Jim E O'Connor
Jim O'Connor is a Research Geologist in the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. He chiefly works on the geology and geomorphology of the Pacific Northwest.
Jim O’Connor majored in Geological Science at University of Washington and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at University of Arizona. Since 1991, he has worked at the U.S. Geological Survey, intent on improving understanding of the processes and events that shape the remarkable and diverse landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.
Professional Experience
2014 - present, Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, Oregon
1996 - present, Adjunct professor, Dept. Geology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
1996 - 2014, Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, Oregon
1994 - 1996, Research Hydrologist, U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, Oregon
1991 - 1994, National Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington
1985 - 1987, Hydrologist, Pima County Dept. Transportation and Flood Control, Tucson, Arizona
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1990
M.S., Geosciencesm University of Arizona, 1985
B.S., Geological Sciences, University of Washington, 1982
Affiliations and Memberships*
1984 - present, Geological Society of America (Fellow)
1985 - present, American Geophysical Union
2015 - present, Sigma Xi
Portland State University
Oregon State University
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 46
Channel change and bed-material transport in the Lower Chetco River, Oregon
The lower Chetco River is a wandering gravel-bed river flanked by abundant and large gravel bars formed of coarse bed-material sediment. Since the early twentieth century, the large gravel bars have been a source of commercial aggregate for which ongoing permitting and aquatic habitat concerns have motivated this assessment of historical channel change and sediment transport rates. Analysis of his
Authors
J. Rose Wallick, Scott W. Anderson, Charles Cannon, Jim E. O'Connor
Channel change and bed-material transport in the Umpqua River basin, Oregon
The Umpqua River drains 12,103 km2 of western Oregon, heading in the Cascade Range and draining portions of the Klamath Mountains and Coast Range before entering the Pacific Ocean. Above the head of tide, the Umpqua River, along with its major tributaries, the North and South Umpqua Rivers, flows on a mixed bedrock and alluvium bed, alternating between bedrock rapids and intermittent, shallow grav
Authors
J. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Scott Anderson, Mackenzie K. Keith, Charles Cannon, John C. Risley
Channel change and bed-material transport in the Lower Chetco River, Oregon
The lower Chetco River is a wandering gravel-bed river flanked by abundant and large gravel bars formed of coarse bed-material sediment. The large gravel bars have been a source of commercial aggregate since the early twentieth century for which ongoing permitting and aquatic habitat concerns have motivated this assessment of historical channel change and sediment transport rates. Analysis of hist
Authors
J. Rose Wallick, Scott W. Anderson, Charles Cannon, Jim E. O'Connor
Preliminary assessment of vertical stability and gravel transport along the Umpqua River, southwestern Oregon
This report addresses physical channel issues related to instream gravel mining on the Umpqua River and its two primary tributaries, the North and South Umpqua Rivers. This analysis constitutes a “Phase I” investigation, as designated by an interagency team cochaired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, and the Oregon Department of State Lands to address instream gravel mining i
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, J. Rose Wallick, Steven Sobieszczyk, Charles Cannon, Scott W. Anderson
The Portland Basin: A (big) river runs through it
Metropolitan Portland, Oregon, USA, lies within a small Neogene to Holocene basin in the forearc of the Cascadia subduction system. Although the basin owes its existence and structural development to its convergent-margin tectonic setting, the stratigraphic architecture of basin-fill deposits chiefly reflects its physiographic position along the lower reaches of the continental-scale Columbia Rive
Authors
Russell C. Evarts, Jim E. O'Connor, Ray E. Wells, Ian P. Madin
By
Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center
The world's largest floods, past and present: Their causes and magnitudes
Floods are among the most powerful forces on earth. Human societies worldwide have lived and died with floods from the very beginning, spawning a prominent role for floods within legends, religions, and history. Inspired by such accounts, geologists, hydrologists, and historians have studied the role of floods on humanity and its supporting ecosystems, resulting in new appreciation for the many-fa
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, John E. Costa
Spatial distribution of the largest rainfall‐runoff floods from basins between 2.6 and 26,000 km2 in the United States and Puerto Rico
We assess the spatial distribution of the largest rainfall‐generated streamflows from a database of 35,663 flow records composed of the largest 10% of annual peak flows from each of 14,815 U.S. Geological Survey stream gaging stations in the United States and Puerto Rico. High unit discharges (peak discharge per unit contributing area) from basins with areas of 2.6 to 26,000 km2 (1–10,000 mi2) are
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, John E. Costa
Large floods in the United States: where they happen and why
The spatial distribution of large gaged floods throughout the United States shows that the locations of most of the largest flows are related to specific combinations of regional climatology, topography, and basin size. Key factors include the general northward trend of decreasing atmospheric moisture, proximity to oceanic moisture sources such as the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and orie
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, John E. Costa
Origin, extent, and thickness of quaternary geologic units in the Willamette Valley, Oregon
Stratigraphic and chronologic information collected for Quaternary deposits in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, provides a revised stratigraphic framework that serves as a basis for a 1:250,000-scale map, as well as for thickness estimates of widespread Quaternary geologic units. We have mapped 11 separate Quaternary units that are differentiated on the basis of stratigraphic, topographic, pedogenic
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Karl C. Wozniak, Danial J. Polette, Robert J. Fleck
Methods for predicting peak discharge of floods caused by failure of natural and constructed earthen dams
Floods from failures of natural and constructed dams constitute a widespread hazard to people and property. Expeditious means of assessing flood hazards are necessary, particularly in the case of natural dams, which may form suddenly and unexpectedly. We revise statistical relations (derived from data for past constructed and natural dam failures) between peak discharge (Qp) and water volume relea
Authors
Joseph S. Walder, Jim E. O'Connor
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 46
Channel change and bed-material transport in the Lower Chetco River, Oregon
The lower Chetco River is a wandering gravel-bed river flanked by abundant and large gravel bars formed of coarse bed-material sediment. Since the early twentieth century, the large gravel bars have been a source of commercial aggregate for which ongoing permitting and aquatic habitat concerns have motivated this assessment of historical channel change and sediment transport rates. Analysis of hisAuthorsJ. Rose Wallick, Scott W. Anderson, Charles Cannon, Jim E. O'ConnorChannel change and bed-material transport in the Umpqua River basin, Oregon
The Umpqua River drains 12,103 km2 of western Oregon, heading in the Cascade Range and draining portions of the Klamath Mountains and Coast Range before entering the Pacific Ocean. Above the head of tide, the Umpqua River, along with its major tributaries, the North and South Umpqua Rivers, flows on a mixed bedrock and alluvium bed, alternating between bedrock rapids and intermittent, shallow gravAuthorsJ. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Scott Anderson, Mackenzie K. Keith, Charles Cannon, John C. RisleyChannel change and bed-material transport in the Lower Chetco River, Oregon
The lower Chetco River is a wandering gravel-bed river flanked by abundant and large gravel bars formed of coarse bed-material sediment. The large gravel bars have been a source of commercial aggregate since the early twentieth century for which ongoing permitting and aquatic habitat concerns have motivated this assessment of historical channel change and sediment transport rates. Analysis of histAuthorsJ. Rose Wallick, Scott W. Anderson, Charles Cannon, Jim E. O'ConnorPreliminary assessment of vertical stability and gravel transport along the Umpqua River, southwestern Oregon
This report addresses physical channel issues related to instream gravel mining on the Umpqua River and its two primary tributaries, the North and South Umpqua Rivers. This analysis constitutes a “Phase I” investigation, as designated by an interagency team cochaired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, and the Oregon Department of State Lands to address instream gravel mining iAuthorsJim E. O'Connor, J. Rose Wallick, Steven Sobieszczyk, Charles Cannon, Scott W. AndersonThe Portland Basin: A (big) river runs through it
Metropolitan Portland, Oregon, USA, lies within a small Neogene to Holocene basin in the forearc of the Cascadia subduction system. Although the basin owes its existence and structural development to its convergent-margin tectonic setting, the stratigraphic architecture of basin-fill deposits chiefly reflects its physiographic position along the lower reaches of the continental-scale Columbia RiveAuthorsRussell C. Evarts, Jim E. O'Connor, Ray E. Wells, Ian P. MadinByEnergy and Minerals Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Oregon Water Science CenterThe world's largest floods, past and present: Their causes and magnitudes
Floods are among the most powerful forces on earth. Human societies worldwide have lived and died with floods from the very beginning, spawning a prominent role for floods within legends, religions, and history. Inspired by such accounts, geologists, hydrologists, and historians have studied the role of floods on humanity and its supporting ecosystems, resulting in new appreciation for the many-faAuthorsJim E. O'Connor, John E. CostaSpatial distribution of the largest rainfall‐runoff floods from basins between 2.6 and 26,000 km2 in the United States and Puerto Rico
We assess the spatial distribution of the largest rainfall‐generated streamflows from a database of 35,663 flow records composed of the largest 10% of annual peak flows from each of 14,815 U.S. Geological Survey stream gaging stations in the United States and Puerto Rico. High unit discharges (peak discharge per unit contributing area) from basins with areas of 2.6 to 26,000 km2 (1–10,000 mi2) areAuthorsJim E. O'Connor, John E. CostaLarge floods in the United States: where they happen and why
The spatial distribution of large gaged floods throughout the United States shows that the locations of most of the largest flows are related to specific combinations of regional climatology, topography, and basin size. Key factors include the general northward trend of decreasing atmospheric moisture, proximity to oceanic moisture sources such as the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and orieAuthorsJim E. O'Connor, John E. CostaOrigin, extent, and thickness of quaternary geologic units in the Willamette Valley, Oregon
Stratigraphic and chronologic information collected for Quaternary deposits in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, provides a revised stratigraphic framework that serves as a basis for a 1:250,000-scale map, as well as for thickness estimates of widespread Quaternary geologic units. We have mapped 11 separate Quaternary units that are differentiated on the basis of stratigraphic, topographic, pedogenicAuthorsJim E. O'Connor, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Karl C. Wozniak, Danial J. Polette, Robert J. FleckMethods for predicting peak discharge of floods caused by failure of natural and constructed earthen dams
Floods from failures of natural and constructed dams constitute a widespread hazard to people and property. Expeditious means of assessing flood hazards are necessary, particularly in the case of natural dams, which may form suddenly and unexpectedly. We revise statistical relations (derived from data for past constructed and natural dam failures) between peak discharge (Qp) and water volume releaAuthorsJoseph S. Walder, Jim E. O'Connor - Science
- Data
No Result Found
- Maps
- Multimedia
No results found.
- News
*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