As a research hydrologist and geomorphologist, my previous research has generally followed two trajectories: 1) geomorphic response to disturbance including dam removal, surface coal mining, and invasive species and 2) characterizing patterns and controls on flow permanence of intermittent and ephemeral rivers and streams. My current focus includes broadening flow permanence research to the Pacific Northwest region and evaluating changes in sediment and stream water temperature regimes and associated implications on river ecosystem health in Pacific Northwest mountain rivers.
Education:
Ph.D. Fluvial Geomorphology, Colorado State University, 2009
M.A. Forest Hydrology, University of Washington, 2004
B.A. Biology, Colorado College, 1998
Professiona Experience:
Research Hydrologist, USGS Washington Water Science Center, Tacoma, WA (2015-Present)
Assistant Professor, Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), Wooster, OH (2012-2015)
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (2010-2012)
The Issue: Water supply for park operations and backcountry users is determined by the spatial extent of perennial streams in Mount Rainier National Park (MORA). In addition, the presence or absence of streamflow (flow permanence) is related to water temperature, which influences the occurrence and distribution of aquatic species including cold-water fishes and insects. Information about the...
The issue: Salmonid fisheries are an important cultural and economic activity and efforts to support a thriving fisheries industry remain a major priority for the Quileute Tribe on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Land use changes can have a profound influence on basin sediment production with direct effects on fisheries (Madej and Ozaki, 2009). Studies are needed to improve...
The Issue: Ongoing channel aggradation has reduced flow conveyance along the lower White River, increasing the flood risk in urban-suburban areas. A refined understanding of the delivery, transport and deposition of sediment in the White River, and how those processes may be influenced by climate and existing dam operations, is necessary in order to plan for future flood...
The Issue: There is concern that inherently high finer-grained (small gravel, sand, and silt) sediment loads in the Sauk River system may adversely affect egg-to-fry survival of ESA-listed Chinook salmon in the Sauk River and lower Skagit River Basin. However, there are no quantitative data for the Sauk River basin to assess if fine sediment deposition and infiltration into...
Geomorphology is the study of the formation and evolution of landforms on Earth's surface. In the Pacific Northwest, volcanoes, tectonic movement, glaciers, rain, snow, wind, vegetation, animals, and people all shape the landscape at different scales of time and space. Of particular interest in the region is the form and processes of rivers, a branch of the science termed fluvial geomorphology...
PRObability of Streamflow PERmanence (PROSPER)
Rivers and streams are constantly changing. Streamflows can change throughout the year and between years due to snowmelt, precipitation, diversions, and return flows. For many streams, these fluctuations determine whether a stream has year-round flow or not. PROSPER is a project initiated to better understand what causes these fluctuations...
Fine-grained sediments in the lower reach of the Sauk River are adversely affecting the health and spawning of Chinook salmon. Climate change and forestry practices have been proposed as suspected causes of a reported increase in sediment loading to the river.
To determine the amount and timing of suspended-sediment loading to the river and possible connections to adverse effects on...
The White River is a dynamic gravel-bedded system in western Washington, with headwaters on Mount Rainier. Chronic aggradation in the lower river has reduced flood conveyance to a point where modest discharges are increasingly causing substantial flood damage. In order to better understand the dynamics governing this aggradation, and how aggradation rates may be influenced by forecasted chang...
Observations of the presence or absence of surface water in streams are useful for characterizing streamflow permanence, which includes the frequency, duration, and spatial extent of surface flow in streams and rivers. Such data are particularly valuable for headwater streams, which comprise the vast majority of channel length in stream networks,...
Jaeger, Kristin; Hafen, Konrad; Dunham, Jason B.; Fritz, Ken M.; Kampf, Stephanie K.; Barnhart, Theodore B.; Kaiser, Kendra E.; Sando, Roy; Johnson, Sherri L; McShane, Ryan R.; Dunn, Sarah Beth Human activities such as mining, agriculture, and urbanization have resulted in severe, large‐scale alteration to landform organization and associated geomorphic processes. The mountaintop mining (MTM) region of West Virginia, USA has experienced dramatic topographic alteration, by removing steep slopes and introducing plateau‐like areas at...
Jaeger, Kristin; Ross, Matthew V The gravel-bedded White River drains a 1279 km2 basin in Washington State, with lowlands sculpted by continental glaciation and headwaters on an actively glaciated stratovolcano. Chronic aggradation along an alluvial fan near the river’s mouth has progressively reduced flood conveyance. In order to better understand how forecasted climate...
Anderson, Scott W.; Jaeger, Kristin
The accurate mapping of streams and their streamflow conditions in terms of presence or absence of surface water is important to both understanding physical, chemical, and biological processes in streams and to managing land, water, and ecological resources. This document describes a field form, FLOwPER (FLOw PERmanence), available within a mobile...
Jaeger, Kristin L.; Burnett, Jonathan; Heaston, Emily D.; Wondzell, Steve M.; Chelgren, Nathan; Dunham, Jason B.; Johnson, Sherri; Brown, Mike This guidebook provides user-friendly overviews of a variety of spatial datasets relevant to conservation and management of natural resources in the face of climate change in the Pacific Northwest, United States. Each guidebook chapter was created using a standardized template to summarize a spatial dataset or a group of closely related datasets....
Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Belote, Travis; Blasch, Kyle W.; Campbell, Steve; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Davis, Raymond J.; Dobrowski, Solomon; Dunham, Jason B.; Gergel, Diana; Isaak, Daniel; Jaeger, Kristin; Krosby, Meade; Langdon, Jesse; Lawler, Joshua J.; Littlefield, Caitlin E; Luce, Charles H; Maestas, Jeremy D; Martinez, Anthony; Meddens, Arjan J.H.; Michalak, Julia; Parks, Sean A.; Peterman, Wendy; Popper, Ken; Ringo, Chris; Sando, Roy; Schindel, Michael; Stralberg, Diana; Theobald, David M.; Walker, Nathan; Wilsey, Chad; Yang, Zhiqiang; Yost, Andrew Climate change is increasing the severity and extent of extreme droughts events, posing a critical threat to freshwater ecosystems, particularly with increasing human demands for diminishing water supplies. Despite the importance of drought as a significant driver of ecological and evolutionary dynamics, current understanding of drought...
Kovach, Ryan; Dunham, Jason B.; Al-Chokhachy, Robert; Snyder, Craig; Beever, Erik A.; Pederson, Gregory T.; Lynch, Abigail; Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Konrad, Christopher P.; Jaeger, Kristin; Rea, Alan H.; Sepulveda, Adam J.; Lambert, Patrick M.; Stoker, Jason M.; Giersch, J. Joseph; Muhlfeld, Clint C. The natural wood regime forms the third leg of a tripod of physical processes that supports river science and management, along with the natural flow and sediment regimes. The wood regime consists of wood recruitment, transport, and storage in river corridors. Each of these components can be characterized in terms of magnitude, frequency, rate,...
Wohl, Ellen; Kramer, Natalie; Ruiz-Villanueva, Virgina; Scott, Daniel; Comiti, F.; Gurnell, Angela M; Piegay, Herve; Lininger, Katherine B.; Jaeger, Kristin; Walters, David; Fausch, Kurt D. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed the PRObability of Streamflow PERmanence (PROSPER) model, a GIS raster-based empirical model that provides streamflow permanence probabilities (probabilistic predictions) of a stream channel having year-round flow for any unregulated and minimally-impaired stream channel in the Pacific Northwest...
Jaeger, Kristin; Sando, Roy; McShane, Ryan R.; Dunham, Jason B.; Hockman-Wert, David; Kaiser, Kendra E.; Hafen, Konrad; Risley, John; Blasch, Kyle
The availability of cold-water refugia during summertime river-water temperature maximums is important for cold-water fish species including Endangered Species Act listed salmonids since water temperature influences metabolism, growth, and phenology. The U.S. Geological Survey monitored water temperature at 10 sites approximately evenly-spaced...
Jaeger, Kristin L.; Curran, Christopher A.; Wulfkuhle, Elyse J.; Opatz, Chad C.
The Sauk River is a federally designated Wild and Scenic River that drains a relatively undisturbed landscape along the western slope of the North Cascade Mountain Range, Washington, which includes the glaciated volcano, Glacier Peak. Naturally high sediment loads characteristic of basins draining volcanoes like Glacier Peak make the Sauk River a...
Jaeger, Kristin L.; Curran, Christopher A.; Anderson, Scott W.; Morris, Scott T.; Moran, Patrick W.; Reams, Katherine A. The geomorphology and sediment regimes of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) are extremely diverse, owing in large part to the substantial spatiotemporal variability of the associated hydrological regimes. We describe the geomorphological character and sediment transport processes along IRES within...
Jaeger, Kristin; Sutfin, Nicholas A.; Tooth, Stephen; Michaelides, Katerina; Singer, Michael B. In intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (hereafter, IRES), hydrological connectivity mediated by either flowing or nonflowing water extends along three spatial dimensions—longitudinal, lateral, and vertical—and varies over time. Flow intermittence disrupts this connectivity, operating through complex hydrological transitions (e.g.,...
Boulton, Andrew J.; Rolls, Robert J.; Jaeger, Kristin; Datry, Thibault
USGS and USFS develop a mobile application field form for rapid collection of flow/no flow observations.
An interdisciplinary team comprised of USGS and university scientists has developed the Probability of Streamflow Permanence Model or PROSPER which predicts flow permanence for unregulated and minimally impaired streams in the Pacific Northwest.