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Hank Johnson

I am a research hydrologist at the USGS Oregon Water Science Center. I have been working on groundwater and water-quality issues regionally and nationally for more than 20 years. My research interests include arid-system hydrology, groundwater and spring systems, and environmental tracers.

Education and Certifications

  • B.S., Geological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1992

  • M.S., Environmental Science and Engineering, Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology, Hillsboro, Oregon, 1996

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 27

Groundwater resources of the Harney Basin, southeastern Oregon

In response to increasing groundwater demand and declining groundwater levels in the Harney Basin of southeastern Oregon, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oregon Water Resources Department conducted a cooperative groundwater-availability study during 2016–22. This Fact Sheet summarizes the results of this study. Full details of the study are provided in Gingerich and others (2022a, 2022b), Garci
Authors
Stephen B. Gingerich, C. Amanda Garcia, Henry M. Johnson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Groundwater resources of the Harney Basin, southeastern Oregon

Groundwater development has increased substantially in southeastern Oregon’s Harney Basin since 2010, mainly for the purpose of large-scale irrigation. Concurrently, some areas of the basin experienced groundwater-level declines of more than 100 feet, and some shallow wells have gone dry. The Oregon Water Resources Department has limited new groundwater development in the basin until an improved u

Authors
Stephen B. Gingerich, Henry M. Johnson, Darrick E. Boschmann, Gerald H. Grondin, C. Amanda Garcia
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Climate impacts on source contributions and evaporation to flow in the Snake River Basin using surface water isoscapes (δ2H and δ18O)

Rising global temperatures are expected to decrease the precipitation amount that falls as snow, causing greater risk of water scarcity, groundwater overdraft, and fire in areas that rely on mountain snowpack for their water supply. Streamflow in large river basins varies with the amount, timing, and type of precipitation, evapotranspiration, and drainage properties of watersheds; however, these c
Authors
Grace Windler, J. Renée Brooks, Henry M. Johnson, Randy Comeleo, Rob Coulombe, Gabriel J. Bowen
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center, Wildland Fire Science

Nitrate in streams during winter low‐flow conditions as an indicator of legacy nitrate

Winter low‐flow (LF) conditions in streams provide a potential opportunity to evaluate the importance of legacy nitrate in catchments due to the dominance of slow‐flow transport pathways and lowered biotic activity. In this study, the concentration, flux, and trend of nitrate in streams during winter low‐flow conditions were analyzed at 320 sites in the conterminous United States. LF flow‐normaliz
Authors
Henry M. Johnson, Edward G. Stets
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Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center

Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers

Water security is a top concern for social well-being and dramatic changes in the availability of freshwater have occurred as a result of human uses and landscape management. Elevated nutrient loading and perturbations to major ion composition have resulted from human activities and have degraded freshwater resources. This study addresses the emerging nature of stream water quality in the 21st ce
Authors
Edward G. Stets, Lori A. Sprague, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Henry M. Johnson, Jennifer C. Murphy, Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia, Robert E. Zuellig, James A. Falcone, Melissa L. Riskin
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Jersey Water Science Center

Deep aquifer recharge in the Columbia River Basalt Group, upper Umatilla River Basin, northeastern Oregon

Groundwater is an important component of the water resources of the upper Umatilla River Basin of northeastern Oregon. As such, understanding the capacity of the resource is vital. Past studies have estimated recharge in the study area. One recent study of the upper Umatilla River Basin indicated that about 80 percent of recharge entering the groundwater system is discharged to streams in the stud
Authors
Esther M. Pischel, Henry M. Johnson, Stephen B. Gingerich
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Springs as hydrologic refugia in a changing climate? A remote sensing approach

Spring‐fed wetlands are ecologically important habitats in arid and semi‐arid regions. Springs have been suggested as possible hydrologic refugia from droughts and climate change; however, springs that depend on recent precipitation or snowmelt for recharge may be vulnerable to warming and drought intensification. Springs that are expected to maintain their ecohydrologic function in a warmer, drie
Authors
Jennifer M. Cartwright, Henry M. Johnson
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Water-quality trends in the nation’s rivers and streams, 1972–2012—Data preparation, statistical methods, and trend results

Since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, Federal, State, and local governments have invested billions of dollars to reduce pollution entering rivers and streams. To understand the return on these investments and to effectively manage and protect the Nation’s water resources in the future, we need to know how and why water quality has been changing over time. As part of the National Water-Qual
Authors
Gretchen P. Oelsner, Lori A. Sprague, Jennifer C. Murphy, Robert E. Zuellig, Henry M. Johnson, Karen R. Ryberg, James A. Falcone, Edward G. Stets, Aldo V. Vecchia, Melissa L. Riskin, Laura A. De Cicco, Taylor J. Mills, William H. Farmer
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Water Resources Mission Area, Colorado Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

A new approach for continuous estimation of baseflow using discrete water quality data: Method description and comparison with baseflow estimates from two existing approaches

Understanding how watershed characteristics and climate influence the baseflow component of stream discharge is a topic of interest to both the scientific and water management communities. Therefore, the development of baseflow estimation methods is a topic of active research. Previous studies have demonstrated that graphical hydrograph separation (GHS) and conductivity mass balance (CMB) methods
Authors
Matthew P. Miller, Henry M. Johnson, David D. Susong, David M. Wolock
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Water Resources Mission Area, Utah Water Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center

Estimation of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in streams of the Middle Columbia River Basin (Oregon, Washington, and Idaho) using SPARROW models, with emphasis on the Yakima River Basin, Washington

The watershed model SPARROW (Spatially Related Regressions on Watershed attributes) was used to predict total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads and yields for the Middle Columbia River Basin in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The new models build on recently published models for the entire Pacific Northwest, and provide revised load predictions for the arid interior of the region by res
Authors
Henry M. Johnson, Robert W. Black, Daniel R. Wise
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Application of the SPARROW model to assess surface-water nutrient conditions and sources in the United States Pacific Northwest

The watershed model SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes) was used to estimate mean annual surface-water nutrient conditions (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) and to identify important nutrient sources in catchments of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States for 2002. Model-estimated nutrient yields were generally higher in catchments on the wetter, weste
Authors
Daniel R. Wise, Henry M. Johnson
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Phosphorus and groundwater: Establishing links between agricultural use and transport to streams

Phosphorus is a highly reactive element that is essential for life and forms a variety of compounds in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In water, phosphorus may be present as the orthophosphate ion (PO43-) and is also present in all life forms as an essential component of cellular material. In natural ecosystems, phosphorus is derived from the erosion of rocks and is conserved for plant growth
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski, Henry Johnson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center
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Mill Creek at Five Mile Drive

Walla Walla River Basin groundwater-flow system, Oregon-Washington

The Issue: Decades of declining groundwater levels in the Walla Walla River Basin (WWRB), which spans Oregon and Washington, are affecting instream flows for threatened and culturally important fish populations and water availability for competing interests across state lines. The public and state resource management agencies have begun implementing efforts to stabilize groundwater levels and...
By
Oregon Water Science Center, Washington Water Science Center
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Walla Walla River Basin groundwater-flow system, Oregon-Washington

The Issue: Decades of declining groundwater levels in the Walla Walla River Basin (WWRB), which spans Oregon and Washington, are affecting instream flows for threatened and culturally important fish populations and water availability for competing interests across state lines. The public and state resource management agencies have begun implementing efforts to stabilize groundwater levels and...
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umatilla farm

Groundwater of the Umatilla River Basin

Water management in the arid Umatilla Basin has become increasingly complex in recent years. Competing demands from society for generating hydro-electric power, maintaining and restoring fisheries, restoring watershed health, providing water for growing communities, and increasing agricultural production through irrigation, have put water resources in the Umatilla Basin and throughout the...
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Oregon Water Science Center
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Groundwater of the Umatilla River Basin

Water management in the arid Umatilla Basin has become increasingly complex in recent years. Competing demands from society for generating hydro-electric power, maintaining and restoring fisheries, restoring watershed health, providing water for growing communities, and increasing agricultural production through irrigation, have put water resources in the Umatilla Basin and throughout the...
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desert spring

Spring Vulnerability Study for Southeastern Oregon

Evaluating Spring Vulnerability to Climate Change on BLM Priority Management Areas in Southeastern Oregon
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Oregon Water Science Center
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Spring Vulnerability Study for Southeastern Oregon

Evaluating Spring Vulnerability to Climate Change on BLM Priority Management Areas in Southeastern Oregon
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Harney Basin, Oregon

Harney Basin Groundwater Study

This study will characterize and quantify the groundwater system in the Harney Basin to address gaps in our present understanding.
By
Oregon Water Science Center
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Harney Basin Groundwater Study

This study will characterize and quantify the groundwater system in the Harney Basin to address gaps in our present understanding.
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Location Information, Discharge, and Water-Quality Data for Selected Wells, Springs, and Streams in the Harney Basin, Oregon

This data release contains five comma separated value (csv) files that describe the location and water-quality data for wells, springs, and streams compiled for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) investigation of the groundwater resources of the Harney Basin, Oregon. The data included are site IDs, various site location information, well-construction det
By
Oregon Water Science Center

Water-quality and streamflow datasets used in the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models to determine trends in the Nations rivers and streams, 1972-2012

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a study of more than 50 major river basins across the Nation as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project of the National Water-Quality Program. One of the major goals of the NAWQA project is to determine how water-quality conditions change over time. To support that goal, long-term consistent and comparable monitoring has been c
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Water-quality and streamflow datasets used in Seasonal Kendall trend tests for the Nations rivers and streams, 1972-2012

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a study of more than 50 major river basins across the Nation as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project of the National Water-Quality Program. One of the major goals of the NAWQA project is to determine how water-quality conditions change over time. To support that goal, long-term consistent and comparable monitoring has been c
By
Water Resources Mission Area
hydrologist in the field
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USGS scientist collecting a water-quality sample from Zollner Creek, Oregon
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"Legacy nitrogen" contributing to upward nitrate trends in streams

Despite the tremendous effort invested in reducing the use of nitrogen, widespread decreases in nitrate loads in US rivers and streams remain elusive...

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