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
Plugs or flood-makers? the unstable landslide dams of eastern Oregon
Geomorphic and vegetation processes of the Willamette River floodplain, Oregon: current understanding and unanswered science questions
Owyhee River intracanyon lava flows: does the river give a dam?
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Tillamook Bay tributaries and Nehalem River basin, northwestern Oregon
Geomorphic response of the Sandy River, Oregon, to removal of Marmot Dam
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Coquille River basin, southwestern Oregon
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Rogue River basin, southwestern Oregon
Columbia River Estuary ecosystem classification—Concept and application
Channel change and bed-material transport in the Umpqua River basin, Oregon
Flood-frequency analyses from paleoflood investigations for Spring, Rapid, Boxelder, and Elk Creeks, Black Hills, western South Dakota
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport along Hunter Creek, southwestern Oregon
Estimation of bed-material transport in the lower Chetco River, Oregon, water years 2009-2010
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 46
Plugs or flood-makers? the unstable landslide dams of eastern Oregon
Landslides into valley bottoms can affect longitudinal profiles of rivers, thereby influencing landscape evolution through base-level changes. Large landslides can hinder river incision by temporarily damming rivers, but catastrophic failure of landslide dams may generate large floods that could promote incision. Dam stability therefore strongly modulates the effects of landslide dams and might beAuthorsElizabeth B. Safran, Jim E. O'Connor, Lisa L. Ely, Kyle House, Gordon E. Grant, Kelsey Harrity, Kelsey Croall, Emily JonesByEnergy and Minerals Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Landslide Hazards Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science CenterGeomorphic and vegetation processes of the Willamette River floodplain, Oregon: current understanding and unanswered science questions
This report summarizes the current understanding of floodplain processes and landforms for the Willamette River and its major tributaries. The area of focus encompasses the main stem Willamette River above Newberg and the portions of the Coast Fork Willamette, Middle Fork Willamette, McKenzie, and North, South and main stem Santiam Rivers downstream of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams. These reacAuthorsJ. Rose Wallick, Krista L. Jones, Jim E. O'Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, David Hulse, Stanley V. GregoryOwyhee River intracanyon lava flows: does the river give a dam?
Rivers carved into uplifted plateaus are commonly disrupted by discrete events from the surrounding landscape, such as lava flows or large mass movements. These disruptions are independent of slope, basin area, or channel discharge, and can dominate aspects of valley morphology and channel behavior for many kilometers. We document and assess the effects of one type of disruptive event, lava dams,AuthorsLisa L. Ely, Cooper C. Brossy, P. Kyle House, Elizabeth B. Safran, Jim E. O'Connor, Duane E. Champion, Cassandra R. Fenton, Ninad R. Bondre, Caitlin A. Orem, Gordon E. Grant, Christopher D. Henry, Brent D. TurrinPreliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Tillamook Bay tributaries and Nehalem River basin, northwestern Oregon
This report summarizes a preliminary study of bed-material transport, vertical and lateral channel changes, and existing datasets for the Tillamook (drainage area 156 square kilometers [km2]), Trask (451 km2), Wilson (500 km2), Kilchis (169 km2), Miami (94 km2), and Nehalem (2,207 km2) Rivers along the northwestern Oregon coast. This study, conducted in coopera-tion with the U.S. Army Corps of EngAuthorsKrista L. Jones, Mackenzie K. Keith, Jim E. O'Connor, Joseph F. Mangano, J. Rose WallickGeomorphic response of the Sandy River, Oregon, to removal of Marmot Dam
The October 2007 breaching of a temporary cofferdam constructed during removal of the 15-meter (m)-tall Marmot Dam on the Sandy River, Oregon, triggered a rapid sequence of fluvial responses as ~730,000 cubic meters (m3) of sand and gravel filling the former reservoir became available to a high-gradient river. Using direct measurements of sediment transport, photogrammetry, airborne light detectioAuthorsJon J. Major, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles J. Podolak, Mackenzie K. Keith, Gordon E. Grant, Kurt R. Spicer, Smokey Pittman, Heather M. Bragg, J. Rose Wallick, Dwight Q. Tanner, Abagail Rhode, Peter R. WilcockPreliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Coquille River basin, southwestern Oregon
This report summarizes a preliminary study of bed-material transport, vertical and lateral channel changes, and existing datasets for the Coquille River basin, which encompasses 2,745 km2 (square kilometers) of the southwestern Oregon coast. This study, conducted to inform permitting decisions regarding instream gravel mining, revealed that:The 115.4-km-long study area on the South Fork and mainstAuthorsKrista L. Jones, Jim E. O'Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, Joseph F. Mangano, J. Rose WallickPreliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Rogue River basin, southwestern Oregon
This report summarizes a preliminary assessment of bed-material transport, vertical and lateral channel changes, and existing datasets for the Rogue River basin, which encompasses 13,390 square kilometers (km2) along the southwestern Oregon coast. This study, conducted to inform permitting decisions regarding instream gravel mining, revealed that:The Rogue River in its lowermost 178.5 kilometers (AuthorsKrista L. Jones, Jim E. O'Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, Joseph F. Mangano, J. Rose WallickColumbia River Estuary ecosystem classification—Concept and application
This document describes the concept, organization, and application of a hierarchical ecosystem classification that integrates saline and tidal freshwater reaches of estuaries in order to characterize the ecosystems of large flood plain rivers that are strongly influenced by riverine and estuarine hydrology. We illustrate the classification by applying it to the Columbia River estuary (Oregon-WashiAuthorsCharles A. Simenstad, Jennifer L. Burke, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles Cannon, Danelle W. Heatwole, Mary F. Ramirez, Ian R. Waite, Timothy D. Counihan, Krista L. JonesChannel change and bed-material transport in the Umpqua River basin, Oregon
The Umpqua River drains 12,103 square kilometers of western Oregon; with headwaters in the Cascade Range, the river flows through portions of the Klamath Mountains and Oregon 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 bedrAuthorsJ. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Scott Anderson, Mackenzie K. Keith, Charles Cannon, John C. RisleyFlood-frequency analyses from paleoflood investigations for Spring, Rapid, Boxelder, and Elk Creeks, Black Hills, western South Dakota
Flood-frequency analyses for the Black Hills area are important because of severe flooding of June 9-10, 1972, that was caused by a large mesoscale convective system and caused at least 238 deaths. Many 1972 peak flows are high outliers (by factors of 10 or more) in observed records that date to the early 1900s. An efficient means of reducing uncertainties for flood recurrence is to augment gagedAuthorsTessa M. Harden, Jim E. O'Connor, Daniel G. Driscoll, John F. StammPreliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport along Hunter Creek, southwestern Oregon
This preliminary assessment of (1) bed-material transport in the Hunter Creek basin, (2) historical changes in channel condition, and (3) supplementary data needed to inform permitting decisions regarding instream gravel extraction revealed the following: Along the lower 12.4 km (kilometers) of Hunter Creek from its confluence with the Little South Fork Hunter Creek to its mouth, the river has conAuthorsKrista L. Jones, J. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, Joseph F. Mangano, John C. RisleyEstimation of bed-material transport in the lower Chetco River, Oregon, water years 2009-2010
This assessment of bed-material transport uses methods developed in a previous study (Wallick and others, 2010) to estimate bed-material flux at the USGS Chetco River streamflow gaging station located at flood-plain kilometer 15 (14400000). On the basis of regressions between daily mean flow and transport capacity, daily bed-material flux was calculated for the period October 1, 2008 to March 30,AuthorsJ. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor - Science
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*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