Jonathan Warrick
My research focuses on the intersection of rivers and the sea. Topics include the movement of sediment within and from coastal watersheds, and how sediment can alter coastal landscapes and habitats. Recently these subjects have been addressed in my work on the Elwha River, Washington, where the largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed in 2014.
In The News
2017, Los Angeles Times article, “Highway 1 was buried under a massive landslide. Months later, engineers battle Mother Nature to fix it”
2016, The Department of Interior and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, International RiverPrize Finalist
2015, New York Times article, “When Dams Come Down, Salmon and Sand Can Prosper”
2014, National Geographic news article, “World’s Largest Dam Removal Unleashes U.S. River After Century of Electric Production”
2013, Book, “Elwha: A River Reborn”
2012, Front-page Seattle Times article, “Dam gone, nature rebuilds Elwha River beach”
2009, Science Daily article, “Sediment Yield From The Tectonically Active Semiarid Western Transverse Ranges Of California”
2006, Environmental Science & Technology news article, “California’s Shifting Sands”
Professional Experience
Research Geologist, GS-15, 2016-present, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Research Geologist, GS-14, 2008-2016, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Research Geologist, GS-13, 2004-2008, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, GS-12, 2002-2004, USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Menlo Park, California
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., 2002, University of California, Santa Barbara
M.Sc., 1995, University Wisconsin-Madison
B.Sc., 1993, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Science and Products
Mapping Land-Use, Hazard Vulnerability and Habitat Suitability Using Deep Neural Networks
Exploring the USGS Science Data Life Cycle in the Cloud
National Dam Removal Database: A living database for information on dying dams
Dam removal: synthesis of ecological and physical responses
Big Sur Coastal Landslides
Aerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2019-08-30 and 2019-09-02, Pre-Hurricane Dorian
Overlapping lakebed images and associated GNSS locations acquired near Dollar Point, Lake Tahoe, CA, March 2021
Geophysical and core sample data collected offshore San Francisco, California, during field activity 2019-649-FA from 2019-10-11 to 2019-10-18
Aerial Photogrammetry Data and Products of the North Carolina coast: 2018-10-06 to 2018-10-08, post-Hurricane Florence
Geophysical and core sample data collected offshore Oceanside to San Diego, southern California, during field activity 2018-638-FA from 2018-05-21 to 2018-05-26
Geophysical and sampling data collected offshore Oceanside, southern California during field activity 2017-686-FA from 2017-10-23 to 2017-10-31
Post-Hurricane Florence Aerial Imagery: Cape Fear to Duck, North Carolina, October 6-8, 2018
Bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected in 2016 offshore the Elwha River mouth, Washington, during USGS Field Activity 2016-605-FA
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2008 offshore Tijuana River Estuary, California during USGS Field Activity S-5-08-SC
SQUID-5 structure-from-motion point clouds, bathymetric maps, orthomosaics, and underwater photos of coral reefs in Florida, 2019
Bathymetry, topography, and sediment grain-size data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2017
Topographic point clouds for the Mud Creek landslide, Big Sur, California from structure-from-motion photogrammetry from aerial photographs
Labeling poststorm coastal imagery for machine learning: Measurement of interrater agreement
Processing coastal imagery with Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition, version 1.6—Structure from motion workflow documentation
IntroductionStructure from motion (SFM) has become an integral technique in coastal change assessment; the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition photogrammetry software to develop a workflow that processes coastline aerial imagery collected in response to storms since Hurricane Florence in 2018. This report details step-by-step instructions to create three-dimen
A survey of storm-induced seaward-transport features observed during the 2019 and 2020 hurricane seasons
Littoral sediment from rivers: Patterns, rates and processes of river mouth morphodynamics
Cliff Feature Delineation Tool and Baseline Builder version 1.0 user guide
Community for data integration 2018 funded project report
Accurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Optical wave gauging using deep neural networks
Commentary: Variability in shelf sedimentation in response to fluvial sediment supply and coastal erosion over the past 1,000 Years in Monterey Bay, CA, United States
World’s largest dam removal reverses coastal erosion
Integrating structure from motion, numerical modelling and field measurements to understand carbonate sediment transport in coral reef canopies
Characterizing the catastrophic 2017 Mud Creek Landslide, California, using repeat Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
Along the rugged coast of Big Sur, California, the Mud Creek landslide failed catastrophically on May 20, 2017 and destroyed over 400 m of scenic California State Highway 1. We collected structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry data using airborne platforms that, when combined with existing airborne lidar data, revealed that the area exhibited significant topographic change and displacement befo
Science and Products
Mapping Land-Use, Hazard Vulnerability and Habitat Suitability Using Deep Neural Networks
Exploring the USGS Science Data Life Cycle in the Cloud
National Dam Removal Database: A living database for information on dying dams
Dam removal: synthesis of ecological and physical responses
Big Sur Coastal Landslides
Aerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2019-08-30 and 2019-09-02, Pre-Hurricane Dorian
Overlapping lakebed images and associated GNSS locations acquired near Dollar Point, Lake Tahoe, CA, March 2021
Geophysical and core sample data collected offshore San Francisco, California, during field activity 2019-649-FA from 2019-10-11 to 2019-10-18
Aerial Photogrammetry Data and Products of the North Carolina coast: 2018-10-06 to 2018-10-08, post-Hurricane Florence
Geophysical and core sample data collected offshore Oceanside to San Diego, southern California, during field activity 2018-638-FA from 2018-05-21 to 2018-05-26
Geophysical and sampling data collected offshore Oceanside, southern California during field activity 2017-686-FA from 2017-10-23 to 2017-10-31
Post-Hurricane Florence Aerial Imagery: Cape Fear to Duck, North Carolina, October 6-8, 2018
Bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected in 2016 offshore the Elwha River mouth, Washington, during USGS Field Activity 2016-605-FA
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2008 offshore Tijuana River Estuary, California during USGS Field Activity S-5-08-SC
SQUID-5 structure-from-motion point clouds, bathymetric maps, orthomosaics, and underwater photos of coral reefs in Florida, 2019
Bathymetry, topography, and sediment grain-size data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2017
Topographic point clouds for the Mud Creek landslide, Big Sur, California from structure-from-motion photogrammetry from aerial photographs
Labeling poststorm coastal imagery for machine learning: Measurement of interrater agreement
Processing coastal imagery with Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition, version 1.6—Structure from motion workflow documentation
IntroductionStructure from motion (SFM) has become an integral technique in coastal change assessment; the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition photogrammetry software to develop a workflow that processes coastline aerial imagery collected in response to storms since Hurricane Florence in 2018. This report details step-by-step instructions to create three-dimen
A survey of storm-induced seaward-transport features observed during the 2019 and 2020 hurricane seasons
Littoral sediment from rivers: Patterns, rates and processes of river mouth morphodynamics
Cliff Feature Delineation Tool and Baseline Builder version 1.0 user guide
Community for data integration 2018 funded project report
Accurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Optical wave gauging using deep neural networks
Commentary: Variability in shelf sedimentation in response to fluvial sediment supply and coastal erosion over the past 1,000 Years in Monterey Bay, CA, United States
World’s largest dam removal reverses coastal erosion
Integrating structure from motion, numerical modelling and field measurements to understand carbonate sediment transport in coral reef canopies
Characterizing the catastrophic 2017 Mud Creek Landslide, California, using repeat Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
Along the rugged coast of Big Sur, California, the Mud Creek landslide failed catastrophically on May 20, 2017 and destroyed over 400 m of scenic California State Highway 1. We collected structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry data using airborne platforms that, when combined with existing airborne lidar data, revealed that the area exhibited significant topographic change and displacement befo