Donald O Rosenberry
Donald Rosenberry is a Research Hydrologist for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Don is a research hydrologist with the Earth Surface Processes Division specializing in wetland hydrology, water budgets of lakes and wetlands, and hyporheic processes. Research is focused at the sediment-water interface with an emphasis on understanding processes that control exchanges between groundwater and surface water. Don also is the coordinator of the Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystem Project where scientists from USGS and academia work together to study physical, chemical, and biological processes of lakes, wetlands, and streams at a small-watershed scale. Don's interests in groundwater, surface water, and the dynamic sediment-water interface stem from his formative years at Bemidji State University (next to Lake Bemidji), the University of Minnesota (on the banks of the Mississippi River), and the University of Colorado (through which Boulder Creek flows).
Current Research Topics
- Ground-water surface-water exchange in hyporheic settings (CA, CO, MA, MN, PA)
- Significance of ground-water discharge to nutrient loading (MN, WA)
- Significance of ground water to water supply (CA, MN, NM)
- Relating geophysics and seepage along shoreline margins (NH, WA)
- Decadal-scale hydrology of lakes and wetlands (MT, ND, MN, NH)
Current Editorships
- Editorial Board, Hydrological Processes (2014-present)
Professional Experience
2007-present: USGS, Lead Scientist, Hydrogeology of lakes, wetlands, and streams
1985-2007: USGS, Staff research hydrologist, Hydrology of lakes and wetlands
1982-1985: USGS, Hydrologic technician
1981-1982: Continental Laboratories, Hydrocarbon well analyst, Billings, MT
Education and Certifications
University of Colorado, Boulder. Geography/Geomorphology, Ph.D. 2007
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Hydrogeology, M.S. 1985
Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN. Geology/Geography, B.S. 1981
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union
Geological Society of America
Society of Wetland Scientists
Minnesota Ground Water Association
Honors and Awards
Keynote Address, Minnesota Ground Water Association annual conference (2003, 2009)
Keynote Address, Canadian Geophysical Union annual conference (2005)
Elected Fellow of Geological Society of America (2008)
Keynote Address, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 21st Annual Water Quality Workshop, February 2011
Keynote Address, Alabama Department of Environmental Management 12th Annual Groundwater Conference, June 2012
Moos Family lecturer, Freshwater Society, June 2013
Meinzer Award, Geological Society of America Hydrogeology Division (2017)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 133
Coastal groundwater/surface-water interactions: a Great Lakes case study Coastal groundwater/surface-water interactions: a Great Lakes case study
Key similarities exist between marine and Great Lakes coastal environments. Water and nutrient fluxes across lakebeds in the Great Lakes are influenced by seiche and wind set-up and set-down, analogous to tidal influence in marine settings. Groundwater/surface-water interactions also commonly involve a saline-fresh water interface, although in the Great-Lakes cases, it is groundwater...
Authors
Brian P. Neff, Sheridan K. Haack, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jacqueline F. Savino, Scott C. Lundstrom
Integrating seepage heterogeneity with the use of ganged seepage meters Integrating seepage heterogeneity with the use of ganged seepage meters
The usefulness of standard half-barrel seepage meters for measurement of fluxes between groundwater, and surface water is limited by the small bed area that each measurement represents and the relatively large associated labor costs. Standard half-barrel cylinders were ganged together to allow one measurement of the summed seepage through all of the meters, reducing labor cost and...
Authors
D.O. Rosenberry
An evaluation of effects of groundwater exchange on nearshore habitats and water quality of western Lake Erie An evaluation of effects of groundwater exchange on nearshore habitats and water quality of western Lake Erie
Historically, the high potentiometric surface of groundwater in the Silurian/Devonian carbonate aquifer in Monroe County, MI resulted in discharge of highly mineralized, SO4-rich groundwater to the Lake Erie shoreline near both Erie State Game Area (ESGA) and Pointe Mouillee State Game Area (PMSGA). Recently, regional groundwater levels near PMSGA have been drawn down as much as 45 m...
Authors
Sheridan K. Haack, Brian P. Neff, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jacqueline F. Savino, Scott C. Lundstrom
Comparison of wetlands in different hydrogeological settings under conditions of extreme climate variability Comparison of wetlands in different hydrogeological settings under conditions of extreme climate variability
Wetlands in the Cottonwood Lake area in North Dakota, USA, are underlain by poorly permeable till and have little groundwater input. Lakes and wetlands in the Shingobee River headwaters in Minnesota are underlain by permeable sand and have substantial groundwater input. Hydrological, chemical, and biological characteristics of these ecosystems have been monitored since 1977. Both sites...
Authors
T. Winter, D. Rosenberry, E. Kelly, J. LaBaugh
Use of submersible pressure transducers in water-resources investigations Use of submersible pressure transducers in water-resources investigations
Submersible pressure transducers, developed in the early 1960s, have made the collection of water-level and pressure data much more convenient than former methods. Submersible pressure transducers, when combined with electronic data recorders have made it possible to collect continuous or nearly continuous water-level or pressure data from wells, piezometers, soil-moisture tensiometers...
Authors
Lawrence A. Freeman, Michael C. Carpenter, Donald O. Rosenberry, Joseph P. Rousseau, Randy Unger, John S. McLean
Estimates of fetch-induced errors in Bowen-ratio energy-budget measurements of evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA Estimates of fetch-induced errors in Bowen-ratio energy-budget measurements of evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA
Micrometeorological measurements of evapotranspiration (ET) often are affected to some degree by errors arising from limited fetch. A recently developed model was used to estimate fetch-induced errors in Bowen-ratio energy-budget measurements of ET made at a small wetland with fetch-to-height ratios ranging from 34 to 49. Estimated errors were small, averaging −1.90%±0.59%. The small...
Authors
David L. Stannard, Donald O. Rosenberry, Thomas C. Winter, Renee S. Parkhurst
Surface deformations as indicators of deep ebullition fluxes in a large northern peatland Surface deformations as indicators of deep ebullition fluxes in a large northern peatland
Peatlands deform elastically during precipitation cycles by small (±3 cm) oscillations in surface elevation. In contrast, we used a Global Positioning System network to measure larger oscillations that exceeded 20 cm over periods of 4-12 hours during two seasonal droughts at a bog and fen site in northern Minnesota. The second summer drought also triggered 19 depressuring cycles in an
Authors
P.H. Glaser, J. P. Chanton, Peter Morin, D.O. Rosenberry, D. I. Siegel, O. Ruud, L.I. Chasar, A.S. Reeve
Comparison of 13 equations for determining evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA Comparison of 13 equations for determining evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA
Evapotranspiration determined using the energy-budget method at a semi-permanent prairie-pothole wetland in east-central North Dakota, USA was compared with 12 other commonly used methods. The Priestley-Taylor and deBruin-Keijman methods compared best with the energy-budget values; mean differences were less than 0.1 mm d−1, and standard deviations were less than 0.3 mm d−1. Both methods...
Authors
Donald O. Rosenberry, David L. Stannard, Thomas C. Winter, Margo L. Martinez
The wetland continuum: A conceptual framework for interpreting biological studies The wetland continuum: A conceptual framework for interpreting biological studies
We describe a conceptual model, the wetland continuum, which allows wetland managers, scientists, and ecologists to consider simultaneously the influence of climate and hydrologic setting on wetland biological communities. Although multidimensional, the wetland continuum is most easily represented as a two-dimensional gradient, with ground water and atmospheric water constituting the...
Authors
N.H. Euliss, J. W. LaBaugh, L.H. Fredrickson, D.M. Mushet, Murray K. Laubhan, G.A. Swanson, T. C. Winter, D.O. Rosenberry, R.D. Nelson
Use of an electromagnetic seepage meter to investigate temporal variability in lake seepage Use of an electromagnetic seepage meter to investigate temporal variability in lake seepage
A commercially available electromagnetic flowmeter is attached to a seepage cylinder to create an electromagnetic seepage meter (ESM) for automating measurement of fluxes across the sediment/water interface between ground water and surface water. The ESM is evaluated through its application at two lakes in New England, one where water seeps into the lake and one where water seeps out of...
Authors
D.O. Rosenberry, R. H. Morin
Multiple causes for the malformed frog phenomenon Multiple causes for the malformed frog phenomenon
Progress has been made in understanding the malformed frog problem, yet we still cannot identify with assurance specific causes of malformations at particular locations. To address this problem we assembled a team of specialists and present here results on geographic distribution, water quality, parasite infection, and morphological patterns from Minnesota malformed frog sites and...
Authors
M.J. Lannoo, D.R. Sutherland, P. Jones, Donald O. Rosenberry, Robert W. Klaver, D.M. Hoppe, P.T.J. Johnson, K.B. Lunde, C. Facemire, J.M. Kapfer
Amphibian decline: An integrated analysis of multiple stressor effects Amphibian decline: An integrated analysis of multiple stressor effects
Capturing the attention and imagination of the public and the scientific community alike, the mysterious decline in amphibian populations drew scientists and resource managers from ecotoxicology and chemistry, ecology and field biology, conservation biology, and natural resource policy to a SETAC–Johnson Foundation workshop. Facilitating environmental stewardship, increasing capacity of...
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 133
Coastal groundwater/surface-water interactions: a Great Lakes case study Coastal groundwater/surface-water interactions: a Great Lakes case study
Key similarities exist between marine and Great Lakes coastal environments. Water and nutrient fluxes across lakebeds in the Great Lakes are influenced by seiche and wind set-up and set-down, analogous to tidal influence in marine settings. Groundwater/surface-water interactions also commonly involve a saline-fresh water interface, although in the Great-Lakes cases, it is groundwater...
Authors
Brian P. Neff, Sheridan K. Haack, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jacqueline F. Savino, Scott C. Lundstrom
Integrating seepage heterogeneity with the use of ganged seepage meters Integrating seepage heterogeneity with the use of ganged seepage meters
The usefulness of standard half-barrel seepage meters for measurement of fluxes between groundwater, and surface water is limited by the small bed area that each measurement represents and the relatively large associated labor costs. Standard half-barrel cylinders were ganged together to allow one measurement of the summed seepage through all of the meters, reducing labor cost and...
Authors
D.O. Rosenberry
An evaluation of effects of groundwater exchange on nearshore habitats and water quality of western Lake Erie An evaluation of effects of groundwater exchange on nearshore habitats and water quality of western Lake Erie
Historically, the high potentiometric surface of groundwater in the Silurian/Devonian carbonate aquifer in Monroe County, MI resulted in discharge of highly mineralized, SO4-rich groundwater to the Lake Erie shoreline near both Erie State Game Area (ESGA) and Pointe Mouillee State Game Area (PMSGA). Recently, regional groundwater levels near PMSGA have been drawn down as much as 45 m...
Authors
Sheridan K. Haack, Brian P. Neff, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jacqueline F. Savino, Scott C. Lundstrom
Comparison of wetlands in different hydrogeological settings under conditions of extreme climate variability Comparison of wetlands in different hydrogeological settings under conditions of extreme climate variability
Wetlands in the Cottonwood Lake area in North Dakota, USA, are underlain by poorly permeable till and have little groundwater input. Lakes and wetlands in the Shingobee River headwaters in Minnesota are underlain by permeable sand and have substantial groundwater input. Hydrological, chemical, and biological characteristics of these ecosystems have been monitored since 1977. Both sites...
Authors
T. Winter, D. Rosenberry, E. Kelly, J. LaBaugh
Use of submersible pressure transducers in water-resources investigations Use of submersible pressure transducers in water-resources investigations
Submersible pressure transducers, developed in the early 1960s, have made the collection of water-level and pressure data much more convenient than former methods. Submersible pressure transducers, when combined with electronic data recorders have made it possible to collect continuous or nearly continuous water-level or pressure data from wells, piezometers, soil-moisture tensiometers...
Authors
Lawrence A. Freeman, Michael C. Carpenter, Donald O. Rosenberry, Joseph P. Rousseau, Randy Unger, John S. McLean
Estimates of fetch-induced errors in Bowen-ratio energy-budget measurements of evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA Estimates of fetch-induced errors in Bowen-ratio energy-budget measurements of evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA
Micrometeorological measurements of evapotranspiration (ET) often are affected to some degree by errors arising from limited fetch. A recently developed model was used to estimate fetch-induced errors in Bowen-ratio energy-budget measurements of ET made at a small wetland with fetch-to-height ratios ranging from 34 to 49. Estimated errors were small, averaging −1.90%±0.59%. The small...
Authors
David L. Stannard, Donald O. Rosenberry, Thomas C. Winter, Renee S. Parkhurst
Surface deformations as indicators of deep ebullition fluxes in a large northern peatland Surface deformations as indicators of deep ebullition fluxes in a large northern peatland
Peatlands deform elastically during precipitation cycles by small (±3 cm) oscillations in surface elevation. In contrast, we used a Global Positioning System network to measure larger oscillations that exceeded 20 cm over periods of 4-12 hours during two seasonal droughts at a bog and fen site in northern Minnesota. The second summer drought also triggered 19 depressuring cycles in an
Authors
P.H. Glaser, J. P. Chanton, Peter Morin, D.O. Rosenberry, D. I. Siegel, O. Ruud, L.I. Chasar, A.S. Reeve
Comparison of 13 equations for determining evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA Comparison of 13 equations for determining evapotranspiration from a prairie wetland, Cottonwood Lake Area, North Dakota, USA
Evapotranspiration determined using the energy-budget method at a semi-permanent prairie-pothole wetland in east-central North Dakota, USA was compared with 12 other commonly used methods. The Priestley-Taylor and deBruin-Keijman methods compared best with the energy-budget values; mean differences were less than 0.1 mm d−1, and standard deviations were less than 0.3 mm d−1. Both methods...
Authors
Donald O. Rosenberry, David L. Stannard, Thomas C. Winter, Margo L. Martinez
The wetland continuum: A conceptual framework for interpreting biological studies The wetland continuum: A conceptual framework for interpreting biological studies
We describe a conceptual model, the wetland continuum, which allows wetland managers, scientists, and ecologists to consider simultaneously the influence of climate and hydrologic setting on wetland biological communities. Although multidimensional, the wetland continuum is most easily represented as a two-dimensional gradient, with ground water and atmospheric water constituting the...
Authors
N.H. Euliss, J. W. LaBaugh, L.H. Fredrickson, D.M. Mushet, Murray K. Laubhan, G.A. Swanson, T. C. Winter, D.O. Rosenberry, R.D. Nelson
Use of an electromagnetic seepage meter to investigate temporal variability in lake seepage Use of an electromagnetic seepage meter to investigate temporal variability in lake seepage
A commercially available electromagnetic flowmeter is attached to a seepage cylinder to create an electromagnetic seepage meter (ESM) for automating measurement of fluxes across the sediment/water interface between ground water and surface water. The ESM is evaluated through its application at two lakes in New England, one where water seeps into the lake and one where water seeps out of...
Authors
D.O. Rosenberry, R. H. Morin
Multiple causes for the malformed frog phenomenon Multiple causes for the malformed frog phenomenon
Progress has been made in understanding the malformed frog problem, yet we still cannot identify with assurance specific causes of malformations at particular locations. To address this problem we assembled a team of specialists and present here results on geographic distribution, water quality, parasite infection, and morphological patterns from Minnesota malformed frog sites and...
Authors
M.J. Lannoo, D.R. Sutherland, P. Jones, Donald O. Rosenberry, Robert W. Klaver, D.M. Hoppe, P.T.J. Johnson, K.B. Lunde, C. Facemire, J.M. Kapfer
Amphibian decline: An integrated analysis of multiple stressor effects Amphibian decline: An integrated analysis of multiple stressor effects
Capturing the attention and imagination of the public and the scientific community alike, the mysterious decline in amphibian populations drew scientists and resource managers from ecotoxicology and chemistry, ecology and field biology, conservation biology, and natural resource policy to a SETAC–Johnson Foundation workshop. Facilitating environmental stewardship, increasing capacity of...
*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