Matthew J Komiskey
Biography
Matt Komiskey is a Physical Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Water Science Center in Middleton, WI. He is currently involved with multiple projects that are evaluating the impact of agricultural activities on water quality from small streams (HUC12) to the edge-of-field throughout Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region. His primary focus is establishing field-based monitoring efforts, at multiple scales, and developing partnerships to identify the potential effect of agricultural conservation practice, as well as create an understanding of how and when agricultural activities impact water quality.
EDUCATION
B.S. Water Resources – University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, 2002
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Image of Current Focus for Areas of Expertise
- Design, instrumentation, and implementation of projects focused on measuring and interpreting water-quantity and water-quality data from nonpoint sources including:
- Agricultural land at edges of fields, streams, and subsurface-tiles, and
- Military owned land/streams impacted by agriculture and training activities
- Development and implementation of projects focused on real-time water-quality monitoring and regression development with sampled parameters
- Stream, edge-of-field, and subsurface tile discharge and water-quality load computations
CURRENT PROJECTS
- Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds, Team Leader
- University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms Program
- Effects of agricultural and military training on streams at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin
- Real-time water quality monitoring of the Black Earth Creek Watershed
Science and Products
Edge-of-field monitoring
Edge-of-field monitoring focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which can threaten the health of streams, rivers, and lakes. Edge-of-field monitoring assesses the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluates the effectiveness of conservation practices that aim to reduce nutrient loss.
Edge-of-field monitoring: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative edge-of-field monitoring focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which threaten the health of the Great Lakes. The USGS supports these efforts by utilizing edge-of-field monitoring to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate conservation practices that aim to reduce sediment and nutrient loss....
Edge-of-field monitoring: Discovery Farms
The USGS is cooperating with Discovery Farms to understand agriculture’s impact on the environment and help producers find ways to minimize their impact while remaining economically viable. Edge-of-field or subsurface tile monitoring stations measure runoff-event volume, including snowmelt, and collect samples which are analyzed for suspended sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen, and chloride.
Characterizing phosphorus dynamics in tile-drained agricultural fieldsof eastern Wisconsin
Artificial subsurface drainage provides an avenue for the rapid transfer of phosphorus (P) from agricultural fields to surface waters. This is of particular interest in eastern Wisconsin, where there is a concentrated population of dairy farms and high clay content soils prone to macropore development. Through collaboration with private landowners...
Madison, Allison; Ruark, Matthew; Stuntebeck, Todd D.; Komiskey, Matthew J.; Good, Laura W.; Drummy, Nancy; Cooley, Eric
Implications of flume slope on discharge estimates from 0.762-meter H flumes used in edge-of-field monitoring
The effects of longitudinal slope on the estimation of discharge in a 0.762-meter (m) (depth at flume entrance) H flume were tested under controlled conditions with slopes from −8 to +8 percent and discharges from 1.2 to 323 liters per second. Compared to the stage-discharge rating for a longitudinal flume slope of zero, computed discharges were...
Komiskey, Matthew J.; Stuntebeck, Todd D.; Cox, Amanda L.; Frame, Dennis R. An at-grade stabilization structure impact on runoff and suspended sediment
In recent years, agricultural runoff has received more attention as a major contributor to surface water pollution. This is especially true for the unglaciated area of Wisconsin, given this area's steep topography, which makes it highly susceptible to runoff and soil loss. We evaluated the ability of an at-grade stabilization structure (AGSS),...
Minks, Kyle R.; Lowery, Birl; Madison, Fred W.; Ruark, Matthew; Frame, Dennis R.; Stuntebeck, Todd D.; Komiskey, Matthew J. Nutrients and sediment in frozen-ground runoff from no-till fields receiving liquid-dairy and solid-beef manures
Nutrients and sediment in surface runoff from frozen agricultural fields were monitored within three small (16.0 ha [39.5 ac] or less), adjacent basins at a no-till farm in southwest Wisconsin during four winters from 2003 to 2004 through 2006 to 2007. Runoff depths and flow-weighted constituent concentrations were compared to determine the...
Komiskey, Matthew J.; Stuntebeck, Todd D.; Frame, Dennis R.; Madison, Fred W.
Precipitation-runoff relations and water-quality characteristics at edge-of-field stations, Discovery Farms and Pioneer Farm, Wisconsin, 2003-8
A cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Discovery Farms program (Discovery Farms), and the UW-Platteville Pioneer Farm program (Pioneer Farm) was developed to identify typical ranges and magnitudes, temporal distributions, and principal factors affecting concentrations and yields of sediment...
Stuntebeck, Todd D.; Komiskey, Matthew J.; Peppler, Marie C.; Owens, David W.; Frame, Dennis R.
Methods of Data Collection, Sample Processing, and Data Analysis for Edge-of-Field, Streamgaging, Subsurface-Tile, and Meteorological Stations at Discovery Farms and Pioneer Farm in Wisconsin, 2001-7
The University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Discovery Farms (Discovery Farms) and UW-Platteville Pioneer Farm (Pioneer Farm) programs were created in 2000 to help Wisconsin farmers meet environmental and economic challenges. As a partner with each program, and in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Sand County...
Stuntebeck, Todd D.; Komiskey, Matthew J.; Owens, David W.; Hall, David W.