Jon Morrison is Chief of the Applied Hydrology Branch in the New England Water Science Center.
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
Use of dissolved oxygen monitoring to evaluate phosphorus loading in Connecticut streams, 2015–18
Export of photolabile and photoprimable dissolved organic carbon from the Connecticut River
Source switching maintains dissolved organic matter chemostasis across discharge levels in a large temperate river network
Nitrogen budgets of the Long Island Sound estuary
Enhancement of primary production during drought in a temperate watershed is greater in larger rivers than headwater streams
Before the storm: Antecedent conditions as regulators of hydrologic and biogeochemical response to extreme climate events
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
Chloride concentrations, loads, and yields in four watersheds along Interstate 95, southeastern Connecticut, 2008-11: factors that affect peak chloride concentrations during winter storms
Source, conveyance and fate of suspended sediments following Hurricane Irene. New England, USA
Monitoring storm tide and flooding from Hurricane Sandy along the Atlantic coast of the United States, October 2012
Preliminary assessment of chloride concentrations, loads, and yields in selected watersheds along the Interstate 95 corridor, southeastern Connecticut, 2008-09
Nutrient Loading and Algal Response in West Thompson Lake, Thompson, Connecticut, 2003-2005
Research on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the New England Water Science Center
Water Quality Sampling in the Tributaries of the Long Island Sound
Embayment Monitoring to Support Nutrient Management Activities in Connecticut for the Long Island Sound
Applied Hydrology Program
Water Quality Sampling and Monitoring of the Pawcatuck River Watershed
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
Estimation of Daily Streamflow and Water Availability in the Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator, Version 2.0
Surface Water Quality Monitoring in Connecticut
Surface Water Quality Monitoring in Rhode Island
Nutrient Loads from the Upper Connecticut River Watershed
Data on Nitrogen Concentrations and Loads for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, Computed with the Use of Auto-Sampling and Continuous Measurements of Water Quality, 2008-2014
Science and Products
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Use of dissolved oxygen monitoring to evaluate phosphorus loading in Connecticut streams, 2015–18
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) has developed an interim phosphorus reduction strategy to establish water-quality-based phosphorus limits in nontidal freshwaters for industrial and municipal water pollution control facilities. A recommendation in the strategy included the addition of diurnal dissolved oxygen (DO) sampling to the sampling of diatom communExport of photolabile and photoprimable dissolved organic carbon from the Connecticut River
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) impacts water quality, the carbon cycle, and the ecology of aquatic systems. Understanding what controls DOC is therefore critical for improving large-scale models and best management practices for aquatic ecosystems. The two main processes of DOC transformation and removal, photochemical and microbial DOC degradation, work in tandem to modify and remineralize DOC wiSource switching maintains dissolved organic matter chemostasis across discharge levels in a large temperate river network
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) helps regulate aquatic ecosystem structure and function. In small streams, DOM concentrations are controlled by transport of terrestrial materials to waterways, and are thus highly variable. As rivers become larger, the River Continuum Concept hypothesizes that internal primary production is an increasingly important DOM source, but direct evidence is limited. RecentNitrogen budgets of the Long Island Sound estuary
Nitrogen (N) inputs to coastal ecosystems have significant impacts on coastal community structure. In N limited systems, increases in N inputs may lead to excess productivity and hypoxia. Like many temperate estuaries, Long Island Sound (LIS), a major eastern U.S. estuary, is a N limited system which has experienced seasonal hypoxia since the 1800s. This study is the first effort to constrain theEnhancement of primary production during drought in a temperate watershed is greater in larger rivers than headwater streams
Drought is common in rivers, yet how this disturbance regulates metabolic activity across network scales is largely unknown. Drought often lowers gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) in small headwaters but by contrast can enhance GPP and cause algal blooms in downstream estuaries. We estimated ecosystem metabolism across a nested network of 13 reaches from headwaters to tBefore the storm: Antecedent conditions as regulators of hydrologic and biogeochemical response to extreme climate events
While the influence of antecedent conditions on watershed function is widely recognized under typical hydrologic regimes, gaps remain in the context of extreme climate events (ECEs). ECEs are those events that far exceed seasonal norms of intensity, duration, or impact upon the physical environment or ecosystem. In this synthesis, we discuss the role of source availability and hydrologic connectivNitrogen 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 and a custom rating curve method that included sensorChloride 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 in the Four Mile River, Oil Mill Brook, Stony Brook, andSource, conveyance and fate of suspended sediments following Hurricane Irene. New England, USA
Hurricane Irene passed directly over the Connecticut River valley in late August, 2011. Intense precipitation and high antecedent soil moisture resulted in record flooding, mass wasting and fluvial erosion, allowing for observations of how these rare but significant extreme events affect a landscape still responding to Pleistocene glaciation and associated sediment emplacement. Clays and silts froMonitoring 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 greatly supplemented by an extensive post-flood high-watePreliminary 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), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the CNutrient 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 formed in 1966 by impoundment of the Quinebaug River. - Science
Research on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the New England Water Science Center
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of over 4,000 different compounds. Since the 1940s, PFAS have been manufactured and used around the globe, including in the United States. PFAS are resistant to chemical and thermal breakdown and impart stain and water-resistance properties, making them useful for a variety of commercial applications, but also persistent in the...Water Quality Sampling in the Tributaries of the Long Island Sound
Coastal estuaries in southern New England and New York show the effects of excess nutrients and coastal eutrophication. These include excessive growth of macroalgae, excessive blooms of phytoplankton, oxygen depletion, hypoxia and deteriorated substrates. State and Federal regulators have responded to these nutrient-caused impairments by requiring more stringent permit limits for National...Embayment Monitoring to Support Nutrient Management Activities in Connecticut for the Long Island Sound
The USGS, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will be collecting water-quality and hydrologic data at four embayments from April 2021 to March 2024: Mystic, Norwalk, Saugatuck, and Sasco-Southport complex.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 Hydrology...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 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.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.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. - Data
Data on Nitrogen Concentrations and Loads for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, Computed with the Use of Auto-Sampling and Continuous Measurements of Water Quality, 2008-2014
This U.S. Geological Survey data release presents tabular daily data on nitrate plus nitrite nitrogen and total nitrogen loads for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, from December 6, 2008, to September 30, 2014. The data release contains total nitrogen concentration estimates at 15-minute intervals from December 2011 to September 2014. The data release also includes tabular infor - News
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