Martin Briggs is a Research Hydrologist for the Hydrologic Remote Sensing Branch of the USGS Water Resources Mission Area Observing Systems Division.
Although my specialty is in surface water/groundwater exchange processes, at the Hydrologic Remote Sensing Branch we work on a wide range of pressing national hydrological issues where geophysical and remotely sensed data lend insight. We support State water science centers when hydro-geophysical tools and training are required, and collaborate with academic institutions on pioneering water research. I also contribute directly to several Water Mission Area Programs including the Next Generation Water Observing System, and co-advise graduate students at the University of Connecticut. Please reach out if you are interested in our objectives, methods, and/or research.
Science and Products
PFAS Transport, Exposure, and Effects
Groundwater Discharge is a Pathway for Phytoestrogen and Herbicide Entry to Streams in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
A hydrological framework to improve precision of Vital Signs metrics in the Appalachian highlands
Thermal Imaging Cameras for Studying Groundwater/Surface-Water Exchange
What does groundwater have to do with ice in Alaska?
Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Technology for Surface-Water and Groundwater Studies
Geophysics for USGS Groundwater/Surface Water Exchange Studies
Hydrogeophysics — Storrs, Connecticut
Passive seismic depth to bedrock data collected along streams of the Farmington River watershed, CT, USA
QUASHNET SPAWN HESS CHEMICAL DATA
Geophysical and Other Data From an Irrigation Monitoring Experiment at Haddam Meadows, CT, July 2019
Heat tracing of potential groundwater seepage zones along the upper Coonamessett River bog area (Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2021)
Visible-light orthomosaic images collected by drone for two cold-water tributary confluences within the Housatonic River, CT, USA
Thermal infrared images of groundwater discharge zones in the Farmington and Housatonic River watersheds (Connecticut and Massachusetts, 2019)(ver. 3.0, January 2023)
Main channel river water temperature collected along the East Branch, West Branch, and mainstem Delaware River down to Lordville near Handcock, NY, USA in summer 2021
Waterborne Gradient Self-potential, Temperature, and Conductivity Logging of the Upper part of the Delaware River between Hancock and Port Jervis, New York, June-July 2021
Passive seismic data collected along headwater stream corridors in Shenandoah National Park in 2016 - 2020
Frequency domain electromagnetic induction (FDEM) geophysical data collected near the Agashashok River in the Noatak National Preserve, AK
Depth to bedrock determined from passive seismic measurements, Neversink River watershed, NY (USA)
Surface geophysical data for characterizing shallow, discontinuous frozen ground near Fort Yukon, Alaska
Interaction of a legacy groundwater contaminant plume with the Little Wind River from 2015 through 2017, Riverton Processing site, Wyoming
Connecting diverse disciplines to improve understanding of surface water-groundwater interactions
A multiscale approach for monitoring groundwater discharge to headwater streams by the U.S. Geological Survey Next Generation Water Observing System Program—An example from the Neversink Reservoir watershed, New York
Bedrock depth influences spatial patterns of summer baseflow, temperature and flow disconnection for mountainous headwater streams
Application of recursive estimation to heat tracing for groundwater/surface-water exchange
Hot spots and hot moments in the Critical Zone: Identification of and incorporation into reactive transport models
Using ensemble data assimilation to estimate transient hydrologic exchange flow under highly dynamic flow conditions
GW/SW-MST: A groundwater/surface-water method selection tool
Near-surface geophysics perspectives on Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) Science
Where groundwater seeps: Evaluating modeled groundwater discharge patterns with thermal infrared surveys at the river-network scale
Where groundwater seeps: Evaluating modeled groundwater discharge patterns with thermal infrared surveys at the river-network scale
Exploring local riverbank sediment controls on the occurrence of preferential groundwater discharge points
Science and Products
- Science
PFAS Transport, Exposure, and Effects
The team is determining the movement and behavior of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from their sources in the environment, as they move through exposure pathways in ecosystems including watersheds and aquifers, their incorporation into food webs, and molecular to population scale effects on fish and wildlife. These studies are accomplished at a variety of spatial scales from regional...Groundwater Discharge is a Pathway for Phytoestrogen and Herbicide Entry to Streams in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Groundwater discharge zones are important spawning areas for fish because they provide a thermally stable habitat. Research at three streams in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed with areas of focused groundwater discharge revealed that groundwater also is a source of phytoestrogens and herbicides that could result in fish exposure during sensitive life stages.A hydrological framework to improve precision of Vital Signs metrics in the Appalachian highlands
Stream flow is a fundamental driver of ecological structure and function, but its influence on bioassessment measures is poorly understood. Although extreme flow conditions (e.g., floods and droughts) have long been known to play a central role in structuring stream communities, a mechanistic understanding of the linkages between flow variables, landscape and local physical characteristics, and...Thermal Imaging Cameras for Studying Groundwater/Surface-Water Exchange
USGS scientists are using high-resolution handheld and airborne thermal imaging cameras in groundwater/surface-water exchange studies and other investigations where surface temperature contrasts indicate various hydrological processes. These cameras are used to quickly locate and characterize thermal (temperature) anomalies along streams, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, and across the landscape...What does groundwater have to do with ice in Alaska?
USGS scientists are working alongside university researchers in Alaska to understand how groundwater and permafrost conditions change over time due to seasonal variations and climate change. Changes in permafrost can pose a threat to built infrastructure (like roads, homes, and pipelines) and to valued ecological resources that provide important habitats for wildlife.Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Technology for Surface-Water and Groundwater Studies
Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) technology can be used for characterizing estuary-aquifer and stream-aquifer interaction and for identifying transmissive fractures in bedrock boreholes.Geophysics for USGS Groundwater/Surface Water Exchange Studies
Locating and quantifying exchanges of groundwater and surface water, along with characterizing geologic structure, is essential to water-resource managers and hydrologists for the development of effective water-resource policy, protection, and management. The USGS conducts applied research to evaluate the use of new or emerging hydrogeophysical tools and methods to improve our understanding of...Hydrogeophysics — Storrs, Connecticut
About the Research The Environmental Health Program collaborates with geophysicists and hydrologists to develop, demonstrate, and support the application of geophysical methods to environmental-health investigations. They have expertise in a diverse suite of geophysical field methods including electrical, electromagnetic, seismic, radar, gravity, and thermal; these methods are run from land-based... - Data
Filter Total Items: 36
Passive seismic depth to bedrock data collected along streams of the Farmington River watershed, CT, USA
Using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral-ratio (HVSR) method, we infer regolith thickness (i.e., depth to bedrock) throughout the Farmington River Watershed, CT, USA. Between Nov. 2019 and Nov. 2020, MOHO Tromino Model TEP-3C (MOHO, S.R.L.) three-component seismometers collected passive seismic recordings along the Farmington River and the upstream West Branch of Salmon Brook. From these recordinQUASHNET SPAWN HESS CHEMICAL DATA
This data set includes dissolved oxygen (DO) and specific conductivity (SpC) data collected in both the surface water and shallow streambed at the Quashnet River, Mashpee, USA from 2014-16. This data was collected to better understand groundwater discharge to the river and associated brook trout habitat. DO was typically near saturation in surface water and some groundwater, but is reduced in streGeophysical and Other Data From an Irrigation Monitoring Experiment at Haddam Meadows, CT, July 2019
An irrigation monitoring experiment was performed in Haddam Meadows State Park, Connecticut, on July 16, 2019. Prior to this experiment, ground penetrating radar (GPR), frequency domain electromagnetics (FDEM), and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) geophysical data were collected over a 20 meter by 10-meter grid to provide baseline information. A vertical soil moisture probe was installed inHeat tracing of potential groundwater seepage zones along the upper Coonamessett River bog area (Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2021)
Locations of focused groundwater seepage to surface water are often hydrologically and ecologically important. Spatially focused or 'preferential' seepage can be identified as anomalous cold zones compared to warmer adjacent bank and surface water features (in summer). The temperature of deeper groundwater on Cape Cod is expected to approximate 11 degrees Celsius year-round, yielding a relativelyVisible-light orthomosaic images collected by drone for two cold-water tributary confluences within the Housatonic River, CT, USA
The University of Connecticut and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected low-altitude (30-50 m above ground level) airborne visible-light imagery data via a quadcopter, small unoccupied aircraft system (UAS or ‘drone’) deployed along two tributary confluence locations within the Housatonic River: Mill Brook (latitude: 42°52’18” N, longitude: 73°21’48&rdquThermal infrared images of groundwater discharge zones in the Farmington and Housatonic River watersheds (Connecticut and Massachusetts, 2019)(ver. 3.0, January 2023)
Locations of focused (or ‘preferential’) groundwater discharge to surface water are often hydrologically and ecologically important, yet our ability to predict the spatial distribution and water quality of preferential riverbank discharges is limited at the scale of river networks. To advance the understanding of the physical controls on riverbank groundwater discharge processes, discharge zones cMain channel river water temperature collected along the East Branch, West Branch, and mainstem Delaware River down to Lordville near Handcock, NY, USA in summer 2021
The Upper Delaware River is a unique example of an aquatic system where summer river temperature is actively managed for ecological purposes. River temperature at the mainstem Delaware River at Lordville, NY gage (USGS 01427207) is targeted to remain below 25 degrees C, with warm events potentially mitigated via directed upstream reservoir releases, a process guided by predictive tools. These direWaterborne Gradient Self-potential, Temperature, and Conductivity Logging of the Upper part of the Delaware River between Hancock and Port Jervis, New York, June-July 2021
This data release contains waterborne gradient self-potential (SP), surface-water temperature, surface-water conductivity and specific conductance, and surface-water nitrate concentration data measured continuously in the upper part of the Delaware River along approximately 123 kilometers (km) between Hancock and Port Jervis, New York. All of the data were measured from a kayak between June 27 andPassive seismic data collected along headwater stream corridors in Shenandoah National Park in 2016 - 2020
In July 2016, July 2019, and March 2020, 318 seismic recordings were acquired at locations within Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, using MOHO Tromino Model TEP-3C three-component seismometers to assess depth to bedrock using the HVSR method. This method requires a measurement of estimate of shear wave velocity, which depends on the regolith sediment composition and density, for the conversion oFrequency domain electromagnetic induction (FDEM) geophysical data collected near the Agashashok River in the Noatak National Preserve, AK
Frequency domain electromagnetic induction (FDEM) data were collected in September 2016 near the Agashashok River and its tributaries, within the Noatak National Preserve near Kotzebue, AK to aid in local permafrost mapping. Data were collected with a GEM-2 instrument (1.6 m coil separation, Geophex, Ltd.); a broadband sensor that measures the bulk conductivity and magnetic susceptibility of the sDepth to bedrock determined from passive seismic measurements, Neversink River watershed, NY (USA)
This data release documents streambed sediment thickness in the Neversink watershed (NY) as determined by field observations and HVSR passive seismic measurements, and were collected as an extension of a previous data set collected in the same watershed (see Associated Items). These measurements were made between May 17, 2021 and May 21, 2021 using MOHO Tromino three-component seismometers (MOHO,Surface geophysical data for characterizing shallow, discontinuous frozen ground near Fort Yukon, Alaska
The distribution of permafrost in cold regions is subject to temporal and spatial changes influenced by climate, landscape disturbance, and ecosystem succession. Remote sensing from airborne and satellite platforms is increasing our understanding of landscape-scale permafrost distribution, but typically lacks the resolution to characterize finer-scale processes and phenomena, which are often bette - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 65
Interaction of a legacy groundwater contaminant plume with the Little Wind River from 2015 through 2017, Riverton Processing site, Wyoming
The Riverton Processing site was a uranium mill 4 kilometers southwest of Riverton, Wyoming, that prepared uranium ore for nuclear reactors and weapons from 1958 to 1963. The U.S. Department of Energy completed surface remediation of the uranium tailings in 1989; however, groundwater below and downgradient from the tailings site and nearby Little Wind River was not remediated. Beginning in 2010, aConnecting diverse disciplines to improve understanding of surface water-groundwater interactions
Laura K. Lautz is a premier mentor, collaborator, and researcher at the intersection of natural hydrologic systems and humans. Her research has shifted the paradigm around measuring and understanding the impacts of surface water and groundwater interactions across spatial and temporal scales. She has done this by testing and refining new methods and by collaborating with, training, supporting, andA multiscale approach for monitoring groundwater discharge to headwater streams by the U.S. Geological Survey Next Generation Water Observing System Program—An example from the Neversink Reservoir watershed, New York
Groundwater-stream connectivity across mountain watersheds is critical for supporting streamflow during dry times and keeping streams cool during warm times, yet U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream measurements are often sparse in headwaters. Starting in 2019, the USGS Next Generation Water Observing System Program developed a multiscale methods and technology testbed approach to monitoring grounBedrock depth influences spatial patterns of summer baseflow, temperature and flow disconnection for mountainous headwater streams
In mountain headwater streams, the quality and resilience of summer cold-water habitat is generally regulated by stream discharge, longitudinal stream channel connectivity and groundwater exchange. These critical hydrologic processes are thought to be influenced by the stream corridor bedrock contact depth (sediment thickness), a parameter often inferred from sparse hillslope borehole information,Application of recursive estimation to heat tracing for groundwater/surface-water exchange
We present and demonstrate a recursive-estimation framework to infer groundwater/surface-water exchange based on temperature time series collected at different vertical depths below the sediment/water interface. We formulate the heat-transport problem as a state-space model (SSM), in which the spatial derivatives in the convection/conduction equation are approximated using finite differences. TheHot spots and hot moments in the Critical Zone: Identification of and incorporation into reactive transport models
Biogeochemical processes are often spatially discrete (hot spots) and temporally isolated (hot moments) due to variability in controlling factors like hydrologic fluxes, lithological characteristics, bio-geomorphic features, and external forcing. Although these hot spots and hot moments (HSHMs) account for a high percentage of carbon, nitrogen and nutrient cycling within the Critical Zone, the abiUsing ensemble data assimilation to estimate transient hydrologic exchange flow under highly dynamic flow conditions
Quantifying dynamic hydrologic exchange flows (HEFs) within river corridors that experience high-frequency flow variations caused by dam regulations is important for understanding the biogeochemical processes at the river water and groundwater interfaces. Heat has been widely used as a tracer to infer steady-state flow velocities through analytical solutions of heat transport defined by the diurnaGW/SW-MST: A groundwater/surface-water method selection tool
Groundwater/surface-water (GW/SW) exchange and hyporheic processes are topics receiving increasing attention from the hydrologic community. Hydraulic, chemical, temperature, geophysical, and remote sensing methods are used to achieve various goals (e.g., inference of GW/SW exchange, mapping of bed materials, etc.), but the application of these methods is constrained by site conditions such as wateNear-surface geophysics perspectives on Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) Science
Pointing to the Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability (ICON-FAIR) principles, we have determined several opportunities for implementation within the realm of near-surface geophysics (NSG), representing a broad range of data acquisition and processing technologies. Our work explores the multifaceted community-driven nature of NSG and,Where groundwater seeps: Evaluating modeled groundwater discharge patterns with thermal infrared surveys at the river-network scale
Predicting baseflow dynamics, protecting aquatic habitat, and managing legacy contaminants requires explicit characterization and prediction of groundwater discharge patterns throughout river networks. Using handheld thermal infrared (TIR) cameras, we surveyed 47 km of stream length across the Farmington River watershed (1,570 km2; CT and MA, USA), mapping locations of bank and waterline groundwatWhere groundwater seeps: Evaluating modeled groundwater discharge patterns with thermal infrared surveys at the river-network scale
Predicting baseflow dynamics, protecting aquatic habitat, and managing legacy contaminants requires explicit characterization and prediction of groundwater discharge patterns throughout river networks. Using handheld thermal infrared (TIR) cameras, we surveyed 47 km of stream length across the Farmington River watershed (1,570 km2; CT and MA, USA), mapping locations of bank and waterline groundwatExploring local riverbank sediment controls on the occurrence of preferential groundwater discharge points
Groundwater discharge to rivers takes many forms, including preferential groundwater discharge points (PDPs) along riverbanks that are exposed at low flows, with multi-scale impacts on aquatic habitat and water quality. The physical controls on the spatial distribution of PDPs along riverbanks are not well-defined, rendering their prediction and representation in models challenging. To investigate