Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Liv Herdman

Liv integrates numerical models and field measurements to understand the aquatic environment (rivers, lakes, estuaries and oceans) and its interactions with the human built environment and how the hydrodynamics shape ecosystems.

Dr. Liv Herdman started working for the USGS in 2015 as a hydrodynamic modeler to develop and improve the Coastal Storm Modeling System which predicts storm driven flooding (from storm-surge, waves and fluvial discharges) along the west coast of the United States. Her primary focus has been on operationalizing the modeling system and allowing real time connections to National Weather Service products including the National Water Model and creating short term flood forecasting products for the San Francisco Bay Estuary. 

Prior to this work Liv has investigated circulation in Lake Champlain, temperature dynamics in the Sacramento River Delta, and circulation in coral reefs. In general she is interested in problems where the environmental physics play an important role in shaping ecosystem health, including the human ecosystem and the necessary planning for preventing floods

Professional Experience

  • New York Water Science Center in 2019-Present

  • Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center  2015-2019

  • Fulbright Scholar University of Waterloo, Canada, 2015

  • Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University, 2014

  • Postdoctoral Scholar at University of Vermont 2012-2014

Education and Certifications

  • PhD. – Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 2012

  • B.S. – Environmental Engineering Science, University of California, Berkeley 2004

Science and Products

link
USGS Logo

Assessment of compound flood risk from the combined effects of sea level rise on storm surge, tidal and groundwater flooding, and stormwater

BACKGROUND Long Island Sound has 600 miles of coastline and there are over 23 million people living within 50 miles of its shores. In response to water-quality issues and nitrogen pollution in the Sound, Congress created the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) in 1985. LISS is a partnership of federal, state, and local government agencies, private organizations and educational institutions working tog
By
New York Water Science Center
link

Assessment of compound flood risk from the combined effects of sea level rise on storm surge, tidal and groundwater flooding, and stormwater

BACKGROUND Long Island Sound has 600 miles of coastline and there are over 23 million people living within 50 miles of its shores. In response to water-quality issues and nitrogen pollution in the Sound, Congress created the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) in 1985. LISS is a partnership of federal, state, and local government agencies, private organizations and educational institutions working tog
Learn More

Ocean wave time-series data simulated with a global-scale numerical wave model under the influence of projected CMIP6 wind and sea ice fields

This dataset contains projected hourly time-series data of waves at distinct points along all open U.S. coasts for years 2020-2050. The 'projections' (estimates of long-term future conditions) were developed by running the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) WAVEWATCHIII wave model forced with winds and sea ice cover from seven separate high-resolution Global Climate / General
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Hydrodynamic model of the San Francisco Bay and Delta, California

A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of the San Francisco Bay and Delta was constructed using the Delft3D Flexible Mesh (DFM) modeling suite (www.deltares.nl/en/software/delft3d-flexible-mesh-suite/) to simulate water levels. Required model input files are provided to run the model for the time period from October 1, 2018, to April 30, 2019. This data release describes the construction and validat
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE): Summary of U.S. Geological Survey URGE pod deliverables

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is in a unique position to be a leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the Earth sciences. As one of the largest geoscience employers, the USGS wields significant community influence and has a responsibility to adopt and implement robust, unbiased policies so that the science it is charged to deliver is better connected to the diverse communi
Authors
Matthew C. Morriss, Eleanour Snow, Jennifer L. Miselis, William F. Waite, Katherine R. Barnhart, Andria P. Ellis, Liv M. Herdman, Seth C. Moran, Annie L. Putman, Nadine G. Reitman, Wendy K. Stovall, Meagan J. Eagle, Stephen C. Phillips
By
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Advanced quantitative precipitation information: Improving monitoring and forecasts of precipitation, streamflow, and coastal flooding in the San Francisco Bay area

Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information (AQPI) is a synergistic project that combines observations and models to improve monitoring and forecasts of precipitation, streamflow, and coastal flooding in the San Francisco Bay Area. As an experimental system, AQPI leverages more than a decade of research, innovation, and implementation of a statewide, state-of-the-art network of observations, a
Authors
Robert Cifelli, V Chandrasekar, Liv M. Herdman, Dave Turner, A. B. White, M. Alcott, M. C. Anderson, Patrick L. Barnard, S.K. Biswas, M. Boucher, J. Bytheway, H. Chen, H. Cutler, M. English, Li H. Erikson, F. Junyent, L. E. Johnson, J. Krebs, J. van de Lindt, J. Kim, Marty L. Leonard, Y. Ma, M. Marquis, W. Moninger, G. Pratt, C. Radhakrishnan, Michael Shields, J. Spaulding, Babak Tehranirad, R. S. Webb
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Managing water resources on Long Island, New York, with integrated, multidisciplinary science

Nutrients, harmful algal blooms, and synthetic chemicals like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane threaten Long Island’s water resources by affecting the quality of drinking water and ecologically sensitive habitats that support the diverse wildlife throughout the island. Understanding the occurrence, fate, and transport of these potentially harmful chemicals is critical to
Authors
Robert F. Breault, John P. Masterson, Christopher E. Schubert, Liv M. Herdman
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New York Water Science Center

Drivers of extreme water levels in a large, urban, high-energy coastal estuary – A case study of the San Francisco Bay

Reliable and long-term hindcast data of water levels are essential in quantifying return period and values of extreme water levels. In order to inform design decisions on a local flood control district level, process-based numerical modeling has proven an essential tool to provide the needed temporal and spatial coverage for different extreme value analysis methods. To determine the importance of
Authors
Cornelis M. Nederhoff, Rohin Saleh, Babak Tehranirad, Liv M. Herdman, Li H. Erikson, Patrick L. Barnard, Mick Van der Wegen
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Assessment of flood forecast products for a coupled tributary-Coastal model

Compound flooding, resulting from a combination of riverine and coastal processes, is a complex but important hazard to resolve along urbanized shorelines in the vicinity of river mouths. However, inland flooding models rarely consider oceanographic conditions, and vice versa for coastal flood models. Here, we describe the development of an operational, integrated coastal-watershed flooding model
Authors
Robert Cifelli, Lynn E. Johnson, Jungho Kim, Tim Coleman, Greg Pratt, Liv M. Herdman, Rosanne C. Martyr-Koller, Juliette Finzi-Hart, Li H. Erikson, Patrick L. Barnard, Michael Anderson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, New York Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Storm surge propagation and flooding in small tidal rivers during events of mixed coastal and fluvial influence

The highly urbanized estuary of San Francisco Bay is an excellent example of a location susceptible to flooding from both coastal and fluvial influences. As part of developing a forecast model that integrates fluvial and oceanic drivers, a case study of the Napa River and its interactions with the San Francisco Bay was performed. For this application we utilize Delft3D-FM, a hydrodynamic model tha

Authors
Liv M. Herdman, Li H. Erikson, Patrick L. Barnard
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

The influence of sea level rise on the regional interdependence of coastal infrastructure

Sea level rise (SLR) is placing both immediate and long‐term pressures on coastal communities to take protective actions. Projects in the United States, and in many locations throughout the world, generally involve local jurisdictions raising the elevation of shoreline protection elements, with limited or no analysis of the feedback between shoreline management decisions and the impacts to water l
Authors
Ruo-Quian Wang, Mark T. Stacey, Liv M. Herdman, Patrick L. Barnard, Li H. Erikson
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Behavior of a wave-driven buoyant surface jet on a coral reef

A wave-driven surface buoyant jet exiting a coral reef was studied in order to quantify the amount of water re-entrained over the reef crest. Both moored observations and Lagrangian drifters were used to study the fate of the buoyant jet. To investigate in detail the effects of buoyancy and along-shore flow variations, we developed an idealized numerical model of the system. Consistent with previo
Authors
Liv M. Herdman, James L. Hench, Oliver Fringer, Stephen G. Monismith
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Interactions of estuarine shoreline infrastructure with multiscale sea level variability

Sea level rise increases the risk of storms and other short‐term water‐rise events, because it sets a higher water level such that coastal surges become more likely to overtop protections and cause floods. To protect coastal communities, it is necessary to understand the interaction among multiday and tidal sea level variabilities, coastal infrastructure, and sea level rise. We performed a series
Authors
Ruo-Quian Wang, Liv M. Herdman, Li H. Erikson, Patrick L. Barnard, Michelle Hummel, Mark T. Stacey
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Science and Products