Aerial view of the Iron Gate Dam and Hatchery along the Klamath River near Hornbrook, California. A series of hydroelectric facilities (JC Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate) separate the Klamath River into upper and lower basins.
Liam Schenk
Liam Schenk is a Science Advisor at the USGS Oregon Water Science Center.
Liam has been a hydrologist with the Oregon Water Science center since 2011, with prior work as a hydrologic technician and hydrologist at the USGS Arkansas Water Science Center from 2008-2011. Liam conducts and collaborates on water quality and hydrologic studies in cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies and tribal organizations.
At the Oregon WSC, Liam is a member of the surface water team and conducts a variety of studies in both fluvial and lentic environments on water quality, sediment and nutrient transport, sediment fingerprinting, sediment transport during deep reservoir drawdowns, and mercury in surface waters. He has worked on projects across Oregon, including in the the Upper Willamette, Deschutes, Malheur, and Klamath basins.
Much of Liam's research is focused on the upper Klamath Basin, evaluating water quality dynamics in Upper Klamath Lake, and assessing nutrient and sediment loading into the lake using turbidity and acoustic backscatter surrogate models and multi-variate weighted regression models. Liam is also evaluating physical variables that effect water quality in upper Klamath Lake using machine learning models, and is on the USGS research team evaluating sediment budgets on the lower Klamath River prior to the anticipated removal of four hydroelectric dams.
Science and Products
Upper Klamath Basin Studies and Data Collection
The USGS has been studying the Klamath Basin for decades. The USGS provides unbiased data to Tribal partners and resource managers to aid with complex management and conservation efforts.
Klamath Dam Removal Studies
The USGS is collecting continuous and discrete monitoring data to document baseline conditions and physical responses in downstream river reaches before, during, and after dam removal. These monitoring data will be integral for post-removal assessments and collaborations with basin partners.
Sediment Fingerprinting in the Upper Klamath Basin
Sediment fingerprinting has been used successfully to identify land uses that are the major sources of sediment. This study will apply these techniques in a predominantly rural, volcanic landscape.
Nutrient and Sediment Loading to Upper Klamath Lake
The USGS employs state-of-the-science techniques to estimate nutrient and suspended-sediment loads to Upper Klamath Lake.
Nutrient Loading to Lost River and Klamath River Subbasins
The USGS has characterized nutrient concentrations in the Klamath River and Lost River drainages over multiple years, identified spatial and temporal patterns in nutrient and organic carbon concentrations, and quantified surface water nutrient loads entering and exiting the Klamath Project.
Fall Creek Drawdown
Each autumn Fall Creek Lake is drawn down to allow endangered juvenile salmonids to pass freely through the dam. The drawdowns involve lowering the lake water level to the lake bed, creating a fluvial environment characterized by large amounts of sediment being transported through the dam and into Fall Creek and the Middle Fork Willamette River.
Iron Gate Dam and Hatchery, Klamath River, California
Aerial view of the Iron Gate Dam and Hatchery along the Klamath River near Hornbrook, California. A series of hydroelectric facilities (JC Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate) separate the Klamath River into upper and lower basins.
Science and Products
Upper Klamath Basin Studies and Data Collection
The USGS has been studying the Klamath Basin for decades. The USGS provides unbiased data to Tribal partners and resource managers to aid with complex management and conservation efforts.
Klamath Dam Removal Studies
The USGS is collecting continuous and discrete monitoring data to document baseline conditions and physical responses in downstream river reaches before, during, and after dam removal. These monitoring data will be integral for post-removal assessments and collaborations with basin partners.
Sediment Fingerprinting in the Upper Klamath Basin
Sediment fingerprinting has been used successfully to identify land uses that are the major sources of sediment. This study will apply these techniques in a predominantly rural, volcanic landscape.
Nutrient and Sediment Loading to Upper Klamath Lake
The USGS employs state-of-the-science techniques to estimate nutrient and suspended-sediment loads to Upper Klamath Lake.
Nutrient Loading to Lost River and Klamath River Subbasins
The USGS has characterized nutrient concentrations in the Klamath River and Lost River drainages over multiple years, identified spatial and temporal patterns in nutrient and organic carbon concentrations, and quantified surface water nutrient loads entering and exiting the Klamath Project.
Fall Creek Drawdown
Each autumn Fall Creek Lake is drawn down to allow endangered juvenile salmonids to pass freely through the dam. The drawdowns involve lowering the lake water level to the lake bed, creating a fluvial environment characterized by large amounts of sediment being transported through the dam and into Fall Creek and the Middle Fork Willamette River.
Iron Gate Dam and Hatchery, Klamath River, California
Aerial view of the Iron Gate Dam and Hatchery along the Klamath River near Hornbrook, California. A series of hydroelectric facilities (JC Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate) separate the Klamath River into upper and lower basins.
Aerial view of the Iron Gate Dam and Hatchery along the Klamath River near Hornbrook, California. A series of hydroelectric facilities (JC Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate) separate the Klamath River into upper and lower basins.