James Foreman
Lead technician in the Hydrologic Studies section focused on developing remote sensing capabilities within the Washington Water Science Center.
Biography
Education:
BS Environmental Science 2007
Certificate Department of Interior Unmanned Aircraft Systems Pilot 2017
Certificate Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 Commercial Drone Operator 2017
Certificate UAS Remote Data Processing 2019
Research Interests:
My research focuses on the use of advanced sensing platforms to remotely collect data and model hydrologic processes. Recent emphasis has been on pairing novel data collection techniques with large, traditionally derived data sets in a meaningful way.
Experience:
Post-flood surveying, indirect discharge measurement, St. Vrain, CO
Scientific response, real-time sediment loading, SR530 Landslide, Oso, WA
Scientific response, disaster damage surveys and map production, 2018 Kilauea eruption, Hilo, HI
Aviation Safety Officer
Honors, Awards, Recognition, Elected Memberships:
Secretary of the Interior Award for Outstanding Contribution to Aviation Safety (UAS)
USGS Director’s Award for Exemplary Service to the Nation
DOI Office of Aviation Services Safety Award (helicopter)
Science and Products
Preliminary assessment of shallow groundwater chemistry near Goodell Creek, North Cascades National Park, Washington
Goodell Creek is located within North Cascades National Park and is high-quality habitat for Chinook salmon, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The creation of a levee near the mouth of the creek where it enters the Skagit River has cut off the historical flood plain from the active channel. There is an effort to...
Sheibley, Rich W.; Foreman, James R.
Suspended-sediment transport from the Green-Duwamish River to the Lower Duwamish Waterway, Seattle, Washington, 2013–17
The Green-Duwamish River transports watershed-derived sediment to the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site near Seattle, Washington. Understanding the amount of sediment transported by the river is essential to the bed sediment cleanup process. Turbidity, discharge, suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), and particle-size data were collected by...
Senter, Craig A.; Conn, Kathleen E.; Black, Robert W.; Peterson, Norman; Vanderpool-Kimura, Ann M.; Foreman, James R.
Geomorphic response of the North Fork Stillaguamish River to the State Route 530 landslide near Oso, Washington
On March 22, 2014, the State Route 530 Landslide near Oso, Washington mobilized 8 million cubic meters of unconsolidated Pleistocene material, creating a valley‑spanning deposit that fully impounded the North Fork Stillaguamish River. The river overtopped the 8-meter high debris impoundment within 25 hours and began steadily incising a new channel...
Anderson, Scott W.; Keith, Mackenzie K.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Wallick, J. Rose; Mastin, Mark C.; Foreman, James R.
Continuous-flow centrifugation to collect suspended sediment for chemical analysis
Recent advances in suspended-sediment monitoring tools and surrogate technologies have greatly improved the ability to quantify suspended-sediment concentrations and to estimate daily, seasonal, and annual suspended-sediment fluxes from rivers to coastal waters. However, little is known about the chemical composition of suspended sediment, and how...
Conn, Kathleen E.; Dinicola, Richard S.; Black, Robert W.; Cox, Stephen E.; Sheibley, Richard W.; Foreman, James R.; Senter, Craig A.; Peterson, Norman T.
Suspended sediment delivery to Puget Sound from the lower Nisqually River, western Washington, July 2010–November 2011
On average, the Nisqually River delivers about 100,000 metric tons per year (t/yr) of suspended sediment to Puget Sound, western Washington, a small proportion of the estimated 1,200,000 metric tons (t) of sediment reported to flow in the upper Nisqually River that drains the glaciated, recurrently active Mount Rainier stratovolcano. Most of the...
Curran, Christopher A.; Grossman, Eric E.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Foreman, James R.
Water and nutrient budgets for Vancouver Lake, Vancouver, Washington, October 2010-October 2012
Vancouver Lake, a large shallow lake in Clark County, near Vancouver, Washington, has been undergoing water-quality problems for decades. Recently, the biggest concern for the lake are the almost annual harmful cyanobacteria blooms that cause the lake to close for recreation for several weeks each summer. Despite decades of interest in improving...
Sheibley, Rich W.; Foreman, James R.; Marshall, Cameron A.; Welch, Wendy B.
Discharge, water temperature, and selected meteorological data for Vancouver Lake, Vancouver, Washington, water years 2011-13
The U.S. Geological Survey partnered with the Vancouver Lake Watershed Partnership in a 2-year intensive study to quantify the movement of water and nutrients through Vancouver Lake in Vancouver, Washington. This report is intended to assist the Vancouver Lake Watershed Partnership in evaluating potential courses of action to mitigate seasonally...
Foreman, James R.; Marshall, Cameron A.; Sheibley, Rich W.
Nitrogen deposition effects on diatom communities in lakes from three National Parks in Washington State
The goal of this study was to document if lakes in National Parks in Washington have exceeded critical levels of nitrogen (N) deposition, as observed in other Western States. We measured atmospheric N deposition, lake water quality, and sediment diatoms at our study lakes. Water chemistry showed that our study lakes were ultra-oligotrophic with...
Sheibley, Richard W.; Enache, Mihaela; Swarzenski, Peter W.; Moran, Patrick W.; Foreman, James R.
Atmospheric deposition, water-quality, and sediment data for selected lakes in Mount Rainer, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks, Washington, 2008-10
To evaluate the potential effect from atmospheric deposition of nitrogen to high-elevation lakes, the U.S. Geological Survey partnered with the National Park Service to develop a "critical load" of nitrogen for sediment diatoms. A critical load is defined as the level of a given pollutant (in this case, nitrogen) at which detrimental effects to a...
Sheibley, Rich W.; Foreman, James R.; Moran, Patrick W.; Swarzenski, Peter W.
Baseline hydrologic studies in the lower Elwha River prior to dam removal
After the removal of two large, long‑standing dams on the Elwha River, Washington, the additional load of sediment and wood is expected to affect the hydrology of the lower river, its estuary, and the alluvial aquifer underlying the surrounding flood plain. To better understand the surface-water and groundwater characteristics of the river and...
Magirl, Christopher S.; Curran, Christopher A.; Sheibley, Rich W.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Czuba, Jonathan A.; Czuba, Christiana R.; Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Foreman, James R.