update peak-flow frequency estimates at USGS streamgages across the state.
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Channel geometry for upstream and downstream cross sections at selected bridge sites in Montana, 2022

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), collected cross-section data on the upstream and downstream sides at 18 sites involving 20 bridges in Montana during the 2022 calendar year. The purpose of the data collection is to determine if scour and channel instability occur in the vicinity of the bridge structures. Data were processed, analyzed,
By
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Cataloging and Digitizing USGS Indirect Measurements for Montana through Water Year 2020

In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program, cataloged and scanned notes and calculations for indirect measurements taken during flood events in Montana. This product provides a publicly available catalog of the field notes, photos, survey information, and calculations for indirect measurements at selected sites.
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Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamgages on tributaries of the Bighorn, Tongue, and Lower Yellowstone Rivers, based on data through water year 2021

The USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center (WY–MT WSC) completed a report (Sando and McCarthy, 2018) documenting methods for peak-flow frequency analysis following implementation of the Bulletin 17C guidelines. The methods are used to provide estimates of peak-flow quantiles for 66.7-, 50-, 42.9-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for selected US
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Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamgages in and near the Milk River Basin, Montana, based on data through water year 2018, part 2

The USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center (WY–MT WSC) completed a report (Sando and McCarthy, 2018) documenting methods for peak-flow frequency analysis following implementation of the Bulletin 17C guidelines. The methods are used to provide estimates of peak-flow quantiles for 66.7-, 50-, 42.9-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for selected st
By
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamgages in and near Teton County, Montana, based on data through water year 2019

The USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center (WY-MT WSC) completed a report (Sando and McCarthy, 2018) documenting methods for peak-flow frequency analysis following implementation of the Bulletin 17C guidelines. The methods are used to provide estimates of peak-flow quantiles for 66.7-, 50-, 42.9-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for selected st
By
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamgages in and near Powell County, Montana, based on data through water year 2019

The USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center (WY-MT WSC) completed a report (Sando and McCarthy, 2018) documenting methods for peak-flow frequency analysis following implementation of the Bulletin 17C guidelines. The methods are used to provide estimates of peak-flow quantiles for 66.7-, 50-, 42.9-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for selected st
By
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamgages in and near the Milk River Basin, Montana, based on data through water year 2018, Part 1

The USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center (WY?MT WSC) completed a report (Sando and McCarthy, 2018) documenting methods for peak-flow frequency analysis following implementation of the Bulletin 17C guidelines. The methods are used to provide estimates of peak-flow quantiles for 50-, 42.9-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for selected streamgag
By
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamgages in Carbon County, Montana, based on data through water year 2018

The USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center (WY-MT WSC) documented (Sando and McCarthy, 2018) methods for peak-flow frequency analysis following implementation of the Bulletin 17C guidelines. The methods are used to provide estimates of peak-flow quantiles for 50-, 42.9-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for selected streamgages operated by the W
By
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

USGS installs 2022 high-water markers to provide flood information

Historic flooding on June 12-13, 2022 occurred in the Gallatin, Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains of Montana and Wyoming, near Yellowstone National Park. The flooding was initiated by rainstorms that produced between 1-5 inches of rain on top of an above-average snowpack, causing the snow to melt faster and rush downstream. The combined rain and melted snow led to record floods on the Yellowstone
Authors
Daniel W. Armstrong
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Evaluating the use of video cameras to estimate bridge scour potential at four bridges in southwestern Montana

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation, installed cameras and large-scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV) recording equipment at four sites where the U.S. Geological Survey and Montana Department of Transportation are monitoring bridge scour using other methods. Determination of stream velocities is an important component of hydraulic engineerin
Authors
Daniel W. Armstrong, Stephen R. Holnbeck, Katherine J. Chase
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Regional regression equations based on channel-width characteristics to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana using peak-flow frequency data through water year 2011

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation, developed regression equations based on channel width to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana. The equations are based on peak-flow data at streamgages through September 2011 (end of water year 2011), and channel widths measured in the field and from aerial photographs.Active-channel wid
Authors
Katherine J. Chase, Roy Sando, Daniel W. Armstrong, Peter McCarthy
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Science and Products