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
Unique 20-year study assesses ecosystem response to different types of stormwater management
Raleigh Bank Erosion Project
New dataset available on stream and floodplain geometry to inform restoration decisions
New Insights on using Green Stormwater Infrastructure to Reduce Suburban Runoff
SPARROW Modeling for North Carolina Watersheds
Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow
Quantifying Floodplain Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services in the Delaware River Watershed
Datasets for Rapid Assessment of Streambank Erosion Potential for Selected Streams throughout the Greater Raleigh Area, North Carolina, 2022
Geomorphic metrics across four catchments in Clarksburg, Maryland, 2002-19
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
Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration in North Carolina Catchments
Data release for Piloting Urban Ecosystem Accounting for the United States
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
Physico-chemical characteristics and sediment and nutrient fluxes of floodplains, streambanks, and streambeds in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds
Geomorphometry for Streams and Floodplains in the Chesapeake and Delaware Watersheds
Streamflow and precipitation event statistics for treatment, urban control, and forested control watersheds in Clarksburg, MD USA (2004-2018)
Land Use Land Cover for Selected Basins in Clarksburg, Montgomery County, MD
SPARROW model dataset for total suspended solids in North Carolina, including simulated stream loads
Geomorphological Features of North Carolina
Learning from arid and urban aquatic ecosystems to inform more sustainable and resilient futures
Urbanization of grasslands in the Denver area affects streamflow responses to rainfall events
Urbanization and stream ecology: Moving the bar on multidisciplinary solutions to wicked urban stream problems
Tracking geomorphic changes after suburban development with a high density of green stormwater infrastructure practices in Montgomery County, Maryland
Closing the gap on wicked urban stream restoration problems: A framework to integrate science and community values
Ephemeral stream network extraction from lidar-derived elevation and topographic attributes in urban and forested landscapes
Streambank and floodplain geomorphic change and contribution to watershed material budgets
Lessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA
A call to record stormwater control functions and to share network data
Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—A century of change, 1950–2050
Piloting urban ecosystem accounting for the United States
Mapping stream and floodplain geomorphic characteristics with the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET) in the Mid-Atlantic Region, United States
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).
Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool: FACET
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.
Science and Products
- Science
Unique 20-year study assesses ecosystem response to different types of stormwater management
Issue: Managing stormwater runoff in developing areasRaleigh 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...New dataset available on stream and floodplain geometry to inform restoration decisions
Issue: The need for stream mapping The 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...New Insights on using Green Stormwater Infrastructure to Reduce Suburban Runoff
The Issue with Runoff Across 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...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...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...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... - Data
Filter Total Items: 16
Datasets for Rapid Assessment of Streambank Erosion Potential for Selected Streams throughout the Greater Raleigh Area, North Carolina, 2022
As part of a collaborative study with the City of Raleigh, North Carolina, the U.S. Geological Survey is assessing streambank erosion potential in selected stream reaches throughout the Greater Raleigh metropolitan area. Rapid field measurement techniques were used to assess streambank stability at 124 stream segments between January and March 2022. Field data were collected using the Bank ErosionGeomorphic metrics across four catchments in Clarksburg, Maryland, 2002-19
This dataset contains geomorphic metrics across 32 cross-sections at four catchments within the Clarksburg Special Protection Area in Montgomery County, Maryland. These data were derived from raw cross-sectional data collected by the Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Environmental Protection. Geomorphic metrics include channel area, bed location, channel depth, channel width, and bank moveStream 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 temperatIndicators 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 ScData 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 resiliPredictions 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:/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 floodplainsGeomorphometry 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 RiveStreamflow and precipitation event statistics for treatment, urban control, and forested control watersheds in Clarksburg, MD USA (2004-2018)
This dataset describes streamflow and precipitation event statistics for four watersheds located in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA. Streamflow and precipitation events were identified from fourteen years of sub-daily (5- and 15-minute) monitoring data from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2018. A 6-hour inter-event window was used to define discrete streamflow and precipitation events. The followiLand Use Land Cover for Selected Basins in Clarksburg, Montgomery County, MD
This dataset contains digitized land use/land cover (LULC) for the years 2011, 2015, and 2017. The dataset contains a 1-meter resolution raster maps for each year covering the geographic area for six watersheds within and near the Clarksburg Special Protection Area located in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. The area includes LULC within 500-foot buffered watersheds. Watershed boundaries for CabiSPARROW 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 fGeomorphological 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 - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 25
Learning from arid and urban aquatic ecosystems to inform more sustainable and resilient futures
The hydrology and aquatic ecology of arid environments has long been understudied relative to temperate regions. Yet spatially and temporally intermittent and ephemeral waters characterized by flashy hydrographs typify arid regions that comprise a substantial proportion of the Earth. Additionally, drought, intense storms, and human modification of landscapes increasingly affect many temperate regiUrbanization of grasslands in the Denver area affects streamflow responses to rainfall events
A thorough understanding of how urbanization affects stream hydrology is crucial for effective and sustainable water management, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of changes in streamflow response to rainfall events across a rural to urban gradient in the semi-arid area of Denver, Colorado. We used 8 years of April to October instantaneous strUrbanization and stream ecology: Moving the bar on multidisciplinary solutions to wicked urban stream problems
Decades of research on the effects of urbanization on stream ecology have shown that urban stream problems are inherently wicked. These problems are wicked in the sense that they are difficult to solve because information is incomplete, changing, or conflicting and because finding potential solutions often requires input from stakeholders who can have conflicting and competing values. The 5th SympTracking geomorphic changes after suburban development with a high density of green stormwater infrastructure practices in Montgomery County, Maryland
Stream morphology is affected by changes on the surrounding landscape. Understanding the effects of urbanization on stream morphology is a critical factor for land managers to maintain and improve vulnerable stream corridors in urbanizing landscapes. Stormwater practices are used in urban landscapes to manage runoff volumes and peak flows, potentially mitigating alterations to the flow regime thatClosing the gap on wicked urban stream restoration problems: A framework to integrate science and community values
Restoring the health of urban streams has many of the characteristics of a wicked problem. Addressing a wicked problem requires managers, academics, practitioners, and community members to make negotiated tradeoffs and compromises to satisfy the values and perspectives of diverse stakeholders involved in setting restoration project goals and objectives. We conducted a gap analysis on 11 urban streEphemeral stream network extraction from lidar-derived elevation and topographic attributes in urban and forested landscapes
Under-representations of headwater channels in digital stream networks can result in uncertainty in the magnitude of headwater habitat loss, stream burial, and watershed function. Increased availability of high-resolution (Streambank and floodplain geomorphic change and contribution to watershed material budgets
Stream geomorphic change is highly spatially variable but critical to landform evolution, human infrastructure, habitat, and watershed pollutant transport. However, measurements and process models of streambank erosion and floodplain deposition and resulting sediment fluxes are currently insufficient to predict these rates in all perennial streams over large regions. Here we measured long-term latLessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA
Urban development is a well-known stressor for stream ecosystems, presenting a challenge to managers tasked with mitigating its effects. For the past 20 y, streamflow, water quality, geomorphology, and benthic communities were monitored in 5 watersheds in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. This study presents a synthesis of multiple studies of monitoring efforts in the study area and new analysis oA call to record stormwater control functions and to share network data
Urban stormwater is an ongoing contributor to the degradation of the health of many watersheds and water bodies. In the United States, federal regulations (e.g., Clean Water Act) require monitoring and reporting of relevant water quality metrics in regulated waterbodies to ensure standards are being met, but decisions about how to manage urban stormwater are left up to state or other local agencieNitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—A century of change, 1950–2050
ForewordSustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term ePiloting 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 resiliMapping stream and floodplain geomorphic characteristics with the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET) in the Mid-Atlantic Region, United States
Quantifying channel and floodplain geomorphic characteristics is essential for understanding and modeling sediment and nutrient dynamics in fluvial systems. The increased availability of high-resolution elevation data from light detection and ranging (lidar) has helped improve methods for extracting these metrics at a greater accuracy across regional scales. The Floodplain and Channel Evaluation T - Software
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).
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 streamStream 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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