Jonathan (JP) Traylor
JP Traylor is a Hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey Central Plains Water Science Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
JP graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geoscience. JP then matriculated to the University Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a Master of Science degree in Earth and Atmospheric Science with a concentration in Hydrogeology in 2012. JP’s Masters work focused on the development of an analytical model to study the effects of irrigation and land use change in a watershed in southwestern Nebraska.
The USGS Nebraska Water Science Center hired JP as a Hydrologist in October 2012. In his early career, he participated in projects ranging from groundwater quality sampling surveys, water use surveys, and surface water and sediment surveys in Nebraska and neighboring states. Since 2016, JP focuses on groundwater-flow modeling, and he specializes in the development, construction, and calibration of groundwater-flow models using the latest software and techniques developed by the USGS for use by water managers and stakeholders. JP is an advanced user of MODFLOW-NWT, MODFLOW 6, GSFLOW, PEST, and PEST++ hydrologic modeling and calibration codes. He has developed or assisted in the development of groundwater-flow models in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas for multiple parts of the High Plains aquifer, the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer System, and the Coastal Lowlands Aquifer Systems. JP’s current focus is on modeling groundwater availability and water quality in the Northern High Plains aquifer and improving the simulation of groundwater-surface water interaction in national scale hydrologic models developed by the USGS.
Science and Products
An inset groundwater-flow model to evaluate the effects of layering configuration on model calibration and assess managed aquifer recharge near Shellmound, Mississippi An inset groundwater-flow model to evaluate the effects of layering configuration on model calibration and assess managed aquifer recharge near Shellmound, Mississippi
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a high-resolution inset groundwater-flow model in the Mississippi Delta as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration coordinated by the Mississippi Alluvial Plain project to provide a tool that stakeholders can use to support water-resource management decisions. Groundwater withdrawals from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer...
Authors
Moussa Guira, Jonathan Traylor, Andrew Leaf, Alec Weisser
Inset groundwater-flow models for the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas Inset groundwater-flow models for the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas
The water resources in the Mississippi alluvial plain, located in parts of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, supports a multibillion-dollar agricultural industry that relies heavily on pumping of groundwater for irrigation of crops and aquaculture. The primary source of groundwater for agricultural-related pumping is the Mississippi River Valley...
Authors
Jonathan Traylor, Leslie Duncan, Andrew Leaf, Alec Weisser, Benjamin Dietsch, Moussa Guira
Simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge Simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge
There is growing interest in incorporating higher-resolution groundwater modeling within the framework of large-scale land surface models (LSMs), including processes such as three-dimensional flow, variable soil saturation, and surface water/groundwater interactions. Conversely, complex groundwater models (e.g., the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater-Flow Model, MODFLOW) often use...
Authors
Farshid Felfelani, Joseph Hughes, Fei Chen, Aubrey Dugger, Timothy Schneider, David Gochis, Jonathan Traylor, Hedeff Essaid
Effects of auto-adaptive localization on a model calibration using ensemble methods Effects of auto-adaptive localization on a model calibration using ensemble methods
Simulations of the natural systems for environmental decision-making typically benefit from a highly parameterized approach (Hunt et al. 2007; Doherty and Hunt 2010), which enhances the flow of information contained in state observations to the parameters and improves application to decision support. However, parameter estimation (PE) with highly parameterized environmental models using...
Authors
Jonathan Traylor, Randall J. Hunt, Jeremy White, Michael N. Fienen
An integrated hydrologic model to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan, central Nebraska An integrated hydrologic model to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan, central Nebraska
The groundwater and surface-water supply of the Central Platte Natural Resources District supports a large agricultural economy from the High Plains aquifer and Platte River, respectively. This study provided the Central Platte Natural Resources District with an advanced numerical modeling tool to assist with the update of their Groundwater Management Plan.An integrated hydrologic model...
Authors
Jonathan Traylor, Moussa Guira, Steven Peterson
Assessment of water availability in the Osage Nation using an integrated hydrologic-flow model Assessment of water availability in the Osage Nation using an integrated hydrologic-flow model
The Osage Nation of northeastern Oklahoma, conterminous with Osage County, covers about 2,900 square miles. The area is primarily rural with 62 percent of the land being native prairie grass, and much of the area is used for cattle ranching and extraction of petroleum and natural gas. Protection of water rights are important to the Osage Nation because of its reliance on cattle ranching...
Authors
Jonathan Traylor, Shana Mashburn, Randall Hanson, Steven Peterson
Groundwater availability of the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming Groundwater availability of the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
Executive SummaryThe Northern High Plains aquifer underlies about 93,000 square miles of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming and is the largest subregion of the nationally important High Plains aquifer. Irrigation, primarily using groundwater, has supported agricultural production since before 1940, resulting in nearly $50 billion in sales in 2012. In 2010, the High...
Authors
Steven Peterson, Jonathan Traylor, Moussa Guira
Groundwater-flow model of the northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming Groundwater-flow model of the northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
The High Plains aquifer is a nationally important water resource underlying about 175,000 square miles in parts of eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Droughts across much of the Northern High Plains from 2001 to 2007 have combined with recent (2004) legislative mandates to elevate concerns regarding future availability of...
Authors
Steven Peterson, Amanda Flynn, Jonathan Traylor
Numerical simulation of groundwater flow, resource optimization, and potential effects of prolonged drought for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, central Oklahoma Numerical simulation of groundwater flow, resource optimization, and potential effects of prolonged drought for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, central Oklahoma
A hydrogeological study including two numerical groundwater-flow models was completed for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area of central Oklahoma. One numerical groundwater-flow model, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation model, encompassed the jurisdictional area and was based on the results of a regional-scale hydrogeological study and numerical groundwater flow model of...
Authors
Derek Ryter, Christopher Kunkel, Steven Peterson, Jonathan Traylor
Non-USGS Publications**
Traylor, Jonathan P. and Zlotnik, Vitaly A., 2016, Analytical modeling of irrigation and land use effects on streamflow in semi-arid conditions, Journal of Hydrology, vol. 533, pages 591-602
Traylor, J.P., Hunt, R.J., White, J.T., Fienen, M.N., 2023, Effects of Auto-Adaptive Localization on a Model Calibration Using Ensemble Methods, Groundwater 62, no.1 (Special Issue on Modflow‐and‐More 2022), p. 140-149
Farshid, F., Hughes, J., Chen, F., Dugger, A., Schneider, T., Gochis, D., Traylor, J., Essaid, H., 2024, Simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge, Journal of Hydrology 630, no. 130703, ISSN 0022-1694
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Groundwater-Quality Monitoring near Ashland, Nebraska
Since 1991, the USGS Nebraska Water Science Center has collected water samples from six monitoring wells in the Platte River alluvial aquifer near Ashland. Analytes include major and trace metals, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, pesticides and their degradates, and arsenic species. The samples are analyzed by the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory. The USGS also collects additional...
Simulations of the groundwater-flow system in the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas (ver. 2.0, November 2024) Simulations of the groundwater-flow system in the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas (ver. 2.0, November 2024)
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) is one of the most important agricultural regions in the United States and underlies about 32,000 square miles of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The MAP region supports a multibillion-dollar agricultural industry. The MAP is part of the Mississippi Embayment with several water-bearing units that make up the...
MODFLOW models for the simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge. MODFLOW models for the simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge.
There is a growing interest in incorporating higher-resolution groundwater modeling within the framework of large-scale land surface models (LSMs), including new processes such as three- dimensional flow, variable soil saturation, and surface water/groundwater interactions. Conversely, complex groundwater models (e.g., the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater-Flow Model, MODFLOW) often use...
MODFLOW-One-Water model used to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan MODFLOW-One-Water model used to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan
An integrated hydrologic-flow model, called the Central Platte Integrated Hydrologic Model, was constructed using the MODFLOW-One-Water Hydrologic Model code with the Newton solver. This code integrates climate, landscape, surface water, and groundwater-flow processes in a fully coupled approach. This study provided the Central Platte Natural Resources District (CPNRD) with an advanced...
MODFLOW 6 model and ensemble used in the simulation of groundwater flow and land subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer, 1897-2018 (ver. 2.0, September 2023) MODFLOW 6 model and ensemble used in the simulation of groundwater flow and land subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer, 1897-2018 (ver. 2.0, September 2023)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District and Fort Bend Subsidence District, constructed a finite-difference numerical groundwater-flow model of the northern Gulf Coast aquifer region for 1897 through 2018 using MODFLOW 6 with the Newton formulation solver to simulate groundwater flow and land-surface subsidence. Model parameter...
MODFLOW-One Water Hydrologic Model integrated hydrologic-flow model used to evaluate water availability in the Osage Nation MODFLOW-One Water Hydrologic Model integrated hydrologic-flow model used to evaluate water availability in the Osage Nation
The integrated hydrologic-flow model, called the Osage Nation Integrated Hydrologic Model (ONIHM) was developed to assess water availability in the Osage Nation. This model was developed using the MODFLOW-One Water Hydrologic Model (MF-OWHM) code. The ONIHM was discretized into an orthogonal grid of 276 rows and 289 columns, and each grid cell measured 1,312.34 feet (ft) per side, with...
MODFLOW-NWT groundwater flow model used to evaluate groundwater availability with five forecast scenarios in the Northern High Plains Aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming MODFLOW-NWT groundwater flow model used to evaluate groundwater availability with five forecast scenarios in the Northern High Plains Aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
This groundwater flow model used a previously developed three-dimensional groundwater flow model (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165153) was used to assess future groundwater availability in the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. In this groundwater flow model, a modified version of a previously published soil-water-balance (SWB) model...
Science and Products
An inset groundwater-flow model to evaluate the effects of layering configuration on model calibration and assess managed aquifer recharge near Shellmound, Mississippi An inset groundwater-flow model to evaluate the effects of layering configuration on model calibration and assess managed aquifer recharge near Shellmound, Mississippi
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a high-resolution inset groundwater-flow model in the Mississippi Delta as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration coordinated by the Mississippi Alluvial Plain project to provide a tool that stakeholders can use to support water-resource management decisions. Groundwater withdrawals from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer...
Authors
Moussa Guira, Jonathan Traylor, Andrew Leaf, Alec Weisser
Inset groundwater-flow models for the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas Inset groundwater-flow models for the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas
The water resources in the Mississippi alluvial plain, located in parts of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, supports a multibillion-dollar agricultural industry that relies heavily on pumping of groundwater for irrigation of crops and aquaculture. The primary source of groundwater for agricultural-related pumping is the Mississippi River Valley...
Authors
Jonathan Traylor, Leslie Duncan, Andrew Leaf, Alec Weisser, Benjamin Dietsch, Moussa Guira
Simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge Simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge
There is growing interest in incorporating higher-resolution groundwater modeling within the framework of large-scale land surface models (LSMs), including processes such as three-dimensional flow, variable soil saturation, and surface water/groundwater interactions. Conversely, complex groundwater models (e.g., the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater-Flow Model, MODFLOW) often use...
Authors
Farshid Felfelani, Joseph Hughes, Fei Chen, Aubrey Dugger, Timothy Schneider, David Gochis, Jonathan Traylor, Hedeff Essaid
Effects of auto-adaptive localization on a model calibration using ensemble methods Effects of auto-adaptive localization on a model calibration using ensemble methods
Simulations of the natural systems for environmental decision-making typically benefit from a highly parameterized approach (Hunt et al. 2007; Doherty and Hunt 2010), which enhances the flow of information contained in state observations to the parameters and improves application to decision support. However, parameter estimation (PE) with highly parameterized environmental models using...
Authors
Jonathan Traylor, Randall J. Hunt, Jeremy White, Michael N. Fienen
An integrated hydrologic model to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan, central Nebraska An integrated hydrologic model to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan, central Nebraska
The groundwater and surface-water supply of the Central Platte Natural Resources District supports a large agricultural economy from the High Plains aquifer and Platte River, respectively. This study provided the Central Platte Natural Resources District with an advanced numerical modeling tool to assist with the update of their Groundwater Management Plan.An integrated hydrologic model...
Authors
Jonathan Traylor, Moussa Guira, Steven Peterson
Assessment of water availability in the Osage Nation using an integrated hydrologic-flow model Assessment of water availability in the Osage Nation using an integrated hydrologic-flow model
The Osage Nation of northeastern Oklahoma, conterminous with Osage County, covers about 2,900 square miles. The area is primarily rural with 62 percent of the land being native prairie grass, and much of the area is used for cattle ranching and extraction of petroleum and natural gas. Protection of water rights are important to the Osage Nation because of its reliance on cattle ranching...
Authors
Jonathan Traylor, Shana Mashburn, Randall Hanson, Steven Peterson
Groundwater availability of the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming Groundwater availability of the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
Executive SummaryThe Northern High Plains aquifer underlies about 93,000 square miles of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming and is the largest subregion of the nationally important High Plains aquifer. Irrigation, primarily using groundwater, has supported agricultural production since before 1940, resulting in nearly $50 billion in sales in 2012. In 2010, the High...
Authors
Steven Peterson, Jonathan Traylor, Moussa Guira
Groundwater-flow model of the northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming Groundwater-flow model of the northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
The High Plains aquifer is a nationally important water resource underlying about 175,000 square miles in parts of eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Droughts across much of the Northern High Plains from 2001 to 2007 have combined with recent (2004) legislative mandates to elevate concerns regarding future availability of...
Authors
Steven Peterson, Amanda Flynn, Jonathan Traylor
Numerical simulation of groundwater flow, resource optimization, and potential effects of prolonged drought for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, central Oklahoma Numerical simulation of groundwater flow, resource optimization, and potential effects of prolonged drought for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, central Oklahoma
A hydrogeological study including two numerical groundwater-flow models was completed for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area of central Oklahoma. One numerical groundwater-flow model, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation model, encompassed the jurisdictional area and was based on the results of a regional-scale hydrogeological study and numerical groundwater flow model of...
Authors
Derek Ryter, Christopher Kunkel, Steven Peterson, Jonathan Traylor
Non-USGS Publications**
Traylor, Jonathan P. and Zlotnik, Vitaly A., 2016, Analytical modeling of irrigation and land use effects on streamflow in semi-arid conditions, Journal of Hydrology, vol. 533, pages 591-602
Traylor, J.P., Hunt, R.J., White, J.T., Fienen, M.N., 2023, Effects of Auto-Adaptive Localization on a Model Calibration Using Ensemble Methods, Groundwater 62, no.1 (Special Issue on Modflow‐and‐More 2022), p. 140-149
Farshid, F., Hughes, J., Chen, F., Dugger, A., Schneider, T., Gochis, D., Traylor, J., Essaid, H., 2024, Simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge, Journal of Hydrology 630, no. 130703, ISSN 0022-1694
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Groundwater-Quality Monitoring near Ashland, Nebraska
Since 1991, the USGS Nebraska Water Science Center has collected water samples from six monitoring wells in the Platte River alluvial aquifer near Ashland. Analytes include major and trace metals, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, pesticides and their degradates, and arsenic species. The samples are analyzed by the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory. The USGS also collects additional...
Simulations of the groundwater-flow system in the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas (ver. 2.0, November 2024) Simulations of the groundwater-flow system in the Cache and Grand Prairie Critical Groundwater Areas, northeastern Arkansas (ver. 2.0, November 2024)
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) is one of the most important agricultural regions in the United States and underlies about 32,000 square miles of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The MAP region supports a multibillion-dollar agricultural industry. The MAP is part of the Mississippi Embayment with several water-bearing units that make up the...
MODFLOW models for the simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge. MODFLOW models for the simulation of groundwater-flow dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains driven by multi-model estimates of surficial aquifer recharge.
There is a growing interest in incorporating higher-resolution groundwater modeling within the framework of large-scale land surface models (LSMs), including new processes such as three- dimensional flow, variable soil saturation, and surface water/groundwater interactions. Conversely, complex groundwater models (e.g., the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater-Flow Model, MODFLOW) often use...
MODFLOW-One-Water model used to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan MODFLOW-One-Water model used to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan
An integrated hydrologic-flow model, called the Central Platte Integrated Hydrologic Model, was constructed using the MODFLOW-One-Water Hydrologic Model code with the Newton solver. This code integrates climate, landscape, surface water, and groundwater-flow processes in a fully coupled approach. This study provided the Central Platte Natural Resources District (CPNRD) with an advanced...
MODFLOW 6 model and ensemble used in the simulation of groundwater flow and land subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer, 1897-2018 (ver. 2.0, September 2023) MODFLOW 6 model and ensemble used in the simulation of groundwater flow and land subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer, 1897-2018 (ver. 2.0, September 2023)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District and Fort Bend Subsidence District, constructed a finite-difference numerical groundwater-flow model of the northern Gulf Coast aquifer region for 1897 through 2018 using MODFLOW 6 with the Newton formulation solver to simulate groundwater flow and land-surface subsidence. Model parameter...
MODFLOW-One Water Hydrologic Model integrated hydrologic-flow model used to evaluate water availability in the Osage Nation MODFLOW-One Water Hydrologic Model integrated hydrologic-flow model used to evaluate water availability in the Osage Nation
The integrated hydrologic-flow model, called the Osage Nation Integrated Hydrologic Model (ONIHM) was developed to assess water availability in the Osage Nation. This model was developed using the MODFLOW-One Water Hydrologic Model (MF-OWHM) code. The ONIHM was discretized into an orthogonal grid of 276 rows and 289 columns, and each grid cell measured 1,312.34 feet (ft) per side, with...
MODFLOW-NWT groundwater flow model used to evaluate groundwater availability with five forecast scenarios in the Northern High Plains Aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming MODFLOW-NWT groundwater flow model used to evaluate groundwater availability with five forecast scenarios in the Northern High Plains Aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
This groundwater flow model used a previously developed three-dimensional groundwater flow model (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165153) was used to assess future groundwater availability in the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. In this groundwater flow model, a modified version of a previously published soil-water-balance (SWB) model...