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Kristina Hopkins

Intro:

Krissy Hopkins studies the impacts of urbanization on rivers and streams, focused on understanding how the intensity and type of development impacts water quality and quantity. This includes examining the impacts of different types of stormwater management strategies, both conventional and infiltration-based (i.e., green infrastructure), on watershed hydrology and nutrient fluxes. Her work also focuses on translating ecosystem functions into ecosystem services and values by applying ecosystem services approaches to floodplain systems and green stormwater infrastructure.

Krissy received an undergraduate degree in biology/environmental science and geography from Syracuse University in 2007. She completed her Ph.D. in geology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2014 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis, Maryland. She joined the U.S. Geological Survey in 2016 as a Research Physical Scientist.

 

CURRENT RESEARCH FOCUS

  • Assessing hydrologic, chemical, and geomorphic changes associated with urban development.
  • Assessing the effectiveness of urban stormwater management practices. 
  • Developing geospatial tools to map stream channel and floodplain characteristics at regional scales.
  • Quantifying and valuing the ecosystem services that floodplains provide to people. 

 

EDUCATION

Ph.D. 2014, Geology and Environmental Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Dissertation: From small watersheds to regions: Variation in hydrologic response to urbanization

B.S. 2007 Biology/Environmental Science (2nd Major Geography), Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2017 - Present, Research Physical Scientist, South Atlantic Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Raleigh, NC.

2016 - 2017, Research Physical Scientist, Eastern Geographic Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

2014 - 2016, Postdoctoral Fellow, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, University of Maryland, Annapolis, MD.

 

Science and Products

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Map of North Carolina River Basins

SPARROW Modeling for North Carolina Watersheds

In North Carolina, excessive nutrient and sediment loadings have contributed to the degradation of surface-water quality across the state as a result of agricultural activities and population growth increases. To further understand the influences of human activities and natural processes on surface-water quality, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed the SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced...
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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SPARROW Modeling for North Carolina Watersheds

In North Carolina, excessive nutrient and sediment loadings have contributed to the degradation of surface-water quality across the state as a result of agricultural activities and population growth increases. To further understand the influences of human activities and natural processes on surface-water quality, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed the SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced...
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Field Sampling Sites within the Delaware River Basin

Quantifying Floodplain Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services in the Delaware River Watershed

Floodplain and wetland areas provide critical ecosystem services to local and downstream communities by retaining sediments, nutrients, and floodwaters. The loss of floodplain functionality due to land use conversion and degradation reduces the provisioning of these services. Assessing, quantifying, and valuing floodplain ecosystem services provide a framework to estimate how floodplain systems...
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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Quantifying Floodplain Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services in the Delaware River Watershed

Floodplain and wetland areas provide critical ecosystem services to local and downstream communities by retaining sediments, nutrients, and floodwaters. The loss of floodplain functionality due to land use conversion and degradation reduces the provisioning of these services. Assessing, quantifying, and valuing floodplain ecosystem services provide a framework to estimate how floodplain systems...
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Location of study watersheds in Clarksburg, Maryland.

Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow

Urban development can have detrimental impacts on streams including altering hydrology, increasing nutrient, sediment, and pollutant loadings, and degrading biological integrity. Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be used to mitigate the effects of urban development by retaining large volumes of stormwater runoff and treating runoff to remove pollutants. This project focuses on...
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Ecosystems, Land Change Science Program, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow

Urban development can have detrimental impacts on streams including altering hydrology, increasing nutrient, sediment, and pollutant loadings, and degrading biological integrity. Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be used to mitigate the effects of urban development by retaining large volumes of stormwater runoff and treating runoff to remove pollutants. This project focuses on...
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USGS streamgage located on Little Back Creek, Bath, Virginia

New dataset available on stream and floodplain geometry to inform restoration decisions

Issue: The need for stream mappingThe physical shape of streams and floodplains can provide information about how water, sediment, and other matter moves through the landscape. Streams can have deep channels (tall streambanks) disconnected from the floodplain or wide shallow channels that easily spill over the banks into the floodplain during high flows. Mapping where streams fall along this...
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Core Science Systems, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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New dataset available on stream and floodplain geometry to inform restoration decisions

Issue: The need for stream mappingThe physical shape of streams and floodplains can provide information about how water, sediment, and other matter moves through the landscape. Streams can have deep channels (tall streambanks) disconnected from the floodplain or wide shallow channels that easily spill over the banks into the floodplain during high flows. Mapping where streams fall along this...
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Stormwater retention pond

New Insights on using Green Stormwater Infrastructure to Reduce Suburban Runoff

The Issue with RunoffAcross the United States, suburban development is replacing agricultural and forested lands. In urban and suburban areas, large amounts of stormwater runoff are generated from rooftops and roadways during rain events. Runoff is quickly piped to streams and rivers, leading to flash flooding, stream bank erosion, and damages to stream health. Reducing nutrients, sediment, and...
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Ecosystems, Land Change Science Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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New Insights on using Green Stormwater Infrastructure to Reduce Suburban Runoff

The Issue with RunoffAcross the United States, suburban development is replacing agricultural and forested lands. In urban and suburban areas, large amounts of stormwater runoff are generated from rooftops and roadways during rain events. Runoff is quickly piped to streams and rivers, leading to flash flooding, stream bank erosion, and damages to stream health. Reducing nutrients, sediment, and...
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Raleigh Erosion Study Area Map

Raleigh Bank Erosion Project

The City of Raleigh partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assist in assessing streambank erosion hotspots along the City of Raleigh’s stream network to support the City’s efforts of prioritizing future stream mitigation projects. Streambank erosion potential will be assessed using remotely sensed light detection and ranging (lidar) data, field assessments of streambank conditions...
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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Raleigh Bank Erosion Project

The City of Raleigh partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assist in assessing streambank erosion hotspots along the City of Raleigh’s stream network to support the City’s efforts of prioritizing future stream mitigation projects. Streambank erosion potential will be assessed using remotely sensed light detection and ranging (lidar) data, field assessments of streambank conditions...
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Stream cross-section, benthic macroinvertebrate and fish taxa counts and abundance, and water chemistry data for the Clarksburg study area in Montgomery County, Maryland, 1992 - 2020

Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Environmental Protection has collected datasets to assess the health of streams since the early 1990s. Datasets include geomorphic stream cross-sectional surveys, fish and benthic macroinvertebrate counts and taxa abundance, and water chemistry data collected at the time of benthic and fish sampling (dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance, air temperat
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New Jersey Water Science Center

Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration in North Carolina Catchments

Alterations to stream hydrology, which includes changes in stream geomorphology, are primary impacts of anthropogenic disruption. In North Carolina, hydrological alterations lead to environmental impacts through degraded ecosystems and water quality. In collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Mitigation Services (DMS), the USGS South Atlantic Water Sc
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Data release for Piloting Urban Ecosystem Accounting for the United States

In this study, we develop urban ecosystem accounts in the U.S., using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) framework. Most ecosystem accounts focus on regional and national scales, which are appropriate for many ecosystem services. However, ecosystems provide substantial services in cities, improving quality of life and contributing to resili
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Predictions of floodplain and streambank geomorphic change and flux of sediment and nutrients, and streambed characteristics, for stream reaches in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds

Input predictor variables and output predictions from statistical modeling of floodplains, streambanks, and streambeds for each NHDPlusV2 stream reach in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic. Random Forest statistical models using either 1) characteristics of upstream drainage area, or 2) characteristics of upstream drainage area (Wieczorek et al. 2018, https:/
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Physico-chemical characteristics and sediment and nutrient fluxes of floodplains, streambanks, and streambeds in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds

Dataset includes site averages of measurements of floodplain and streambank sediment physico-chemistry and long-term (dendrogeomorphic) vertical and lateral geomorphic change, and reach scale floodplain width, streambank height, channel width, and streambed particle size. This information was used to calculate fluxes of sediment, fine sediment, sediment-C, sediment-N, and sediment-C of floodplains
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Geomorphometry for Streams and Floodplains in the Chesapeake and Delaware Watersheds

Geomorphometry for Streams and Floodplains in the Chesapeake and Delaware Watersheds was generated as part of the project Quantifying Floodplain Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services in the Delaware River Watershed funded through the William Penn Foundation's Delaware Watershed Research fund. This dataset contains geomorphometry for streams and floodplains in the Chesapeake and Delaware Rive
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

SPARROW model dataset for total suspended solids in North Carolina, including simulated stream loads

To better understand the influence of human activities and natural processes on surface-water quality, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed the SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) (Schwarz and others, 2006; Alexander and others, 2008) model. The framework is used to relate water-quality monitoring data to sources and watershed characteristics that affect the f
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Geomorphological Features of North Carolina

Three statewide datasets were compiled to provide information on the geomorphology for North Carolina. Geomorphology is commonly a missing element in many Earth-surface process models, thus it is essential to extract this missing information from available DEMs and use it to inform models and better understand the area of interest. For these threee datasets, information was extracted and post proc
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Difficult Run Floodplain Sediment and Nutrient Retention Ecosystem Service Datasets, Fairfax County, Virginia

Datasets used to quantify and value the ecosystem service of sediment and nutrient retention for floodplains within the Difficult Run watershed located in Fairfax County, Virginia. Geospatial datasets include a digital elevation model (DEM), a hydrologically conditioned DEM, output from the USGS Stream Channel and Floodplain Metric Toolbox, and field data sets used to develop regression models to
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Stream Channel and Floodplain Metric Toolbox and User Guide

The Stream Channel and Floodplain Metric Toolbox was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of mapping fluvial geomorphic features from high-resolution bare-earth elevation data. A Python toolbox for ArcGIS was built to calculate key metrics describing channel and floodplain geometry. Channel and Floodplain Metric Toolbox provides this ability in an automated fashion, allowing for regional analy
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Water quality data for urban (centralized versus distributed stormwater management) and forested reference watersheds in Clarksburg, MD (2004-2016)

This dataset describes baseflow and stormflow concentration data for the constituents of nitrogen and phosphorus and suspended sediments for watersheds included in a paired watershed study including a forested reference watershed and two urban watersheds with centralized or decentralized stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland USA USA. Surface water samples were collected between the years 2
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Research note: Mapping spatial patterns in sewer age, material, and proximity to surface waterways to infer sewer leakage hotspots

Identifying areas where deteriorating sewer infrastructure is in close proximity to surface waterways is needed to map likely connections between sewers and streams. We present a method to estimate sewer installation year and deterioration status using historical maps of the sewer network, parcel-scale property assessment data, and pipe material. Areas where streams were likely buried into the sew

Stormwater management network effectiveness and implications for urban watershed function: A critical review

Deleterious effects of urban stormwater are widely recognized. In several countries, regulations have been put into place to improve the conditions of receiving water bodies, but planning and engineering of stormwater control is typically carried out at smaller scales. Quantifying cumulative effectiveness of many stormwater control measures on a watershed scale is critical to understanding how sma
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Water Resources, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center

Modeling watershed-scale impacts of stormwater management with traditional versus low impact development design

Stormwater runoff and associated pollutants from urban areas in the greater Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW) impair local streams and downstream ecosystems, despite urbanized land comprising only 7% of the CBW area. More recently, stormwater best management practices (BMPs) have been implemented in a low impact development (LID) manner to treat stormwater runoff closer to its source. This approach i
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Chesapeake Bay Activities

Comparison of sediment and nutrient export and runoff characteristics from watersheds with centralized versus distributed stormwater management

Stormwater control measures (SCMs) are used to retain stormwater and pollutants. SCMs have traditionally been installed in a centralized manner using detention to mitigate peak flows. Recently, distributed SCM networks that treat runoff near the source have been increasingly utilized. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences among watersheds that vary in SCM arrangement by assessing diffe
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Chesapeake Bay Activities

Influence of governance structure on green stormwater infrastructure investment

Communities are faced with the challenge of meeting regulatory requirements mandating reductions in water pollution from stormwater and combined sewer overflows (CSO). Green stormwater infrastructure and gray stormwater infrastructure are two types of water management strategies communities can use to address water pollution. In this study, we used long-term control plans from 25 U.S. cities to sy
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Water Resources, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

A method to quantify and value floodplain sediment and nutrient retention ecosystem services

Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to local and downstream communities by retaining floodwaters, sediments, and nutrients. The dynamic nature of floodplains is such that these areas can both accumulate sediment and nutrients through deposition, and export material downstream through erosion. Therefore, estimating floodplain sediment and nutrient retention should consider the net flux
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Water Resources, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Mixed-chemical exposure and predicted effects potential in wadeable southeastern USA streams

Complex chemical mixtures have been widely reported in larger streams but relatively little work has been done to characterize them and assess their potential effects in headwaterstreams. In 2014, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) sampled 54 Piedmont streams over ten weeks and measured 475 unique organic compounds using five analytical methods. Maximum and median exposure conditions were
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Water Resources, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Changes in event‐based streamflow magnitude and timing after suburban development with infiltration‐based stormwater management

Green stormwater infrastructure implementation in urban watersheds has outpaced our understanding of practice effectiveness on streamflow response to precipitation events. Long‐term monitoring of experimental urban watersheds in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA, provided an opportunity to examine changes in event‐based streamflow metrics in two treatment watersheds that transitioned from agriculture to s
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Water Resources, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative summary report

Federal agencies need credible scientific information to determine the production and value of ecosystem services in an efficient and timely manner. The U.S. Geological Survey addresses this scientific information need through the Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative project. The project has relied on U.S. Geological Survey expertise related to water, fisheries, advanced modeling, and econo
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Seasonal drivers of chemical and hydrological patterns in roadside infiltration-based green infrastructure

Infiltration-based green infrastructure has become a popular means of reducing stormwater hazards in urban areas. However, the long-term effects of green infrastructure on the geochemistry of roadside environments are poorly defined, particularly given the considerable roadside legacy metal contamination from historic industrial activity and vehicle emissions (e.g., Pb). Most current research on g
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Water Resources, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Stormwater control impacts on runoff volume and peak flow: A meta-analysis of watershed modelling studies

Decades of research has concluded that the percent of impervious surface cover in a watershed is strongly linked to negative impacts on urban stream health. Recently, there has been a push by municipalities to offset these effects by installing structural stormwater control measures (SCMs), which are landscape features designed to retain and reduce runoff to mitigate the effects of urbanisation on
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Water Resources, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long‐term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge of sediment dynamics using insights from long‐term research conducted in the watershed draining to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., to inform management actions to restore the estuary and its watershed. The sediment dynamics of the Chesapeake are typical of many impaired watersheds and estuaries around the world, and this syn
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Climate Research and Development Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET)

The Floodplain and Evaluation Tool (FACET) is an open-source python tool that maps the floodplain extent and derives reach-scale summaries of stream and floodplain geomorphic measurements from high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs).

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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Stream Channel and Floodplain Metric Toolbox

The Stream Channel and Floodplain Metric Toolbox was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of mapping fluvial geomorphic features from high-resolution bare-earth elevation data.

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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool: FACET

FACET is a Python tool that uses open source modules to map the floodplain extent and derive reach-scale summaries of stream and floodplain geomorphic measurements from high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs). Geomorphic measurements include channel width, stream bank height, floodplain width, and stream slope. FACET allows the user to hydrologically condition the DEM, generate the stream
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South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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Geomorphological Features of North Carolina Dataset Released

Three statewide datasets were compiled to provide information on geomorphological features in North Carolina. Datasets include state-wide coverages of...

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Listen in on SAWSC Scientist's Lunchtime Discovery Lecture at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

SAWSC research physical scientist Dr. Krissy Hopkins gave a Lunchtime Discovery Lecture at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on August 14...

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Green Stormwater Infrastructure to Reduce Suburban Runoff

A new study finds that a high density of green stormwater infrastructure can provide enhanced mitigation of peak flows and runoff volumes compared to...

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Floodplain Ecosystem Service Mapper Released

The Floodplain Ecosystem Service Mapper is a web application that displays field site data and lidar-derived floodplain and stream channel geomorphic...

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