Martyn J Smith
Martyn Smith is the lead for Geospatial Intelligence and Research to Operations section.
Martyn J Smith is a supervisory physical scientist at the USGS New York Water Science Center in Troy, NY. Martyn works with a dynamic team of scientists and engineers specializing in emerging technologies and innovation. With primary focuses on software and hardware engineering, data visualization, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and extended reality. As a team we are looking towards a vision of a “Digital USGS” where the future of USGS science and the related concepts are more easily understood when assisted by both current and near-future technologies.
Professional Experience
Physical Scientist, Water Science Center, US Geological Survey, Troy, NY. 2003 - present
Education and Certifications
Master of Arts (Geography) University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. 2004
Bachelor of Arts (Geography) Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY. 2001
Science and Products
StreamStats, version 4
Development of flood regressions and climate change scenarios to explore estimates of future peak flows
Variations in water temperature and implications for trout populations in the Upper Schoharie Creek and West Kill, New York, USA
Measuring Historical Coastal Change using GIS and the Change Polygon Approach
Spatial patterns of mercury in macroinvertebrates and fishes from streams of contrasting forested landscapes in the eastern United States
Environmental settings of streams sampled for mercury in New York and South Carolina, 2005-09
Magnitude and Frequency of Floods in New York
Non-USGS Publications**
http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/uccgia_papers/1
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
HAIL (Hydrologic Applied Innovations Lab)
Development of Long Island Water Quality Integrated Data System (LIQWIDS) - User interface and web services in support of collaboration under the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan(LINAP)
New York Nowcast, Recreational Beaches of New York
Identifying Thermal Refuges in the Schoharie Watershed
Groundwater Conditions on Long Island, New York in 2010
USGS online mapper for water-table altitude, and potentiometric surface of the Magothy, Jameco, Lloyd, and North Shore aquifers on Long Island, NY, in 2010.
New York Nowcast Beach Status
New York Nowcast predicts water quality conditions at select beach swimming areas in NY. The Nowcast estimates conditions by merging environment and climate data with variables measured at a beach by 8 AM each morning and entering them into a computer program which provides a probability from 1 to 100 as to whether or not the beach has exceeded the bathing-water standard of 235 units of E. coli.
Upstate New York Surficial Aquifer Viewer
Map view of over 30 sand and gravel aquifers in upstate New York (Note: Zoom-in to purple-shaded areas for detailed 1:24,000 scale aquifer maps. Use the Map Identify tool, "i", to display links to related on-line reports.)
New York Borehole Well Log Viewer
Borehole geophysics is the science of recording and analyzing measurements of physical properties made in wells or test holes. Probes that measure different properties are lowered into the borehole to collect continuous or point data that is graphically displayed as a geophysical log.
Monthly Hydrologic Conditions for New York Mapper
The U.S. Geological Survey New York Water Science Center’s monthly summary reports and tables of hydrologic conditions for surface and ground water list the station, county, period of record, and several statistics, including color-coded percent exceedance categories based on average monthly conditions for the period of record at each station.
StreamStats Data Preparation Tools, version 4
A Python package to pre-process and hydro-enforce digital elevation models using hydrography features for use in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) StreamStats project.
Science and Products
- Publications
StreamStats, version 4
IntroductionStreamStats version 4, available at https://streamstats.usgs.gov, is a map-based web application that provides an assortment of analytical tools that are useful for water-resources planning and management, and engineering purposes. Developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the primary purpose of StreamStats is to provide estimates of streamflow statistics for user-selected ungageAuthorsKernell G. Ries, Jeremy K. Newson, Martyn J. Smith, John D. Guthrie, Peter A. Steeves, Tana Haluska, Katharine R. Kolb, Ryan F. Thompson, Richard D. Santoro, Hans W. VragaDevelopment of flood regressions and climate change scenarios to explore estimates of future peak flows
A new Web-based application, titled “Application of Flood Regressions and Climate Change Scenarios To Explore Estimates of Future Peak Flows”, has been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Transportation, that allows a user to apply a set of regression equations to estimate the magnitude of future floods for any stream or river in New York SAuthorsDouglas A. Burns, Martyn J. Smith, Douglas A. FreehaferVariations in water temperature and implications for trout populations in the Upper Schoharie Creek and West Kill, New York, USA
Water temperature is a key component of aquatic ecosystems because it plays a pivotal role in determining the suitability of stream and river habitat to most freshwater fish species. Continuous temperature loggers and airborne thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing were used to assess temporal and spatial temperature patterns on the Upper Schoharie Creek and West Kill in the Catskill Mountains, NewAuthorsScott D. George, Barry P. Baldigo, Martyn J. Smith, Donald M Mckeown, Jason FaulringerMeasuring Historical Coastal Change using GIS and the Change Polygon Approach
This study compares two automated approaches, the transect‐from‐baseline technique and a new change polygon method, for quantifying historical coastal change over time. The study shows that the transect‐from‐baseline technique is complicated by choice of a proper baseline as well as generating transects that intersect with each other rather than with the nearest shoreline. The change polygon methoAuthorsM.J. Smith, R.G. CromleySpatial patterns of mercury in macroinvertebrates and fishes from streams of contrasting forested landscapes in the eastern United States
Controls on mercury bioaccumulation in lotic ecosystems are not well understood. During 2007–2009, we studied mercury and stable isotope spatial patterns of macroinvertebrates and fishes from two medium-sized (AuthorsKaren Riva-Murray, Lia C. Chasar, Paul M. Bradley, Douglas A. Burns, Mark E. Brigham, Martyn J. Smith, Thomas A. AbrahamsenEnvironmental settings of streams sampled for mercury in New York and South Carolina, 2005-09
This report summarizes the environmental settings of streams in New York and South Carolina, where the U.S. Geological Survey completed detailed investigations during 2005-09 into factors contributing to mercury bioaccumulation in top-predator fish and other stream organisms. Descriptions of location, land use/land cover, climate, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, hydrology, water temperatureAuthorsBarbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Karen Riva-Murray, Martyn J. Smith, Paul M. Bradley, Daniel T. Button, Jimmy M. Clark, Douglas A. Burns, Celeste A. JourneyMagnitude and Frequency of Floods in New York
Techniques are presented for estimating the magnitude and frequency of flood discharges on rural, unregulated streams in New York, excluding Long Island. Peak-discharge-frequency data and basin characteristics from 388 streamflow-gaging stations in New York and adjacent states were used to develop multiple linear regression equations for flood discharges with recurrence intervals ranging from 1.25AuthorsRichard Lumia, Douglas A. Freehafer, Martyn J. SmithNon-USGS Publications**
Smith, Martyn J. and Cromley, Robert G., "Coastal Survey Maps: From Historical Documents to Digital Databases" (2006). UCCGIA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS. 1.
http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/uccgia_papers/1Smith, Martyn. J., 2004. A Comparison of Quantitative Methods used to Measure Coastal Change using GIS (Master's thesis). University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
- Science
HAIL (Hydrologic Applied Innovations Lab)
HAIL (Hydrologic Applied Innovations Lab)Development of Long Island Water Quality Integrated Data System (LIQWIDS) - User interface and web services in support of collaboration under the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan(LINAP)
PROBLEM There are more than 60 organizations and agencies collecting water-quality data on Long Island. The types of database management that are used to store and archive regulatory and non-regulatory data vary from paper forms to spreadsheets to State and Federal databases, and there is minimal communication between these systems. As a result, those interested in analyzing data may be unawareNew York Nowcast, Recreational Beaches of New York
Problem – Currently, swim advisories or closings are issued by beach managers based on standards for concentrations of bacterial indicators such as Escherichia coli (E. coli). Standard culture methods for these bacteria take at least 18-24 hours before results are available. At most Great Lakes beaches, the beach is posted with an advisory or closing or is determined to be acceptable for swimmIdentifying Thermal Refuges in the Schoharie Watershed
Problem Water temperature is a critical component of trout habitat. Stream temperatures not only affect the distribution, behavior, and survival of trout (and other species), but also compel these species to move toward small areas of preferred temperatures, known as refuges, to maximize growth, survival, and fitness. The Schoharie watershed in the Catskill Mountains, including East Kill, West Kil - Multimedia
- Web Tools
Groundwater Conditions on Long Island, New York in 2010
USGS online mapper for water-table altitude, and potentiometric surface of the Magothy, Jameco, Lloyd, and North Shore aquifers on Long Island, NY, in 2010.
New York Nowcast Beach Status
New York Nowcast predicts water quality conditions at select beach swimming areas in NY. The Nowcast estimates conditions by merging environment and climate data with variables measured at a beach by 8 AM each morning and entering them into a computer program which provides a probability from 1 to 100 as to whether or not the beach has exceeded the bathing-water standard of 235 units of E. coli.
Upstate New York Surficial Aquifer Viewer
Map view of over 30 sand and gravel aquifers in upstate New York (Note: Zoom-in to purple-shaded areas for detailed 1:24,000 scale aquifer maps. Use the Map Identify tool, "i", to display links to related on-line reports.)
New York Borehole Well Log Viewer
Borehole geophysics is the science of recording and analyzing measurements of physical properties made in wells or test holes. Probes that measure different properties are lowered into the borehole to collect continuous or point data that is graphically displayed as a geophysical log.
Monthly Hydrologic Conditions for New York Mapper
The U.S. Geological Survey New York Water Science Center’s monthly summary reports and tables of hydrologic conditions for surface and ground water list the station, county, period of record, and several statistics, including color-coded percent exceedance categories based on average monthly conditions for the period of record at each station.
- Software
StreamStats Data Preparation Tools, version 4
A Python package to pre-process and hydro-enforce digital elevation models using hydrography features for use in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) StreamStats project.