Jonathan Morrison
Jon is the Associate Director of the Applied Hydrology Program of the New England Water Science Center.
Biography
Jon earned a BS degree in Environmental Earth Science from Eastern Connecticut State University in 1988 and a MS from the University of Connecticut in Natural Resources in 1998.
Jon began his career with the USGS over 30 years ago. During that time, he has developed extensive experience in streamflow measurements and water-quality monitoring. He currently serves as the Supervisor of the Water Quality Networks Section. In his current positions Jon’s primary responsibility is managing the operation of the statewide cooperative water quality monitoring networks in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Jon also oversees water quality projects in the major tributaries to Long Island Sound as well as several other projects monitoring nutrient loads to Long Island Sound. He coordinates the various federal, state and local partners that actively collaborate on the monitoring networks. In addition, he has conducted several studies and published several USGS reports on nutrient transport and water-quality issues in Connecticut.
Jon is currently working on issues related to nitrogen and organic carbon transport in the Connecticut River and phosphorus transport in the Housatonic and Quinipiac Rivers.
Science and Products
Applied Hydrology Program
The mission of the Applied Hydrology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center (WSC) is to support water resource managers, stakeholders, and policy makers with the hydrologic data, interpretation, and tools they need to manage and make critical decisions about water resources throughout New England. This program is divided into two broad sections: the...
Water Quality Sampling and Monitoring of the Pawcatuck River Watershed
The Pawcatuck River and the Pawcatuck River Estuary and Little Narragansett Bay form part of the boundary between the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Both states have identified water quality impairments within these waters related to nutrients (insufficient oxygen) and bacteria. Studies of the eutrophication potential of Long Island Sound embayments have identified that the Pawcatuck...
The Connecticut Streamflow and Sustainable Water Use Estimator: A Decision-Support Tool to Estimate Streamflow and Water Availability at Ungaged, User-Defined Stream Locations in Connecticut
The Connecticut streamflow and sustainable water use estimator is a decision-support tool that provides estimates of daily unaltered streamflow, water-use adjusted streamflow (for the portions of the state where water-use data are available), and water availability for ungaged, user-defined sites in Connecticut.
Estimation of Daily Streamflow and Water Availability in the Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator, Version 2.0
The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator is a decision-support tool that provides estimates of daily unaltered streamflow, water-use-adjusted streamflow, and water availability for ungaged, user-defined sites in Massachusetts. In this recently completed study, version 2.0 of the original Sustainable-Yield Estimator (Archfield and others, 2010) was developed with minor changes to the...
Surface Water Quality Monitoring in Rhode Island
Since 1979, the USGS has monitored water quality in the major river basins of Rhode Island contributing to Narragansett Bay.
Surface Water Quality Monitoring in Connecticut
The 2,983 miles of streams in Connecticut support a range of uses, including drinking water, recreation, and fish and shellfish habitat. The State is required by the Clean Water Act to assess the health of these waters every two years.
Nutrient Loads from the Upper Connecticut River Watershed
River-borne nutrients, especially nitrogen, contribute to water-quality degradation in Long Island Sound. The Connecticut River is the largest tributary to the Sound, and quantification of nutrient loads from the three upper States in the watershed, as well as the State of Connecticut, is essential for prioritizing efforts to improve the Sound’s water quality.
Nitrogen concentrations and loads for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, computed with the use of autosampling and continuous measurements of water quality for water years 2009 to 2014
The daily and annual loads of nitrate plus nitrite and total nitrogen for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, were determined for water years 2009 to 2014. The analysis was done with a combination of methods, which included a predefined rating curve method for nitrate plus nitrite and total nitrogen for water years 2009 to 2011...
Mullaney, John R.; Martin, Joseph W.; Morrison, Jonathan
Chloride concentrations, loads, and yields in four watersheds along Interstate 95, southeastern Connecticut, 2008-11: factors that affect peak chloride concentrations during winter storms
Chloride (Cl-) concentrations and loads and other water chemistry characteristics were assessed to evaluate potential effects of road-deicer applications on streamwater quality in four watersheds along Interstate 95 (I–95) in southeastern Connecticut from November 1, 2008, through September 30, 2011. Streamflow and water quality were studied...
Brown, Craig J.; Mullaney, John R.; Morrison, Jonathan; Martin, Joseph W.; Trombley, Thomas J.
Monitoring storm tide and flooding from Hurricane Sandy along the Atlantic coast of the United States, October 2012
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of water-level and barometric pressure sensors at 224 locations along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Maine to continuously record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy. These records were...
McCallum, Brian E.; Wicklein, Shaun M.; Reiser, Robert G.; Busciolano, Ronald J.; Morrison, Jonathan; Verdi, Richard J.; Painter, Jaime A.; Frantz, Eric R.; Gotvald, Anthony J.
Preliminary assessment of chloride concentrations, loads, and yields in selected watersheds along the Interstate 95 corridor, southeastern Connecticut, 2008-09
Water-quality conditions were assessed to evaluate potential effects of road-deicer applications on stream-water quality in four watersheds along Interstate 95 (I-95) in southeastern Connecticut from November 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009. This preliminary study is part of a four-year cooperative study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),...
Brown, Craig J.; Mullaney, John R.; Morrison, Jonathan; Mondazzi, Remo
Nutrient Loading and Algal Response in West Thompson Lake, Thompson, Connecticut, 2003-2005
Water quality and nutrient loads were characterized for parts of the Quinebaug River and West Thompson Lake in northeastern Connecticut during 2003 to 2005. The West Thompson Lake watershed is a mainly forested watershed that receives treated municipal wastewater from several point sources in Massachusetts. The lake is a flood-control reservoir...
Morrison, Jonathan; Colombo, Michael J.
New England Water Science Center Associate Director Selections
The New England Water Science Center is happy to announce the selection of Jonathan Morrison as Associate Director of the Applied Hydrology Program and Gregory Stewart as Associate Director of the Hydrologic Monitoring Program.
Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring Program in Connecticut
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) and New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), implemented a summer dissolved oxygen (DO) monitoring program from 2015 to 2018 to examine the effects of phosphorus loading in streams.