Marina Metes is a Physical Scientist at the USG S MD-DE-DC Water Science Center.
Marina's work focuses heavily on using GIS and spatial analysis to answer questions related to hydrology and fluvial geomorphology. Her research involves using remotely sensed data, primarily lidar, to map and investigate fluvial geomorphic features, processes, and land use change. This has included developing new methods for locating headwater streams and incised channels, and applying geospatial tools to extract stream and floodplain characteristics at the watershed scale to better infer rates of streambank erosion and floodplain sediment deposition.
Education and Certifications
B.S. Earth Science from Michigan State University in 2012
M.S. Geography and Environmental Systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2018
Science and Products
Leveraging Existing USGS Streamgage Data to Map Flood-Prone Areas
Leveraging Existing USGS Streamgage Data to Map Flood-Prone Areas
Geomorphology and Sediment Capabilities @ MD-DE-DC
Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow
Quantifying Floodplain Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services in the Delaware River Watershed
Geomorphic metrics across four catchments in Clarksburg, Maryland, 2002-19
Lidar-derived digital elevation models in Clarksburg, MD representing the years 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2018
Ephemeral channel heads and digital elevation models used to extract stream networks in Clarksburg, MD (ver. 2.0, October 2021)
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
Groundwater Quality and Plume Boundaries for Select Contaminants of Concern at Badger Army Ammunition Plant, Wisconsin (2000 - 2018)
Geomorphometry for Streams and Floodplains in the Chesapeake and Delaware Watersheds
Stream Channel and Floodplain Metric Toolbox and User Guide
Mapping stream and floodplain geomorphometry with the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool
Societal benefits of floodplains in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds: Sediment, nutrient, and flood regulation ecosystem services
Tracking geomorphic changes after suburban development with a high density of green stormwater infrastructure practices in Montgomery County, Maryland
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
Assessment of contaminant trends in plumes and wells and monitoring network optimization at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant, Sauk County, Wisconsin
Mapping stream and floodplain geomorphic characteristics with the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET) in the Mid-Atlantic Region, United States
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
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
Science and Products
- Science
Leveraging Existing USGS Streamgage Data to Map Flood-Prone Areas
We will develop reproducible workflows in R and Python to combine already existing and underutilized field data collected as part of the USGS streamgage network with remotely sensed data to map flood-prone areas for various recurrence intervals in both gaged and ungaged stream reaches.Leveraging Existing USGS Streamgage Data to Map Flood-Prone Areas
We will develop reproducible workflows in R and Python to combine already existing and underutilized field data collected as part of the USGS streamgage network with remotely sensed data to map flood-prone areas for various recurrence intervals in both gaged and ungaged stream reaches.Geomorphology and Sediment Capabilities @ MD-DE-DC
Geomorphology is classified as the study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near the Earth's surface. Adding water creates a whole new dynamic known as Fluvial Morphology. Rivers and streams act as conduits of water along with sediment. As water flows over the channel bed, it is able to mobilize...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
Geomorphic 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 moveLidar-derived digital elevation models in Clarksburg, MD representing the years 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2018
This is a collection of 3 ft resolution digital elevation model derived from light detection and ranging (lidar). Lidar was collected in 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2018. Coverage includes a portion of Clarksburg, Maryland, focused around the Clarksburg Special Protection Area (CSPA). Overall extent varies between each dataset, but all digital elevation models are aligned together with consistent overlaEphemeral channel heads and digital elevation models used to extract stream networks in Clarksburg, MD (ver. 2.0, October 2021)
This dataset describes the location of channel heads survyed in two headwater watersheds in Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland, and the digital elevation models derived from light detection and ranging (lidar) covering the two watersheds. The digital elevation models were used to derive topographic attributes used to delineate drainage networks that were then assessed for accuracy using the fPredictions 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:/Groundwater Quality and Plume Boundaries for Select Contaminants of Concern at Badger Army Ammunition Plant, Wisconsin (2000 - 2018)
This dataset describes concentrations of select contaminants in groundwater, collected at monitoring wells in the vicinity of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant in Sauk County, Wisconsin, between 2000 - 2018. The data were used to assess trends in contaminant concentrations over time, delineate plume boundaries at various time intervals, and assess the overall monitoring network at the Badger Army AGeomorphometry 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 RiveStream 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 - Multimedia
- Publications
Mapping stream and floodplain geomorphometry with the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool
Broad-scale mapping of stream channel and floodplain geomorphic metrics is critical to improve the understanding of geomorphic change, biogeochemical processes, riverine habitat quality, and opportunities for management intervention. The Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET) was developed to provide an open-source tool for automated processing of digital elevation models (DEMs) to generatAuthorsKristina G. Hopkins, Labeeb Ahmed, Peter R. Claggett, Samuel Lamont, Marina Metes, Gregory B. NoeSocietal benefits of floodplains in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds: Sediment, nutrient, and flood regulation ecosystem services
Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to people by regulating floodwaters and retaining sediments and nutrients. Geospatial analyses, field data collection, and modeling were integrated to quantify a portfolio of services that floodplains provide to downstream communities within the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds. The portfolio of services included floodplain sediment and nAuthorsKristina G. Hopkins, Jacqueline Sage Welles, Emily J. Pindilli, Gregory B. Noe, Peter Claggett, Labeeb Ahmed, Marina MetesTracking 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 thatAuthorsBrianna Williams, Kristina G. Hopkins, Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Stephanie Gordon, William Bradley HamiltonEphemeral 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 (<2 m) elevation data makes the delineation of headwater channels more attainable. In this study, elevation data derived from light detection and ranging was used to predict epheAuthorsMarina Metes, Daniel Jones, Matthew E. Baker, Andrew J. Miller, Dianna M. Hogan, J.V. Loperfido, Kristina G. HopkinsStreambank 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 latAuthorsGregory B. Noe, Kristina G. Hopkins, Peter Claggett, Edward R. Schenk, Marina Metes, Labeeb Ahmed, Tom Doody, Cliff R. HuppLessons 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 oAuthorsKristina G. Hopkins, Sean Woznicki, Brianna Williams, Charles C. Stillwell, Eric Naibert, Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Dianna M. Hogan, Natalie Celeste Hall, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Aditi S. BhaskarAssessment of contaminant trends in plumes and wells and monitoring network optimization at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant, Sauk County, Wisconsin
Soil and groundwater at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP), Sauk County, Wisconsin, were affected by several contaminants as a result of production and waste disposal practices common during its operation from 1942 to 1975. Three distinct plumes of contaminated groundwater originate on BAAP property and extend off-site, as identified by previous studies. Routine sampling of groundwater qualitAuthorsMatthew Pajerowski, Phillip J. Goodling, Marina MetesMapping 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 TAuthorsMarina Metes, Kristina G. Hopkins, Labeeb Ahmed, Samuel Lamont, Peter R. Claggett, Gregory B. NoeA 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
AuthorsKristina G. Hopkins, Gregory B. Noe, Fabiano Franco, Emily J. Pindilli, Stephanie Gordon, Marina Metes, Peter R. Claggett, Allen Gellis, Cliff R. Hupp, Dianna M. Hogan - 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 stream