John W Jones
Through my research, I pursue two over-riding goals: (1) increased understanding of relationships among land surface dynamics, hydrologic, and biologic processes; and (2) the provision of resource management relevant information to decision-makers. To meet these goals, research is focused on developing new methods to measure and monitor biophysical characteristics of various land covers.
Biography
I have been developing and applying geospatial technologies to improve process understanding and resource management for more than three decades. Throughout my career I have collaborated across disciplines and institutions to develop new methods to measure biophysical characteristics of the land surface and land cover dynamics for hydrologic modeling and aquatic habitat characterization. Following Geographic Information System (GIS) analyst positions in state government and private industry, I joined the USGS GIS Research Laboratory in 1990 to extend the use of GIS in the Federal Government through applied research, special assignments, training and outreach. I received the Department of Interior Superior Service Award in recognition of my contributions to the use of GIS in the USGS. I then joined the Geography Senior Program Group to coordinate interdisciplinary research initiatives and co-author USGS strategic science plans. In 1997, I moved to the USGS Eastern Geographic Science Center to incorporate remote sensing and landscape ecology in Everglades restoration science. I was awarded the Department of Interior Meritorious Service Award for that work. I am particularly interested in and adept at collaborating across scientific disciplines and communicating complex science to non-scientists. Research interests include topographic modeling; the role of vegetation in hydrology (e.g., spatial and temporal variations in evapotranspiration; precipitation interception and resistance to surface water flow); mapping irrigated lands; land surface inundation/depth dynamics - especially in wetlands; and remote sensing of river discharge.
Education
Ph.D. in Geography
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Dissertation: The importance of vegetation fluctuations for streamflow from watersheds of macro scale.
M.A. in Water Resources Planning and Management
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
Thesis: Geospatial processing techniques for snow cover mapping in heterogeneous terrain.
B.A. in Geography
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Science and Products
Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in the southeastern United States
A hydrologic model of the Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin (ACFB) has been developed as part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center effort to provide integrated science that helps resource managers understand the effect of climate change on a range of ecosystem responses. The hydrologic...
LaFontaine, Jacob H.; Hay, Lauren E.; Viger, Roland J.; Markstrom, Steve L.; Regan, R. Steve; Elliott, Caroline M.; Jones, John W.Dynamics of mangrove-marsh ecotones in subtropical coastal wetlands: fire, sea-level rise, and water levels
Ecotones are areas of sharp environmental gradients between two or more homogeneous vegetation types. They are a dynamic aspect of all landscapes and are also responsive to climate change. Shifts in the position of an ecotone across a landscape can be an indication of a changing environment. In the coastal Everglades of Florida, USA, a dominant...
Smith, Thomas J.; Foster, Ann M.; Tiling-Range, Ginger; Jones, John W.Wetland fire scar monitoring and analysis using archival Landsat data for the Everglades
The ability to document the frequency, extent, and severity of fires in wetlands, as well as the dynamics of post-fire wetland land cover, informs fire and wetland science, resource management, and ecosystem protection. Available information on Everglades burn history has been based on field data collection methods that evolved through time and...
Jones, John W.; Hall, Annette E.; Foster, Ann M.; Smith, Thomas J.Wetland fire remote sensing research--The Greater Everglades example
Fire is a major factor in the Everglades ecosystem. For thousands of years, lightning-strike fires from summer thunderstorms have helped create and maintain a dynamic landscape suited both to withstand fire and recover quickly in the wake of frequent fires. Today, managers in the Everglades National Park are implementing controlled burns to...
Jones, John W.Remote sensing of vegetation pattern and condition to monitor changes in Everglades biogeochemistry
Ground-based studies of biogeochemistry and vegetation patterning yield process understanding, but the amount of information gained by ground-based studies can be greatly enhanced by efficient, synoptic, and temporally resolute monitoring afforded by remote sensing. The variety of presently available Everglades vegetation maps reflects both the...
Jones, John W.Landscape unit based digital elevation model development for the freshwater wetlands within the Arthur C. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Southeastern Florida
The hydrologic regime is a critical limiting factor in the delicate ecosystem of the greater Everglades freshwater wetlands in south Florida that has been severely altered by management activities in the past several decades. "Getting the water right" is regarded as the key to successful restoration of this unique wetland ecosystem. An essential...
Xie, Zhixiao; Liu, Zhongwei; Jones, John W.; Higer, Aaron L.; Telis, Pamela A.Geology for a changing world 2010-2020-Implementing the U.S. Geological Survey science strategy
This report describes a science strategy for the geologic activities of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the years 2010-2020. It presents six goals with accompanying strategic actions and products that implement the science directions of USGS Circular 1309, 'Facing Tomorrow's Challenges-U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007-2017...
Gundersen, Linda C.S.; Belnap, Jayne; Goldhaber, Martin; Goldstein, Arthur; Haeussler, Peter J.; Ingebritsen, S.E.; Jones, John W.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Thieler, E. Robert; Thompson, Robert S.; Back, Judith M.Hydrologic effects of urbanization and climate change on the Flint River Basin, Georgia
The potential effects of long-term urbanization and climate change on the freshwater resources of the Flint River basin were examined by using the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). PRMS is a deterministic, distributed-parameter watershed model developed to evaluate the effects of various combinations of precipitation, temperature, and...
Viger, Roland J.; Hay, Lauren E.; Markstrom, Steven L.; Jones, John W.; Buell, Gary R.Shenandoah National Park Phenology Project-Weather data collection, description, and processing
The weather data described in this document are being collected as part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study of changes in Shenandoah National Park (SNP) landscape phenology (Jones and Osbourne, 2008). Phenology is the study of the timing of biological events, such as annual plant flowering and seasonal bird migration. These events are...
Jones, John W.; Aiello, Danielle P.; Osborne, Jesse D.Effects of including surface depressions in the application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System in the Upper Flint River Basin, Georgia
This report documents an extension of the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System that accounts for the effect of a large number of water-holding depressions in the land surface on the hydrologic response of a basin. Several techniques for developing the inputs needed by this extension also are presented. These techniques include the delineation of...
Viger, Roland J.; Hay, Lauren E.; Jones, John W.; Buell, Gary R.Detecting Evidence of Climate Change in the Forests of the Eastern United States
Changes in land use or disturbances such as defoliation by insects, disease, or fire all affect the composition and amount of tree canopy in a forest. These changes are easy to detect. Noticing and understanding the complex ways that global or regional-scale climate change combines with these disturbances to affect forest growth patterns and...
Jones, John W.; Osborne, Jesse D.Advanced Remote Sensing Research
'Remote sensing' is a generic term for monitoring techniques that collect information without being in physical contact with the object of study. Overhead imagery from aircraft and satellite sensors provides the most common form of remotely sensed data and records the interaction of electromagnetic energy (usually visible light) with matter, such...
Slonecker, Terrence; Jones, John W.; Price, Susan D.; Hogan, Dianna