Kathi Jo Jankowski, PhD
Kathi Jo Jankowski is the Principal Investigator for the Water Quality Component of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program's Long-term Resource Monitoring Element.
She coordinates water quality monitoring and research on the Upper Mississippi in coordination with several federal and state agencies. Her research aims to provide understanding on how aquatic ecosystems are responding to ongoing environmental change. Her work focuses on understanding nutrients, biogeochemical processes, and productivity in the Upper Mississippi and other river ecosystems globally.
Science and Products
Global Aggregation of Stream Silica (GlASS)
Riverine silicon (Si) plays a vital role in governing primary production, water quality, and carbon sequestration. The Global Aggregation of Stream Silica (GlASS) database was constructed to assess changes in riverine Si concentrations and fluxes, their relationship to available nutrients, and to evaluate mechanisms driving these patterns. GlASS includes dissolved Si (DSi), dissolved...
Average and annual climate, productivity, and hydrologic data for watersheds across the Northern Hemisphere
This dataset includes average, and annual average (e.g., average of 2020) watershed characteristics and environmental driver data for 189 rivers across the Northern Hemisphere. Average data includes lithology (e.g., percent of watershed covered by volcanics), land use (e.g., percent of watershed covered by cropland), maximum day length, median nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations...
Monthly dissolved silicon concentrations from 198 rivers in the Northern Hemisphere
This dataset includes monthly dissolved silicon (DSi) concentration data from 198 rivers across the Northern Hemisphere. Concentration and discharge data were sourced from public and/or published datasets and the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season model (Hirsch et al. 2010) was used to estimate monthly concentrations and flow-normalized concentrations for all sites over...
Sampling site, water quality, and fish community data from multi-agency monitoring of the Illinois Waterway response to lock and dam closures, 2019-2021
Lock and dam closures along the Illinois Waterway occurred in summer of 2020, resulting in a prolonged reduction in traffic of large vessels along the Waterway. To study the response of Illinois Waterway water quality and fish community, ongoing water quality and fish Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRMP) elements of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program were expanded from the...
Dissolved silicon concentration and yield estimates from streams and rivers in North America and Antarctica,1964-2021
These data include dissolved silicon concentration and yield from 60 rivers across North America, the Caribbean, and Antarctica from 1964-2021 and are associated with the publication “Long-term change in concentration and yield of riverine dissolved silicon from the poles to the tropics”. Data were compiled from multiple public sources including the Long-term Ecological Research Network...
Continuous water quality sensor data from the main channel and a backwater of the Upper Mississippi River from 2015-2018
This dataset includes high-frequency sensor data collected during four consecutive summers from buoys deployed at main channel and backwater sites in Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River from 2015-2018. It also includes the event-specific concentration-discharge metrics (hysteresis and slope) calculated by combining the water quality sensor data with discharge data from a nearby USGS...
Land cover, discharge, terrestrial litterfall, organic matter, and nutrient concentrations of headwater streams in Mato Grosso, Brazil
These data were collected as part of a study headwater streams of the lowland Brazilian Amazon to assess the effects of land use change on organic matter dynamics (OM), ecosystem metabolism, and nutrient concentrations and uptake (nitrate and phosphate) in 11 first order streams draining forested (n=4) or cropland (n=7) water-sheds with intact riparian forests. Data included here are...
Filter Total Items: 23
Climate, hydrology, and nutrients control the seasonality of Si concentrations in rivers
The seasonal behavior of fluvial dissolved silica (DSi) concentrations, termed DSi regime, mediates the timing of DSi delivery to downstream waters and thus governs river biogeochemical function and aquatic community condition. Previous work identified five distinct DSi regimes across rivers spanning the Northern Hemisphere, with many rivers exhibiting multiple DSi regimes over time...
Authors
Keira Johnson, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Joanna C. Carey, Lienne R. Sethna, Sidney A. Bush, Diane M. McKnight, William H. McDowell, Adam S. Wymore, Pirkko Kortelainen, Jeremy B. Jones, Nicholas Lyon, Hjalmar Laudon, Amanda Poste, Pamela L. Sullivan
U.S. Geological Survey Mississippi River Science Forum—Summary of data and science needs and next steps
The U.S. Geological Survey hosted a Mississippi River Science Forum with Federal agencies; Tribal, State, and local governments located in States that border the Mississippi River; academia; and other interested stakeholders. The purpose of the forum was to share current (2023) science; identify data gaps and areas of concern; and to prioritize next steps needed to advance the goals of...
Authors
John C. Nelson, Richard A. Rebich, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Thea M. Edwards, James H. Larson, Dale M. Robertson, Lori A. Sprague, Sarah M. Stackpoole, Katherine M. Summers, Peter J. Cinotto, Paul H. Rydlund, Christopher J. Churchill, Wesley M. Daniel, Owen P. McKenna, Beth Middleton, Jacoby Carter, Stephen B. Hartley, Jeffrey W. Frey, Kelly L. Warner
Reduction of large vessel traffic improves water quality and alters fish habitat-use throughout a large river
Rivers are increasingly used as superhighways for the continental-scale transportation of freight goods, but the ecological impact of large vessel traffic on river ecosystems is difficult to study. Recently, the temporary maintenance closure of lock and dam systems on the Illinois Waterway (USA) brought commercial vessel traffic to a halt along the river's length, offering a rare...
Authors
Michael J. Spear, Brandon S. Harris, Taylor A. Bookout, Brian Ickes, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Levi E. Solomon, Kristopher A. Maxson, Andrya L. Whitten Harris, Andrew T. Mathis, Sam J. Schaick, Jesse A. Williams, Jason A. DeBoer, Allison W. Lenaerts, Eric C. Hine, John H. Chick, James T. Lamer
The where and why of large wood occurrence in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers
Large wood (LW) plays important geomorphic and ecological roles in rivers and is widely used as a restoration tool. Changes to floodplain land use and historical removal have altered wood dynamics in fluvial systems globally. We know little about the distribution and dynamics of LW in great rivers (approximately >105 km2) like the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers despite its...
Authors
Molly Van Appledorn, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Kaija Gahm, Serenity Budd, Douglas Baumann, Barbara Bennie, Richard A. Erickson, Roger J. Haro, Jason J. Rohweder
Establishing fluvial silicon regimes and their stability across the Northern Hemisphere
Fluvial silicon (Si) plays a critical role in controlling primary production, water quality, and carbon sequestration through supporting freshwater and marine diatom communities. Geological, biogeochemical, and hydrological processes, as well as climate and land use, dictate the amount of Si exported by streams. Understanding Si regimes—the seasonal patterns of Si concentrations—can help...
Authors
Keira Johnson, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Joanna C. Carey, Nicholas Lyon, William H. McDowell, Arial J. Shogren, Adam S. Wymore, Lienne R. Sethna, Wilfred M. Wollheim, Amanda Poste, Pirkko Kortelainen, Ruth C. Heindel, Hjalmar Laudon, Antti Raike, Jeremy B. Jones, Diane M. McKnight, Paul Julian, Sidney A. Bush, Pamela L. Sullivan
Intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of water clarity in a large, floodplain-river ecosystem
Ecosystem processes in rivers are thought to be controlled more by extrinsic than intrinsic factors, that is, the result of processes that occur upstream or within their watersheds. However, large floodplain rivers have a diverse assemblage of aquatic areas spanning gradients of connectivity with the main channel and internal controls may at times regulate long-term dynamics. When and...
Authors
Alicia Carhart, Deanne C. Drake, James R. Fischer, Jeffrey N. Houser, Kathi Jo Jankowski, John E. Kalas, Eric M. Lund
Bridging the gap between mathematical biology and undergraduate education using applicable natural resource modeling
Mathematical biology is a wide field of study with many venues that undergraduate students can access through research. However, the topics of study for these students can be overwhelming, and many topics of study yield either only trivial results or abstract outcomes that are nonintuitive and diffcult to understand. We have used natural resource modeling, and more specifically, a...
Authors
Richard A. Erickson, Douglas Baumann, Barbara Bennie, Wako Bungula, Aaron R. Cupp, James E. Diffendorfer, Eric A. Eager, Roger J. Haro, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Danelle M. Larson, Greg J. Sandland, Molly Van Appledorn, James P Peirce
Long-term changes in concentrations and yield of riverine dissolved silicon from the poles to the tropics
Riverine exports of silicon (Si) influence global carbon cycling through the growth of marine diatoms, which account for ∼25% of global primary production. Climate change will likely alter river Si exports in biome-specific ways due to interacting shifts in chemical weathering rates, hydrologic connectivity, and metabolic processes in aquatic and terrestrial systems. Nonetheless, factors...
Authors
Kathi Jo Jankowski, Keira Johnson, Lienne R. Sethna, Paul Julian, Adam S. Wymore, Arial J. Shogren, Patrick Thomas, Pamela L. Sullivan, Diane M. McKnight, William H. McDowell, Ruth C. Heindel, Jeremy B. Jones, Wilfred M. Wollheim, Benjamin Abbott, Linda A. Deegan, Joanna C. Carey
Intraspecific trait variability facilitates tree species persistence along riparian forest edges in Southern Amazonia
Tropical forest fragmentation from agricultural expansion alters the microclimatic conditions of the remaining forests, with effects on vegetation structure and function. However, little is known about how the functional trait variability within and among tree species in fragmented landscapes influence and facilitate species’ persistence in these new environmental conditions. Here, we...
Authors
Leonardo Maracahipes-Santos, Divino Vicente Silvério, Leandro Maracahipes, Marcia N. Macedo, Eddie Lenza, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Michelle Wong, Antônio Carlos Silveiro da Silva, Christopher Neill, Giselda Durigan, Paulo Brando
River geomorphology affects biogeochemical responses to hydrologic events in a large river ecosystem
Shifts in the frequency and intensity of high discharge events due to climate change may have important consequences for the hydrology and biogeochemistry of rivers. However, our understanding of event-scale biogeochemical dynamics in large rivers lags that of small streams. To fill this gap, we used high-frequency sensor data collected during four consecutive summers from a main channel...
Authors
Taryn Waite, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Denise Bruesewitz, Molly Van Appledorn, Megan Johnston, Jeffrey N. Houser, Douglas Baumann, Barbara Bennie
The ecology of river ice
Many of the world's rivers are ice-covered during winter months but increasing evidence indicates that the extent of river ice will shift substantially as winters warm. However, our knowledge of rivers during winter lags far behind that of the growing season, limiting our understanding of how ice loss will affect rivers. Physical, chemical, and biological processes change from headwaters...
Authors
Audrey Thellman, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Brian Hayden, Xiao Yang, Wayana Dolan, Adrianne P Smits, Antoin M O'Sullivan
Warmer winters increase the biomass of phytoplankton in a large floodplain river
Winters are changing rapidly across the globe but the implications for aquatic productivity and food webs are not well understood. In addition, the degree to which winter dynamics in aquatic systems respond to large-scale climate versus ecosystem-level factors is unclear but important for understanding and managing potential changes. We used a unique winter data set from the Upper...
Authors
Kathi Jo Jankowski, Jeffrey N. Houser, Mark D. Schuerell, Adrianne P Smits
Science and Products
Global Aggregation of Stream Silica (GlASS)
Riverine silicon (Si) plays a vital role in governing primary production, water quality, and carbon sequestration. The Global Aggregation of Stream Silica (GlASS) database was constructed to assess changes in riverine Si concentrations and fluxes, their relationship to available nutrients, and to evaluate mechanisms driving these patterns. GlASS includes dissolved Si (DSi), dissolved...
Average and annual climate, productivity, and hydrologic data for watersheds across the Northern Hemisphere
This dataset includes average, and annual average (e.g., average of 2020) watershed characteristics and environmental driver data for 189 rivers across the Northern Hemisphere. Average data includes lithology (e.g., percent of watershed covered by volcanics), land use (e.g., percent of watershed covered by cropland), maximum day length, median nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations...
Monthly dissolved silicon concentrations from 198 rivers in the Northern Hemisphere
This dataset includes monthly dissolved silicon (DSi) concentration data from 198 rivers across the Northern Hemisphere. Concentration and discharge data were sourced from public and/or published datasets and the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season model (Hirsch et al. 2010) was used to estimate monthly concentrations and flow-normalized concentrations for all sites over...
Sampling site, water quality, and fish community data from multi-agency monitoring of the Illinois Waterway response to lock and dam closures, 2019-2021
Lock and dam closures along the Illinois Waterway occurred in summer of 2020, resulting in a prolonged reduction in traffic of large vessels along the Waterway. To study the response of Illinois Waterway water quality and fish community, ongoing water quality and fish Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRMP) elements of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program were expanded from the...
Dissolved silicon concentration and yield estimates from streams and rivers in North America and Antarctica,1964-2021
These data include dissolved silicon concentration and yield from 60 rivers across North America, the Caribbean, and Antarctica from 1964-2021 and are associated with the publication “Long-term change in concentration and yield of riverine dissolved silicon from the poles to the tropics”. Data were compiled from multiple public sources including the Long-term Ecological Research Network...
Continuous water quality sensor data from the main channel and a backwater of the Upper Mississippi River from 2015-2018
This dataset includes high-frequency sensor data collected during four consecutive summers from buoys deployed at main channel and backwater sites in Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River from 2015-2018. It also includes the event-specific concentration-discharge metrics (hysteresis and slope) calculated by combining the water quality sensor data with discharge data from a nearby USGS...
Land cover, discharge, terrestrial litterfall, organic matter, and nutrient concentrations of headwater streams in Mato Grosso, Brazil
These data were collected as part of a study headwater streams of the lowland Brazilian Amazon to assess the effects of land use change on organic matter dynamics (OM), ecosystem metabolism, and nutrient concentrations and uptake (nitrate and phosphate) in 11 first order streams draining forested (n=4) or cropland (n=7) water-sheds with intact riparian forests. Data included here are...
Filter Total Items: 23
Climate, hydrology, and nutrients control the seasonality of Si concentrations in rivers
The seasonal behavior of fluvial dissolved silica (DSi) concentrations, termed DSi regime, mediates the timing of DSi delivery to downstream waters and thus governs river biogeochemical function and aquatic community condition. Previous work identified five distinct DSi regimes across rivers spanning the Northern Hemisphere, with many rivers exhibiting multiple DSi regimes over time...
Authors
Keira Johnson, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Joanna C. Carey, Lienne R. Sethna, Sidney A. Bush, Diane M. McKnight, William H. McDowell, Adam S. Wymore, Pirkko Kortelainen, Jeremy B. Jones, Nicholas Lyon, Hjalmar Laudon, Amanda Poste, Pamela L. Sullivan
U.S. Geological Survey Mississippi River Science Forum—Summary of data and science needs and next steps
The U.S. Geological Survey hosted a Mississippi River Science Forum with Federal agencies; Tribal, State, and local governments located in States that border the Mississippi River; academia; and other interested stakeholders. The purpose of the forum was to share current (2023) science; identify data gaps and areas of concern; and to prioritize next steps needed to advance the goals of...
Authors
John C. Nelson, Richard A. Rebich, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Thea M. Edwards, James H. Larson, Dale M. Robertson, Lori A. Sprague, Sarah M. Stackpoole, Katherine M. Summers, Peter J. Cinotto, Paul H. Rydlund, Christopher J. Churchill, Wesley M. Daniel, Owen P. McKenna, Beth Middleton, Jacoby Carter, Stephen B. Hartley, Jeffrey W. Frey, Kelly L. Warner
Reduction of large vessel traffic improves water quality and alters fish habitat-use throughout a large river
Rivers are increasingly used as superhighways for the continental-scale transportation of freight goods, but the ecological impact of large vessel traffic on river ecosystems is difficult to study. Recently, the temporary maintenance closure of lock and dam systems on the Illinois Waterway (USA) brought commercial vessel traffic to a halt along the river's length, offering a rare...
Authors
Michael J. Spear, Brandon S. Harris, Taylor A. Bookout, Brian Ickes, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Levi E. Solomon, Kristopher A. Maxson, Andrya L. Whitten Harris, Andrew T. Mathis, Sam J. Schaick, Jesse A. Williams, Jason A. DeBoer, Allison W. Lenaerts, Eric C. Hine, John H. Chick, James T. Lamer
The where and why of large wood occurrence in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers
Large wood (LW) plays important geomorphic and ecological roles in rivers and is widely used as a restoration tool. Changes to floodplain land use and historical removal have altered wood dynamics in fluvial systems globally. We know little about the distribution and dynamics of LW in great rivers (approximately >105 km2) like the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers despite its...
Authors
Molly Van Appledorn, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Kaija Gahm, Serenity Budd, Douglas Baumann, Barbara Bennie, Richard A. Erickson, Roger J. Haro, Jason J. Rohweder
Establishing fluvial silicon regimes and their stability across the Northern Hemisphere
Fluvial silicon (Si) plays a critical role in controlling primary production, water quality, and carbon sequestration through supporting freshwater and marine diatom communities. Geological, biogeochemical, and hydrological processes, as well as climate and land use, dictate the amount of Si exported by streams. Understanding Si regimes—the seasonal patterns of Si concentrations—can help...
Authors
Keira Johnson, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Joanna C. Carey, Nicholas Lyon, William H. McDowell, Arial J. Shogren, Adam S. Wymore, Lienne R. Sethna, Wilfred M. Wollheim, Amanda Poste, Pirkko Kortelainen, Ruth C. Heindel, Hjalmar Laudon, Antti Raike, Jeremy B. Jones, Diane M. McKnight, Paul Julian, Sidney A. Bush, Pamela L. Sullivan
Intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of water clarity in a large, floodplain-river ecosystem
Ecosystem processes in rivers are thought to be controlled more by extrinsic than intrinsic factors, that is, the result of processes that occur upstream or within their watersheds. However, large floodplain rivers have a diverse assemblage of aquatic areas spanning gradients of connectivity with the main channel and internal controls may at times regulate long-term dynamics. When and...
Authors
Alicia Carhart, Deanne C. Drake, James R. Fischer, Jeffrey N. Houser, Kathi Jo Jankowski, John E. Kalas, Eric M. Lund
Bridging the gap between mathematical biology and undergraduate education using applicable natural resource modeling
Mathematical biology is a wide field of study with many venues that undergraduate students can access through research. However, the topics of study for these students can be overwhelming, and many topics of study yield either only trivial results or abstract outcomes that are nonintuitive and diffcult to understand. We have used natural resource modeling, and more specifically, a...
Authors
Richard A. Erickson, Douglas Baumann, Barbara Bennie, Wako Bungula, Aaron R. Cupp, James E. Diffendorfer, Eric A. Eager, Roger J. Haro, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Danelle M. Larson, Greg J. Sandland, Molly Van Appledorn, James P Peirce
Long-term changes in concentrations and yield of riverine dissolved silicon from the poles to the tropics
Riverine exports of silicon (Si) influence global carbon cycling through the growth of marine diatoms, which account for ∼25% of global primary production. Climate change will likely alter river Si exports in biome-specific ways due to interacting shifts in chemical weathering rates, hydrologic connectivity, and metabolic processes in aquatic and terrestrial systems. Nonetheless, factors...
Authors
Kathi Jo Jankowski, Keira Johnson, Lienne R. Sethna, Paul Julian, Adam S. Wymore, Arial J. Shogren, Patrick Thomas, Pamela L. Sullivan, Diane M. McKnight, William H. McDowell, Ruth C. Heindel, Jeremy B. Jones, Wilfred M. Wollheim, Benjamin Abbott, Linda A. Deegan, Joanna C. Carey
Intraspecific trait variability facilitates tree species persistence along riparian forest edges in Southern Amazonia
Tropical forest fragmentation from agricultural expansion alters the microclimatic conditions of the remaining forests, with effects on vegetation structure and function. However, little is known about how the functional trait variability within and among tree species in fragmented landscapes influence and facilitate species’ persistence in these new environmental conditions. Here, we...
Authors
Leonardo Maracahipes-Santos, Divino Vicente Silvério, Leandro Maracahipes, Marcia N. Macedo, Eddie Lenza, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Michelle Wong, Antônio Carlos Silveiro da Silva, Christopher Neill, Giselda Durigan, Paulo Brando
River geomorphology affects biogeochemical responses to hydrologic events in a large river ecosystem
Shifts in the frequency and intensity of high discharge events due to climate change may have important consequences for the hydrology and biogeochemistry of rivers. However, our understanding of event-scale biogeochemical dynamics in large rivers lags that of small streams. To fill this gap, we used high-frequency sensor data collected during four consecutive summers from a main channel...
Authors
Taryn Waite, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Denise Bruesewitz, Molly Van Appledorn, Megan Johnston, Jeffrey N. Houser, Douglas Baumann, Barbara Bennie
The ecology of river ice
Many of the world's rivers are ice-covered during winter months but increasing evidence indicates that the extent of river ice will shift substantially as winters warm. However, our knowledge of rivers during winter lags far behind that of the growing season, limiting our understanding of how ice loss will affect rivers. Physical, chemical, and biological processes change from headwaters...
Authors
Audrey Thellman, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Brian Hayden, Xiao Yang, Wayana Dolan, Adrianne P Smits, Antoin M O'Sullivan
Warmer winters increase the biomass of phytoplankton in a large floodplain river
Winters are changing rapidly across the globe but the implications for aquatic productivity and food webs are not well understood. In addition, the degree to which winter dynamics in aquatic systems respond to large-scale climate versus ecosystem-level factors is unclear but important for understanding and managing potential changes. We used a unique winter data set from the Upper...
Authors
Kathi Jo Jankowski, Jeffrey N. Houser, Mark D. Schuerell, Adrianne P Smits