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David I Donato

By profession and avocation, David I. Donato is an applied mathematician and computational scientist. David has contributed as a quantitative professional to a number of the programs of the Department of the Interior, including offshore minerals leasing, quantitative policy analysis, information dissemination, and geographic and regional studies.

In addition to his work in applied mathematics, statistics, and scientific computation, he has developed and administered Web sites and has designed and built interactive Web applications. He has also applied his knowledge of quantitative micro-economics to various studies and analyses, including work with mercury in fish and land-change modeling. Because of his particular interest in probability and mathematical statistics, he specializes in stochastic computer simulation. David is an expert scientific programmer and a prolific technical writer. In recent years he has worked on statistical modeling of mercury in fish tissue and spatially-explicit land-change modeling.

Research Interests

  • Modeling spatially-explicit environmental and land-use futures
  • Designing scientific computer models for generality and radically deep interoperation
  • Developing (designing and coding) stochastic computer simulations and models
  • Solving difficult quantitative and computational problems using mathematics, statistics, GIScience, economics, and comput

Professional Experience

  • Research Computer Scientist         U.S. Geological Survey               2009-Present

  • Computer Scientist                        U.S. Geological Survey               1997-2009  

  • Operations Research Analyst          U.S. Geological Survey               1985-1997

  • Statistician                                     Minerals Management Service   1982-1985

  • Statistician                                     Bureau of Land Management     1976-1982

Education and Certifications

  • B.S. in Mathematics from Colorado State University - Pueblo (1975)

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Tulane University College (New Orleans)

  • University of New Orleans

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • American Statistical Association (ASA)

  • Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

  • IEEE and IEEE Computer Society

  • Mathematical Association of America

Science and Products

The USGS pursues research programs related to land change and land-change modeling as well as environmental mercury as a contaminant that affects the health of fish and other wildlife.

link
A brook trout swimming in stream.

Bioaccumulation of Mercury in Fish Varied by Species and Location in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed—Summary of Existing Data and a Roadmap for Integrated Monitoring

Fish mercury data from State monitoring programs and research studies within the Chesapeake Bay were compiled and summarized to provide a comprehensive overview of the variation in fish mercury concentrations among species and habitats within the watershed. These data are put into context with existing health benchmarks for humans, birds, and fish. Scientists also provide a roadmap for an...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Chesapeake Bay Activities
link

Bioaccumulation of Mercury in Fish Varied by Species and Location in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed—Summary of Existing Data and a Roadmap for Integrated Monitoring

Fish mercury data from State monitoring programs and research studies within the Chesapeake Bay were compiled and summarized to provide a comprehensive overview of the variation in fish mercury concentrations among species and habitats within the watershed. These data are put into context with existing health benchmarks for humans, birds, and fish. Scientists also provide a roadmap for an...
Learn More
link
USGS science for a changing world logo

Develop Cloud Computing Capability at Streamgages using Amazon Web Services GreenGrass IoT Framework for Camera Image Velocity Gaging

We developed an Internet of Things (IoT) prototype and associated cloud infrastructure for camera-based data collection and initial processing of river streamflow using the cloud (fig. 1). This pilot successfully created a hardware and cloud infrastructure to collect and upload video from a camera gage at San Pedro Creek in San Antonio, Texas. Using a ThingLogix Foundry instance in the Amazon Webs
By
Community for Data Integration (CDI)
link

Develop Cloud Computing Capability at Streamgages using Amazon Web Services GreenGrass IoT Framework for Camera Image Velocity Gaging

We developed an Internet of Things (IoT) prototype and associated cloud infrastructure for camera-based data collection and initial processing of river streamflow using the cloud (fig. 1). This pilot successfully created a hardware and cloud infrastructure to collect and upload video from a camera gage at San Pedro Creek in San Antonio, Texas. Using a ThingLogix Foundry instance in the Amazon Webs
Learn More
link
Map of the Chesapeake Bay

Land Change Monitoring and Modeling

The USGS leads the effort through collaboration with Chesapeake Partners to monitor land change that can be used to assess the impacts land conversion on water quality, healthy watersheds, and communities
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities
link

Land Change Monitoring and Modeling

The USGS leads the effort through collaboration with Chesapeake Partners to monitor land change that can be used to assess the impacts land conversion on water quality, healthy watersheds, and communities
Learn More
link
small stream in middle of marshy area with mountains and trees in background

Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation in the Upper Hudson River Basin--Fishing Brook

BackgroundDetailed investigations of mercury cycling and bioaccumulation have been done in the Upper Hudson River basin (upstream of the Hudson River near Newcomb, in New York's Adirondack Mountains, with a focus on the Fishing Brook sub-basin, part of the western headwaters of the Hudson River. This study is part of a National mercury study that includes a concurrent study of McTier Creek, a head
By
New York Water Science Center
link

Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation in the Upper Hudson River Basin--Fishing Brook

BackgroundDetailed investigations of mercury cycling and bioaccumulation have been done in the Upper Hudson River basin (upstream of the Hudson River near Newcomb, in New York's Adirondack Mountains, with a focus on the Fishing Brook sub-basin, part of the western headwaters of the Hudson River. This study is part of a National mercury study that includes a concurrent study of McTier Creek, a head
Learn More
link
Scientist holding a brook trout with gloved hands

Mercury in Fish from 21 National Parks in the West

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS) scientists collaborated in the first study to measure mercury in fish from remote places in 21 National Parks spanning 10 Western States, including Alaska. Mercury levels in fish generally were low, but were elevated in some local areas, including two parks in Utah and Alaska where samples taken from sport fish exceeded the U.S...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
link

Mercury in Fish from 21 National Parks in the West

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS) scientists collaborated in the first study to measure mercury in fish from remote places in 21 National Parks spanning 10 Western States, including Alaska. Mercury levels in fish generally were low, but were elevated in some local areas, including two parks in Utah and Alaska where samples taken from sport fish exceeded the U.S...
Learn More
link
Lesser Prairie Chicken

Modeling the Effects of Climate and Land Use Change on Crucial Wildlife Habitat

Changing temperature and precipitation patterns in the South Central U.S are already having an impact on wildlife. Hotter and drier conditions are prompting some species to move in search of cooler conditions, while other species are moving into warmer areas that were once unsuitable for them. These changes in the distribution of wildlife populations present challenges for wildlife managers, hunte
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
link

Modeling the Effects of Climate and Land Use Change on Crucial Wildlife Habitat

Changing temperature and precipitation patterns in the South Central U.S are already having an impact on wildlife. Hotter and drier conditions are prompting some species to move in search of cooler conditions, while other species are moving into warmer areas that were once unsuitable for them. These changes in the distribution of wildlife populations present challenges for wildlife managers, hunte
Learn More

Runtimes for Tests of Array-Processing Speed -- Factorial Tests Using C and C++ Under Windows and Linux

The dataset is provided as a .zip archive containing two .csv data files. These two data files contain the results of a series of timing runs made with a suite of 28 C test programs and 20 C++ test programs using three different computers and two operating systems (Windows and Linux). All 48 test programs carry out processing of two-dimensional arrays. One of the files, "C_CppTimeTestsAllRecords.c
Filter Total Items: 14

Semi-automated methods to develop a unified geographic information system dataset

Geospatial data describing the topography, natural features, human-built features, and land uses of a particular area or region can come from independent data providers and, therefore, vary in format, data encoding, and geographic coverage. Because of the complexity of the processes and procedures required for unifying these heterogeneous data into a dataset with consistent format, encoding, and c
Authors
Jason L. Shapiro, David I. Donato

Efficient processing of two-dimensional arrays with C or C++

Because fast and efficient serial processing of raster-graphic images and other two-dimensional arrays is a requirement in land-change modeling and other applications, the effects of 10 factors on the runtimes for processing two-dimensional arrays with C and C++ are evaluated in a comparative factorial study. This study’s factors include the choice among three C or C++ source-code techniques for a
Authors
David I. Donato
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Coding conventions and principles for a National Land-Change Modeling Framework

This report establishes specific rules for writing computer source code for use with the National Land-Change Modeling Framework (NLCMF). These specific rules consist of conventions and principles for writing code primarily in the C and C++ programming languages. Collectively, these coding conventions and coding principles create an NLCMF programming style. In addition to detailed naming conventio
Authors
David I. Donato
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Building unified geospatial data for land-change modeling—A case study in the area of Richmond, Virginia

An effort to build a unified collection of geospatial data for use in land-change modeling (LCM) led to new insights into the requirements and challenges of building an LCM data infrastructure. A case study of data compilation and unification for the Richmond, Va., Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) delineated the problems of combining and unifying heterogeneous data from many independent localit
Authors
David I. Donato, Jason L. Shapiro
By
Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Simple, efficient allocation of modelling runs on heterogeneous clusters with MPI

In scientific modelling and computation, the choice of an appropriate method for allocating tasks for parallel processing depends on the computational setting and on the nature of the computation. The allocation of independent but similar computational tasks, such as modelling runs or Monte Carlo trials, among the nodes of a heterogeneous computational cluster is a special case that has not been s
Authors
David I. Donato

Disparity between state fish consumption advisory systems for methylmercury and US Environmental Protection Agency recommendations: A case study of the South Central United States

Fish consumption advisories are used to inform citizens in the United States about noncommercial game fish with hazardous levels of methylmercury (MeHg). The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) suggests issuing a fish consumption advisory when concentrations of MeHg in fish exceed a human health screening value of 300 ng/g. However, states have authority to develop their own systems for iss
Authors
Kimberly Adams, Ray W. Drenner, Matthew M. Chumchal, David I. Donato

Historic and forecasted population and land-cover change in eastern North Carolina, 1992-2030

The Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) was formed in 2005 as a partnership between the Department of Defense (DOD) and State and Federal agencies to promote better collaboration in making resource-use decisions. In support of this goal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study to evaluate historic population growth and land-cover change, and to mode
Authors
Peter R. Claggett, Paul P. Hearn,, David I. Donato

Computing ordinary least-squares parameter estimates for the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish

A specialized technique is used to compute weighted ordinary least-squares (OLS) estimates of the parameters of the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish (NDMMF) in less time using less computer memory than general methods. The characteristics of the NDMMF allow the two products X'X and X'y in the normal equations to be filled out in a second or two of computer time during a single pass th
Authors
David I. Donato
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Effects of mercury deposition and coniferous forests on the mercury contamination of fish in the south central United States

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that is found in aquatic food webs and is hazardous to human and wildlife health. We examined the relationship between Hg deposition, land coverage by coniferous and deciduous forests, and average Hg concentrations in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)-equivalent fish (LMBE) in 14 ecoregions located within all or part of six states in the South Central U.S. In 11
Authors
Ray W. Drenner, Matthew M. Chumchal, Christina M. Jones, Christopher M.B. Lehmann, David A. Gay, David I. Donato

Computing maximum-likelihood estimates for parameters of the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish

This report presents the mathematical expressions and the computational techniques required to compute maximum-likelihood estimates for the parameters of the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish (NDMMF), a statistical model used to predict the concentration of methylmercury in fish tissue. The expressions and techniques reported here were prepared to support the development of custom soft
Authors
David I. Donato

Designing and implementing a regional urban modeling system using the SLEUTH cellular urban model

This paper presents a fine-scale (30 meter resolution) regional land cover modeling system, based on the SLEUTH cellular automata model, that was developed for a 257000 km2 area comprising the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin in the eastern United States. As part of this effort, we developed a new version of the SLEUTH model (SLEUTH-3r), which introduces new functionality and fit metrics that substan
Authors
Claire A. Jantz, Scott J. Goetz, David I. Donato, Peter R. Claggett

Secure Web-Site Access with Tickets and Message-Dependent Digests

Although there are various methods for restricting access to documents stored on a World Wide Web (WWW) site (a Web site), none of the widely used methods is completely suitable for restricting access to Web applications hosted on an otherwise publicly accessible Web site. A new technique, however, provides a mix of features well suited for restricting Web-site or Web-application access to authori
Authors
David I. Donato
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Science and Products

The USGS pursues research programs related to land change and land-change modeling as well as environmental mercury as a contaminant that affects the health of fish and other wildlife.

link
A brook trout swimming in stream.

Bioaccumulation of Mercury in Fish Varied by Species and Location in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed—Summary of Existing Data and a Roadmap for Integrated Monitoring

Fish mercury data from State monitoring programs and research studies within the Chesapeake Bay were compiled and summarized to provide a comprehensive overview of the variation in fish mercury concentrations among species and habitats within the watershed. These data are put into context with existing health benchmarks for humans, birds, and fish. Scientists also provide a roadmap for an...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Chesapeake Bay Activities
link

Bioaccumulation of Mercury in Fish Varied by Species and Location in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed—Summary of Existing Data and a Roadmap for Integrated Monitoring

Fish mercury data from State monitoring programs and research studies within the Chesapeake Bay were compiled and summarized to provide a comprehensive overview of the variation in fish mercury concentrations among species and habitats within the watershed. These data are put into context with existing health benchmarks for humans, birds, and fish. Scientists also provide a roadmap for an...
Learn More
link
USGS science for a changing world logo

Develop Cloud Computing Capability at Streamgages using Amazon Web Services GreenGrass IoT Framework for Camera Image Velocity Gaging

We developed an Internet of Things (IoT) prototype and associated cloud infrastructure for camera-based data collection and initial processing of river streamflow using the cloud (fig. 1). This pilot successfully created a hardware and cloud infrastructure to collect and upload video from a camera gage at San Pedro Creek in San Antonio, Texas. Using a ThingLogix Foundry instance in the Amazon Webs
By
Community for Data Integration (CDI)
link

Develop Cloud Computing Capability at Streamgages using Amazon Web Services GreenGrass IoT Framework for Camera Image Velocity Gaging

We developed an Internet of Things (IoT) prototype and associated cloud infrastructure for camera-based data collection and initial processing of river streamflow using the cloud (fig. 1). This pilot successfully created a hardware and cloud infrastructure to collect and upload video from a camera gage at San Pedro Creek in San Antonio, Texas. Using a ThingLogix Foundry instance in the Amazon Webs
Learn More
link
Map of the Chesapeake Bay

Land Change Monitoring and Modeling

The USGS leads the effort through collaboration with Chesapeake Partners to monitor land change that can be used to assess the impacts land conversion on water quality, healthy watersheds, and communities
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities
link

Land Change Monitoring and Modeling

The USGS leads the effort through collaboration with Chesapeake Partners to monitor land change that can be used to assess the impacts land conversion on water quality, healthy watersheds, and communities
Learn More
link
small stream in middle of marshy area with mountains and trees in background

Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation in the Upper Hudson River Basin--Fishing Brook

BackgroundDetailed investigations of mercury cycling and bioaccumulation have been done in the Upper Hudson River basin (upstream of the Hudson River near Newcomb, in New York's Adirondack Mountains, with a focus on the Fishing Brook sub-basin, part of the western headwaters of the Hudson River. This study is part of a National mercury study that includes a concurrent study of McTier Creek, a head
By
New York Water Science Center
link

Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation in the Upper Hudson River Basin--Fishing Brook

BackgroundDetailed investigations of mercury cycling and bioaccumulation have been done in the Upper Hudson River basin (upstream of the Hudson River near Newcomb, in New York's Adirondack Mountains, with a focus on the Fishing Brook sub-basin, part of the western headwaters of the Hudson River. This study is part of a National mercury study that includes a concurrent study of McTier Creek, a head
Learn More
link
Scientist holding a brook trout with gloved hands

Mercury in Fish from 21 National Parks in the West

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS) scientists collaborated in the first study to measure mercury in fish from remote places in 21 National Parks spanning 10 Western States, including Alaska. Mercury levels in fish generally were low, but were elevated in some local areas, including two parks in Utah and Alaska where samples taken from sport fish exceeded the U.S...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
link

Mercury in Fish from 21 National Parks in the West

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS) scientists collaborated in the first study to measure mercury in fish from remote places in 21 National Parks spanning 10 Western States, including Alaska. Mercury levels in fish generally were low, but were elevated in some local areas, including two parks in Utah and Alaska where samples taken from sport fish exceeded the U.S...
Learn More
link
Lesser Prairie Chicken

Modeling the Effects of Climate and Land Use Change on Crucial Wildlife Habitat

Changing temperature and precipitation patterns in the South Central U.S are already having an impact on wildlife. Hotter and drier conditions are prompting some species to move in search of cooler conditions, while other species are moving into warmer areas that were once unsuitable for them. These changes in the distribution of wildlife populations present challenges for wildlife managers, hunte
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
link

Modeling the Effects of Climate and Land Use Change on Crucial Wildlife Habitat

Changing temperature and precipitation patterns in the South Central U.S are already having an impact on wildlife. Hotter and drier conditions are prompting some species to move in search of cooler conditions, while other species are moving into warmer areas that were once unsuitable for them. These changes in the distribution of wildlife populations present challenges for wildlife managers, hunte
Learn More

Runtimes for Tests of Array-Processing Speed -- Factorial Tests Using C and C++ Under Windows and Linux

The dataset is provided as a .zip archive containing two .csv data files. These two data files contain the results of a series of timing runs made with a suite of 28 C test programs and 20 C++ test programs using three different computers and two operating systems (Windows and Linux). All 48 test programs carry out processing of two-dimensional arrays. One of the files, "C_CppTimeTestsAllRecords.c
Filter Total Items: 14

Semi-automated methods to develop a unified geographic information system dataset

Geospatial data describing the topography, natural features, human-built features, and land uses of a particular area or region can come from independent data providers and, therefore, vary in format, data encoding, and geographic coverage. Because of the complexity of the processes and procedures required for unifying these heterogeneous data into a dataset with consistent format, encoding, and c
Authors
Jason L. Shapiro, David I. Donato

Efficient processing of two-dimensional arrays with C or C++

Because fast and efficient serial processing of raster-graphic images and other two-dimensional arrays is a requirement in land-change modeling and other applications, the effects of 10 factors on the runtimes for processing two-dimensional arrays with C and C++ are evaluated in a comparative factorial study. This study’s factors include the choice among three C or C++ source-code techniques for a
Authors
David I. Donato
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Coding conventions and principles for a National Land-Change Modeling Framework

This report establishes specific rules for writing computer source code for use with the National Land-Change Modeling Framework (NLCMF). These specific rules consist of conventions and principles for writing code primarily in the C and C++ programming languages. Collectively, these coding conventions and coding principles create an NLCMF programming style. In addition to detailed naming conventio
Authors
David I. Donato
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Building unified geospatial data for land-change modeling—A case study in the area of Richmond, Virginia

An effort to build a unified collection of geospatial data for use in land-change modeling (LCM) led to new insights into the requirements and challenges of building an LCM data infrastructure. A case study of data compilation and unification for the Richmond, Va., Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) delineated the problems of combining and unifying heterogeneous data from many independent localit
Authors
David I. Donato, Jason L. Shapiro
By
Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Simple, efficient allocation of modelling runs on heterogeneous clusters with MPI

In scientific modelling and computation, the choice of an appropriate method for allocating tasks for parallel processing depends on the computational setting and on the nature of the computation. The allocation of independent but similar computational tasks, such as modelling runs or Monte Carlo trials, among the nodes of a heterogeneous computational cluster is a special case that has not been s
Authors
David I. Donato

Disparity between state fish consumption advisory systems for methylmercury and US Environmental Protection Agency recommendations: A case study of the South Central United States

Fish consumption advisories are used to inform citizens in the United States about noncommercial game fish with hazardous levels of methylmercury (MeHg). The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) suggests issuing a fish consumption advisory when concentrations of MeHg in fish exceed a human health screening value of 300 ng/g. However, states have authority to develop their own systems for iss
Authors
Kimberly Adams, Ray W. Drenner, Matthew M. Chumchal, David I. Donato

Historic and forecasted population and land-cover change in eastern North Carolina, 1992-2030

The Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) was formed in 2005 as a partnership between the Department of Defense (DOD) and State and Federal agencies to promote better collaboration in making resource-use decisions. In support of this goal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study to evaluate historic population growth and land-cover change, and to mode
Authors
Peter R. Claggett, Paul P. Hearn,, David I. Donato

Computing ordinary least-squares parameter estimates for the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish

A specialized technique is used to compute weighted ordinary least-squares (OLS) estimates of the parameters of the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish (NDMMF) in less time using less computer memory than general methods. The characteristics of the NDMMF allow the two products X'X and X'y in the normal equations to be filled out in a second or two of computer time during a single pass th
Authors
David I. Donato
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Effects of mercury deposition and coniferous forests on the mercury contamination of fish in the south central United States

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that is found in aquatic food webs and is hazardous to human and wildlife health. We examined the relationship between Hg deposition, land coverage by coniferous and deciduous forests, and average Hg concentrations in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)-equivalent fish (LMBE) in 14 ecoregions located within all or part of six states in the South Central U.S. In 11
Authors
Ray W. Drenner, Matthew M. Chumchal, Christina M. Jones, Christopher M.B. Lehmann, David A. Gay, David I. Donato

Computing maximum-likelihood estimates for parameters of the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish

This report presents the mathematical expressions and the computational techniques required to compute maximum-likelihood estimates for the parameters of the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish (NDMMF), a statistical model used to predict the concentration of methylmercury in fish tissue. The expressions and techniques reported here were prepared to support the development of custom soft
Authors
David I. Donato

Designing and implementing a regional urban modeling system using the SLEUTH cellular urban model

This paper presents a fine-scale (30 meter resolution) regional land cover modeling system, based on the SLEUTH cellular automata model, that was developed for a 257000 km2 area comprising the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin in the eastern United States. As part of this effort, we developed a new version of the SLEUTH model (SLEUTH-3r), which introduces new functionality and fit metrics that substan
Authors
Claire A. Jantz, Scott J. Goetz, David I. Donato, Peter R. Claggett

Secure Web-Site Access with Tickets and Message-Dependent Digests

Although there are various methods for restricting access to documents stored on a World Wide Web (WWW) site (a Web site), none of the widely used methods is completely suitable for restricting access to Web applications hosted on an otherwise publicly accessible Web site. A new technique, however, provides a mix of features well suited for restricting Web-site or Web-application access to authori
Authors
David I. Donato
By
Water Resources Mission Area

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government

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