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Jessica Driscoll, PhD

Dr. Jessica Driscoll is the Science Program Officer & Tribal Liaison for the Rocky Mountain Region.

Professional Experience

  • Science Program Officer and Tribal Liaison, U.S. Geological Survey, Rocky Mountain Region (2022 - present)

  • Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Mission Area, Integrated Modeling and Prediction Division (2019 - 2022)

  • Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Rocky Mountain Region, New Mexico Water Science Center (2014 - 2019)

Education and Certifications

  • PhD: Hydrology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Advisor: Dr. Thomas Meixner

  • Graduate Certificates: Water Policy, Geographic Information Systems

  • MS: Hydrology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Advisor: Dr. Thomas Meixner

  • BA: Geology, cum laude, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.

Science and Products

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Colorado Basin Focus Area Study carousel

Integrated Water Availability Assessments

The USGS Water Resources Mission Area is assessing how much water is available for human and ecological needs in the United States and identifying where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water.
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Water Resources Mission Area
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Integrated Water Availability Assessments

The USGS Water Resources Mission Area is assessing how much water is available for human and ecological needs in the United States and identifying where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water.
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Photo of the Colorado River near Moab, Utah

Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology

The Colorado River Basin is currently experiencing its worst drought in recorded history. The period from 2000 through 2020 is the driest 21-year period in over 100 years and one of the driest periods in the 1,200-year paleo-record. Drought impacts include worsening conditions in the 9 ecoregions, including habitat for several threatened and endangered species, wildland fire risks, reduced...
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology

The Colorado River Basin is currently experiencing its worst drought in recorded history. The period from 2000 through 2020 is the driest 21-year period in over 100 years and one of the driest periods in the 1,200-year paleo-record. Drought impacts include worsening conditions in the 9 ecoregions, including habitat for several threatened and endangered species, wildland fire risks, reduced...
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Illustration of the NHM infrastructure as applied to the PRMS model.

National Hydrologic Model Infrastructure

The USGS National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure supports the efficient construction of local-, regional-, and national-scale hydrologic models. The NHM infrastructure consists of: 1) an underlying geospatial fabric of modeling units with an associated parameter database, 2) a model input data archive, and 3) a repository of the physical model simulation code bases.
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Water Resources Mission Area
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National Hydrologic Model Infrastructure

The USGS National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure supports the efficient construction of local-, regional-, and national-scale hydrologic models. The NHM infrastructure consists of: 1) an underlying geospatial fabric of modeling units with an associated parameter database, 2) a model input data archive, and 3) a repository of the physical model simulation code bases.
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Two separate landscapes showing rivers flowing through them

Improved hydrologic forecasting through synthesis of critical storage components and timescales across watersheds worldwide

Models that predict the flow of rivers and streams are critically important for planning flood control, hydropower, and reservoir operations, as well as for management of fish and wildlife populations. As temperatures and precipitation regimes change globally, the need to improve and develop these models for a wider spatial coverage and higher spatial fidelity becomes more imperative. Currently, o
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John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
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Improved hydrologic forecasting through synthesis of critical storage components and timescales across watersheds worldwide

Models that predict the flow of rivers and streams are critically important for planning flood control, hydropower, and reservoir operations, as well as for management of fish and wildlife populations. As temperatures and precipitation regimes change globally, the need to improve and develop these models for a wider spatial coverage and higher spatial fidelity becomes more imperative. Currently, o
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Image: How Much Water is Available?

National Water Census

The National Water Census is a USGS research program on national water availability and use that develops new water accounting tools and assesses water availability at the regional and national scales. Through the Water Census, USGS is integrating diverse research on water availability and use and enhancing the understanding of connection between water quality and water availability.
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Water Availability and Use Science Program
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National Water Census

The National Water Census is a USGS research program on national water availability and use that develops new water accounting tools and assesses water availability at the regional and national scales. Through the Water Census, USGS is integrating diverse research on water availability and use and enhancing the understanding of connection between water quality and water availability.
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National Hydrologic Model Alaska Domain parameter database, version 1

This data release contains input data for hydrologic simulations of the Alaska Domain application of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Precipitation Runoff Modelling System (PRMS) as implemented in the National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure (Regan and others, 2018). The NHM Alaska Domain parameter database consists of 114 parameter files in ASCII format (CSV), two files needed to run the A
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Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Geospatial Fabric for the National Hydrologic Model Alaska Domain, version 1

This metadata record documents a geospatial dataset for the U.S. Geological Survey Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) used to drive the National Hydrologic Model (NHM). The Alaska Geospatial Fabric v1 is the spatial representation of the hydrologic response units (HRUs) used for the PRMS NHM Alaska domain. These HRUs were generated using the twelve-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC12) water
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Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Data release in support of Runoff sensitivity to snow depletion curve representation within a continental scale hydrologic model

This data release includes simulation output from a modeling experiment conducted using the initial calibration of the conterminous United States (CONUS) application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) (Hay, 2019) as implemented in the National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure (Regan et al, 2018). The study associated with this data release (Sexstone et al., 2019) used the same
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Colorado Water Science Center

Base flow estimation via optimal hydrograph separation at CONUS watersheds and comparison to the National Hydrologic Model - Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System by HRU calibrated version

Optimal hydrograph separation (OHS) is a two-component, hydrograph separation method that uses a two-parameter, recursive digital filter (RDF) constrained via chemical mass balance to estimate the base flow contribution to a stream or river (Rimmer and Hartman, 2014; Raffensperger et al., 2017). A recursive digital filter distinguishes between high-frequency and low-frequency discharge data within
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Water Resources Mission Area

Application of the National Hydrologic Model Infrastructure with the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (NHM-PRMS), Uncalibrated Version

This data release contains output and components of the initial conterminous United States (CONUS) application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) as implemented in the National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure (Regan et al, 2018). The PRMS version 5.0.0 hydrologic simulation code was used with the accompanying parameter files in the NHM infrastructure to produce the attached o
Cover slide for Teams Meeting, USGS Tribal Open House, Lower CO River Basin Panel, 11-29-2023
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LCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_.Image_11_29_2023.jpg
Cover slide for Teams Meeting, USGS Tribal Open House, Lower CO River Basin Panel, 11-29-2023

LCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_.Image_11_29_2023.jpg

LCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_.Image_11_29_2023.jpg

Title Slide for Lower Colorado River Basin Panel Discussion for USGS Virtual Open House meeting to discuss drought issues with Native American Tribal Members. Held online via Microsoft Teams on November 29, 2024.

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Cover slide for Teams Meeting, USGS Tribal Open House, Lower CO River Basin Panel, 11-29-2023

LCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_.Image_11_29_2023.jpg

LCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_.Image_11_29_2023.jpg

Title Slide for Lower Colorado River Basin Panel Discussion for USGS Virtual Open House meeting to discuss drought issues with Native American Tribal Members. Held online via Microsoft Teams on November 29, 2024.

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Title Slide for USGS Upper Colorado River Basin Panel Discussion in a Virtual Open House about Drought with Tribal Representatives, Nov. 29, 2023
UCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_11_29_2023.jpg
UCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_11_29_2023.jpg
Title Slide for USGS Upper Colorado River Basin Panel Discussion in a Virtual Open House about Drought with Tribal Representatives, Nov. 29, 2023

UCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_11_29_2023.jpg

UCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_11_29_2023.jpg

Cover slide for USGS Upper Colorado River Basin Panel Discussion Virtual Open House about drought issues with Tribal Representatives, conducted on November 29, 2023 via Microsoft Teams

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Title Slide for USGS Upper Colorado River Basin Panel Discussion in a Virtual Open House about Drought with Tribal Representatives, Nov. 29, 2023

UCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_11_29_2023.jpg

UCR.Virtual.Tribal.Open_.House_11_29_2023.jpg

Cover slide for USGS Upper Colorado River Basin Panel Discussion Virtual Open House about drought issues with Tribal Representatives, conducted on November 29, 2023 via Microsoft Teams

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Photograph of Tribal Meeting for USGS ASIST Project, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023
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ASIST.Tribal.Open_.House_.A.Oct_.16.2023.jpg
Photograph of Tribal Meeting for USGS ASIST Project, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

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ASIST.Tribal.Open_.House_.A.Oct_.16.2023.jpg

Photograph taken by Jessica Driscoll of USGS ASIST Project Tribal Open House, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Photograph of Tribal Meeting for USGS ASIST Project, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

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ASIST.Tribal.Open_.House_.A.Oct_.16.2023.jpg

Photograph taken by Jessica Driscoll of USGS ASIST Project Tribal Open House, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Photograph of ASIST Project Tribal Open-House Meeting, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023
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ASIST.Tribal.Open_.House_.B.Oct_.16.2023.jpg
Photograph of ASIST Project Tribal Open-House Meeting, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

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ASIST.Tribal.Open_.House_.B.Oct_.16.2023.jpg

Photograph taken at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Open House, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Photograph of ASIST Project Tribal Open-House Meeting, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

ASIST.Tribal.Open_.House_.B.Oct_.16.2023.jpg

ASIST.Tribal.Open_.House_.B.Oct_.16.2023.jpg

Photograph taken at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Open House, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023
Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023
Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023
Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023

Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023

Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023

Photograph of Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Open House related to Drought Issues in Tribal Lands in and near the Colorado River Basin, held at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 26, 2023

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023

Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023

Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Drought Issues Open House, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 26, 2023

Photograph of Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Open House related to Drought Issues in Tribal Lands in and near the Colorado River Basin, held at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 26, 2023

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Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park
Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park
Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park
Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park

Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park

Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park

Colorado River outside of Canyonlands National Park, La Sal Mountains in the background.

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Water Resources
Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park

Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park

Colorado River near Canyonlands National Park

Colorado River outside of Canyonlands National Park, La Sal Mountains in the background.

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Water Resources
Filter Total Items: 17

U.S. Geological Survey Rocky Mountain Region 2022 science exchange, showcasing interdisciplinary and state-of-the-art USGS science

IntroductionThe Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River Basin in the Western United States represent complex, interconnected systems that sustain a number of species, including tens of millions of humans. These systems face several challenges, including worsening drought, altered wildfire regimes, climate change, and the spread of invasive species. These factors can exacerbate one another, further
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Dana E. Peterson, Katherine L. French, Jeannette H. Oden, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy N. Titus, Katharine G. Dahm, Jessica M. Driscoll, William J. Andrews
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, Astrogeology Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

High resolution SnowModel simulations reveal future elevation-dependent snow loss and earlier, flashier surface water input for the Upper Colorado River Basin

Continued climate warming is reducing seasonal snowpacks in the western United States, where >50% of historical water supplies were snowmelt-derived. In the Upper Colorado River Basin, declining snow water equivalent (SWE) and altered surface water input (SWI, rainfall and snowmelt available to enter the soil) timing and magnitude affect streamflow generation and water availability. To adapt effec
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John C. Hammond, Graham A. Sexstone, Annie L. Putman, Theodore B. Barnhart, David Rey, Jessica M. Driscoll, Glen Liston, Kristen L. Rasmussen, Daniel McGrath, Steven R. Fassnacht, Stephanie K. Kampf
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Water Resources Mission Area, Colorado Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

HydroBench: Jupyter supported reproducible hydrological model benchmarking and diagnostic tool

Evaluating whether hydrological models are right for the right reasons demands reproducible model benchmarking and diagnostics that evaluate not just statistical predictive model performance but also internal processes. Such model benchmarking and diagnostic efforts will benefit from standardized methods and ready-to-use toolkits. Using the Jupyter platform, this work presents HydroBench, a model-
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Edom Moges, Benjamin Ruddell, Liang Zhang, Jessica M. Driscoll, Parker A. Norton, Fernando Perez, Laurel Larsen
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center, Dakota Water Science Center

Evaluating hydrologic region assignment techniques for ungaged basins in Alaska, USA

Building continental-scale hydrologic models in data-sparse regions requires an understanding of spatial variation in hydrologic processes. Extending these models to ungaged locations requires techniques to group ungaged locations with gaged ones to make process importance and model parameter transfer decisions to ungaged locations. This analysis (1) tested the utility of fundamental streamflow st
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Theodore B. Barnhart, William H. Farmer, John C. Hammond, Graham A. Sexstone, Janet H. Curran, Joshua C. Koch, Jessica M. Driscoll
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Water Resources Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Strength and memory of precipitation's control over streamflow across the conterminous United States

How precipitation (P) is translated into streamflow (Q) and over what timescales (i.e., “memory”) is difficult to predict without calibration of site-specific models or using geochemical approaches, posing barriers to prediction in ungauged basins or advancement of general theories. Here, we used a data-driven approach to identify regional patterns and exogenous controls on P–Q interactions. We ap
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Edom Moges, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Liang Zhang, Jessica M. Driscoll, Laurel Larsen
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Water Resources Mission Area

Implications of model selection: A comparison of publicly available, conterminous US-extent hydrologic component estimates

Spatiotemporally continuous estimates of the hydrologic cycle are often generated through hydrologic modeling, reanalysis, or remote sensing (RS) methods and are commonly applied as a supplement to, or a substitute for, in situ measurements when observational data are sparse or unavailable. This study compares estimates of precipitation (P), actual evapotranspiration (ET), runoff (R), snow water e
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Samuel Saxe, William H. Farmer, Jessica M. Driscoll, Terri S. Hogue
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Water Resources Mission Area

Prioritizing river basins for intensive monitoring and assessment by the US Geological Survey

The US Geological Survey (USGS) is currently (2020) integrating its water science programs to better address the nation’s greatest water resource challenges now and into the future. This integration will rely, in part, on data from 10 or more intensively monitored river basins from across the USA. A team of USGS scientists was convened to develop a systematic, quantitative approach to prioritize c
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Peter C. Van Metre, Sharon L. Qi, Jeffrey R. Deacon, Cheryl A. Dieter, Jessica M. Driscoll, Michael N. Fienen, Terry A. Kenney, Patrick M. Lambert, David P. Lesmes, Christopher Allen Mason, Anke Mueller-Solger, MaryLynn Musgrove, Jaime A. Painter, Donald O. Rosenberry, Lori A. Sprague, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, David M. Wolock
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Water Resources Mission Area, Wildland Fire Science

Runoff sensitivity to snow depletion curve representation within a continental scale hydrologic model

The spatial variability of snow water equivalent (SWE) can exert a strong influence on the timing and magnitude of snowmelt delivery to a watershed. Therefore, the representation of subgrid or subwatershed snow variability in hydrologic models is important for accurately simulating snowmelt dynamics and runoff response. The U.S. Geological Survey National Hydrologic Model infrastructure with the P
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Graham A. Sexstone, Jessica M. Driscoll, Lauren Hay, John C. Hammond, Theodore B. Barnhart
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Water Resources Mission Area, Colorado Water Science Center

Spatiotemporal variability of modeled watershed scale surface-depression storage and runoff for the conterminous United States

This study uses the explores the viability of a proxy model calibration strategy through assessment of the spatiotemporal variability of surface-depression storage and runoff generated with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure for hydrologic response units (HRUs; n=109,951) across the conterminous United States (CONUS). Simulated values for each HRU of daily
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Jessica M. Driscoll, Lauren Hay, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Roland J. Viger
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Water Resources Mission Area, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Estimation of base flow by optimal hydrograph separation for the conterminous United States and implications for national-extent hydrologic models

Optimal hydrograph separation (OHS) uses a two-parameter recursive digital filter that applies specific conductance mass-balance constraints to estimate the base flow contribution to total streamflow at stream gages where discharge and specific conductance are measured. OHS was applied to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream gages across the conterminous United States to examine the range/distribu
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Sydney Foks, Jeff P. Raffensperger, Colin A. Penn, Jessica M. Driscoll
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Water Resources Mission Area, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center

Simulation of water availability in the Southeastern United States for historical and potential future climate and land-cover conditions

A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCPO LCC) and the Department of the Interior Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, to evaluate the hydrologic response of a daily time step hydrologic model to historical observations and projections of potential climate and land-cover change
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Jacob H. LaFontaine, Rheannon M. Hart, Lauren E. Hay, William H. Farmer, Andy R. Bock, Roland J. Viger, Steven L. Markstrom, R. Steve Regan, Jessica M. Driscoll
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Water Resources Mission Area, Colorado Water Science Center, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

GRACE storage change characteristics (2003–2016) over major surface basins and principal aquifers in the Conterminous United States

In this research, we characterized the changes in Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment’s (GRACE) monthly total water storage anomaly (TWSA) in 18 surface basins and 12 principal aquifers in the Conterminous United States (CONUS) over 2003–2016. Regions with high variability in storage were identified. Ten basins and 4 aquifers showed significant change in storage. Eight surface basins and 8 aqu
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Naga Manohar Velpuri, Gabriel Senay, Jessica M. Driscoll, Samuel Saxe, Lauren E. Hay, William H. Farmer, Julie E. Kiang
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Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
Tribal Engagement Series: Drought in the Colorado River Basin

Tribal Engagement Series: Drought in the Colorado River Basin

The USGS is bringing together scientists to develop and strengthen relationships with Indigenous communities and Tribal governments. During the coming...

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A team of USGS scientists will be participating in a new USGS Tribal Engagement Series on drought in the Colorado River Basin

A team of USGS scientists will be participating in a new USGS Tribal Engagement Series on drought in the Colorado River Basin

USGS scientists from the Rocky Mountain and Southwest Regions and beyond will participate in a USGS Open House held in Albuquerque at the Southwest...

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