John Frederick Wernly
My passion for the water has grown into a career that has taken me from the Mediterranean, to the estuaries of North Carolina, and now the lakes, streams, and rivers of New York.
I started my work with the USGS in 2011 as a hydrologic technician working for the data section in Ithaca, NY. I ran a field trip in Buffalo, NY for several years combining surface water and water quality monitoring. During this time, I began working with the studies section mapping the nearshore currents in Lake Ontario and collecting bathymetric data at a local reservoir. In 2016, I moved across the hallway to work in the studies section.
After graduating from Penn State in 2008, I went to work with the National Ocean Service in Beaufort, North Carolina. Here, I collected data in the salt marshes of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune for the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program. It was a large collaborative project involving NOAA, multiple universities, and the Department of Defense. It provided a unique look into an environment rarely touched by humans.
While still in college I boarded the 116' R/V Hercules during a summer internship where I operated the ship's multibeam echosounder and created bathymetric maps. Our mission, off the coast of Albania, was to discover ancient shipwrecks, or what was left of them, and bring their cargo of amphora to the surface. We succeeded and found a shipwreck dating back to the 4th century B.C.E.
My passion and work on the water started long before this. I've always been drawn to the water which has taken me from rebuiliding a marina in Pensacola, FL after Hurricane Irene to living on a sailboat in Corpus Christi, TX during a college summer. It is a privilege to work in the environment that I love.
Professional Experience
USGS New York Water Science Center as a hydrologic technician in Ithaca 2011-present.
Education and Certifications
Graduated from Penn State in 2008.
Science and Products
Vertical Profiles and Near Surface Water Quality Transects for Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring of the Arthur Kill, New York and New Jersey, September 7th and 8th, 2023
Transects of near-surface continuous water-quality data and vertical profiles of the same parameters were collected over a 24-hour period from September 7 to September 8, 2023 in the Arthur Kill. The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait located between Staten Island, New York, and Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey, and connects Newark Bay to the north and Raritan Bay to the south. It is a major sh
Geospatial dataset of the bathymetry, hydrodynamics, water quality, infrastructure, and channel condition of the Old Erie Canal from DeWitt to its junction with the current Erie Canal in Verona, near Rome, New York, 2018-19
This data release contains spatial datasets of bathymetry, water velocity, water quality, and infrastructure of a 30.8 mile reach of the Old Erie Canal between the Town of DeWitt and its junction with the current Erie Canal of the New York State Canal System in Verona, near Rome, New York during 2018 and 2019, and is released in support of Open-File Report 2021-1125; Wernly, J.F., 2022, Characte
Lake Ontario Water Quality and Velocity Transect Data 2015-18
From May of 2015 through September of 2018, water-quality were collected at 178 locations and velocity data were collected along 7 transects from select tributaries, embayments, and nearshore lake locations along New York's Lake Ontario waterfront in support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Lakewide Action Management Plan. These data include: depth, velocity magnitude, velocity di
Geospatial dataset of bathymetric survey of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and selected tributaries in Ithaca, New York, 2016
From July 14-20, 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Ithaca, New York, conducted a bathymetric survey of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and selected mouths of tributaries to Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, New York. U.S. Geological Survey personnel collected bathymetric data using an acoustic Doppler current profiler. The survey plan produced a dense d
Geospatial data set of bathymetric survey of lower Sixmile Creek Reservoir, Ithaca, New York, 2015
Water depths were measured during November 2015 and bathymetric elevations were computed for the lower Sixmile Creek reservoir in Ithaca, Tompkins County, N.Y. These data were used to create a bathymetric surface (TIN) of the reservoir. Data collected in 1938 were used to create a second TIN and a contour line shapefile. This dataset includes the ADCP-measured transect data and manually-measured p
Characterization of the bathymetry, hydrodynamics, water quality, infrastructure, and channel condition of the Old Erie Canal from DeWitt to its junction with the current Erie Canal in Verona, near Rome, New York, 2018–19
The Old Erie Canal has undergone sedimentation and aquatic growth that have restricted flow and diminished the aesthetic quality of the canal during the nearly 200 years since its construction. During 2018–2019, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Madison County Planning Department and the New York State Canal Corporation conducted a study of the Old Erie Canal between the To
Authors
John F. Wernly
Bathymetric survey of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and selected tributaries in Ithaca, New York, 2016
From July 14 to July 20, 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Ithaca, New York, and the New York State Department of State, surveyed the bathymetry of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and the mouths of selected tributaries to Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, N.Y. The flood-control channel, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1965 and 1970, wa
Authors
John F. Wernly, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, William F. Coon
Bathymetric survey and estimation of storage capacity of lower Sixmile Creek reservoir, Ithaca, New York
During 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Ithaca, New York, and the New York State Department of State, conducted a bathymetric survey of the lower Sixmile Creek reservoir in Tompkins County, New York. A former water-supply reservoir for the City of Ithaca, the reservoir is no longer a functional component of Ithaca’s water-supply system, having been replaced by a la
Authors
John F. Wernly, Henry J. Zajd, Jr., William F. Coon
Science and Products
- Data
Vertical Profiles and Near Surface Water Quality Transects for Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring of the Arthur Kill, New York and New Jersey, September 7th and 8th, 2023
Transects of near-surface continuous water-quality data and vertical profiles of the same parameters were collected over a 24-hour period from September 7 to September 8, 2023 in the Arthur Kill. The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait located between Staten Island, New York, and Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey, and connects Newark Bay to the north and Raritan Bay to the south. It is a major shGeospatial dataset of the bathymetry, hydrodynamics, water quality, infrastructure, and channel condition of the Old Erie Canal from DeWitt to its junction with the current Erie Canal in Verona, near Rome, New York, 2018-19
This data release contains spatial datasets of bathymetry, water velocity, water quality, and infrastructure of a 30.8 mile reach of the Old Erie Canal between the Town of DeWitt and its junction with the current Erie Canal of the New York State Canal System in Verona, near Rome, New York during 2018 and 2019, and is released in support of Open-File Report 2021-1125; Wernly, J.F., 2022, CharacteLake Ontario Water Quality and Velocity Transect Data 2015-18
From May of 2015 through September of 2018, water-quality were collected at 178 locations and velocity data were collected along 7 transects from select tributaries, embayments, and nearshore lake locations along New York's Lake Ontario waterfront in support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Lakewide Action Management Plan. These data include: depth, velocity magnitude, velocity diGeospatial dataset of bathymetric survey of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and selected tributaries in Ithaca, New York, 2016
From July 14-20, 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Ithaca, New York, conducted a bathymetric survey of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and selected mouths of tributaries to Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, New York. U.S. Geological Survey personnel collected bathymetric data using an acoustic Doppler current profiler. The survey plan produced a dense dGeospatial data set of bathymetric survey of lower Sixmile Creek Reservoir, Ithaca, New York, 2015
Water depths were measured during November 2015 and bathymetric elevations were computed for the lower Sixmile Creek reservoir in Ithaca, Tompkins County, N.Y. These data were used to create a bathymetric surface (TIN) of the reservoir. Data collected in 1938 were used to create a second TIN and a contour line shapefile. This dataset includes the ADCP-measured transect data and manually-measured p - Publications
Characterization of the bathymetry, hydrodynamics, water quality, infrastructure, and channel condition of the Old Erie Canal from DeWitt to its junction with the current Erie Canal in Verona, near Rome, New York, 2018–19
The Old Erie Canal has undergone sedimentation and aquatic growth that have restricted flow and diminished the aesthetic quality of the canal during the nearly 200 years since its construction. During 2018–2019, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Madison County Planning Department and the New York State Canal Corporation conducted a study of the Old Erie Canal between the ToAuthorsJohn F. WernlyBathymetric survey of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and selected tributaries in Ithaca, New York, 2016
From July 14 to July 20, 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Ithaca, New York, and the New York State Department of State, surveyed the bathymetry of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and the mouths of selected tributaries to Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, N.Y. The flood-control channel, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1965 and 1970, waAuthorsJohn F. Wernly, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, William F. CoonBathymetric survey and estimation of storage capacity of lower Sixmile Creek reservoir, Ithaca, New York
During 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Ithaca, New York, and the New York State Department of State, conducted a bathymetric survey of the lower Sixmile Creek reservoir in Tompkins County, New York. A former water-supply reservoir for the City of Ithaca, the reservoir is no longer a functional component of Ithaca’s water-supply system, having been replaced by a laAuthorsJohn F. Wernly, Henry J. Zajd, Jr., William F. Coon - News