Miller, M.P., D.M. McKnight, R. M. Cory, M. Williams, R. L. Runkel (2006) Hyporheic exchange and fulvic acid redox reactions in an alpine stream/wetland ecosystem, Colorado Front Range. Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 5943-5949
Matthew Miller
Biography
Matt Miller is a Research Hydrologist with the Earth Systems Modeling Branch of the Integrated Modeling and Prediction Division in Boulder, Colorado. His current research focuses on developing new approaches for interpreting large data sets to quantify the relationships between water quality, hydrology, land use, and climate at watershed, regional, and national scales. Matt develops and applies modeling tools that improve process understanding of integrated terrestrial-aquatic systems to improve understanding of water availability. Current projects include projecting the baseflow component of streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin, estimating future nutrient loading to estuaries in the southeastern United States, identifying sources of nitrogen to streams in Brazilian watersheds, and using water quality data to better understand groundwater discharge to streams in the Delaware River Basin.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder (2008)
M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder (2004)
B.S., Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison (2000)
Science and Products
Date published: April 26, 2021
Status: Active Integrated Water Availability Assessments: Upper Colorado River Basin
Integrated Water Availability Assessments examine water supply, use, and availability. Snow from the Upper Colorado River Basin contributes 92% of the natural streamflow to the entire Colorado River Basin. The UCOL IWAAs will improve our understanding of the water budget, status and trends in water quality and ecological conditions, and ecosystem response to changes in climate and human water...
Attribution: Water Resources
Date published: January 13, 2020
Status: Active Targeted management of a small number of catchments may help reduce nitrogen loading to Chesapeake Bay
Largest projected reductions associated with decreasing agricultural fertilizer application
Contacts: Matthew Miller
Attribution: Core Science Systems, Chesapeake Bay Activities
Date published: July 25, 2018
Status: Active Salinity
Studies of Sources and Transport of Dissolved Solids (Salt) in the Colorado River Basin using the Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW) Model
The Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) encompasses about 112,000 mi2 and discharges more than 6 million tons of dissolved solids (salt) annually to the lower Colorado River Basin. It has been estimated...
Attribution: Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin, Utah Water Science Center
Date published: July 15, 2018
Status: Active Baseflow
The Colorado River has been identified as the most overallocated river in the world. Considering predicted future imbalances between water supply and demand and the growing recognition that base flow (a proxy for groundwater discharge to streams) is critical for sustaining flow in streams and rivers, there is a need to develop methods to better quantify present-day base flow across large...
Attribution: Utah Water Science Center
Date published: August 25, 2016
Status: Active High-frequency nitrate-concentration data
High-frequency nitrate-concentration data can be used to inform the development of best management practices to reduce nitrogen loading to Chesapeake Bay. Although nitrogen loads entering Chesapeake Bay have decreased in recent decades, they exceed levels that are compatible with a healthy ecosystem as a result of urbanization, agriculture, and other human activities in the bay watershed, and...
Contacts: Matthew Miller
Attribution: Science Support, Chesapeake Bay Activities
Date published: January 1, 2018
Natural Monthly Flow Estimates for the Conterminous United States, 1950-2015
This metadata record describes monthly estimates of natural stream flows for greater than 2.5 million stream reaches, defined by the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Version 2.0, in the conterminous United States for the period 1950-2015. A statistical machine learning technique - random forest modeling - was applied to estimate natural flows using 200 potential predictor variables. T
Attribution: National Water Quality Program
Year Published: 2021
Ungaged inflow and loss patterns in urban and agricultural sub‐reaches of the Logan River Observatory
Streams in semi‐arid urban and agricultural environments are often heavily diverted for anthropogenic purposes. However, they simultaneously receive substantial inflows from a variety of ungaged sources including stormwater returns, tile drainage, and irrigation runoff that help sustain flow during dry periods. Due to the inability to identify...
Tennant, Hyrum; Neilson, Bethany; Miller, Matthew; Xu, TianfangAttribution: Water Resources
Year Published: 2021
Changing climate drives future streamflow declines and challenges in meeting water demand across the southwestern United States
Society and the environment in the arid southwestern United States depend on reliable water availability, yet current water use outpaces supply. Water demand is projected to grow in the future and climate change is expected to reduce supply. To adapt, water managers need robust estimates of future regional water supply to support management...
Miller, Olivia L.; Putman, Annie Laura; Alder, Jay R.; Miller, Matthew; Jones, Daniel K.; Wise, DanielAttribution: Eastern Geographic Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Water Resources, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian, Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin, Region 8: Lower Colorado Basin, United States of America
Year Published: 2021
Temporal and spatial variations in river specific conductivity: Implications for understanding sources of river water and hydrograph separations
Specific conductivity (SC) is commonly used to estimate the proportion of baseflow (i.e., waters from within catchments such as groundwater, interflow, or bank return flows) contributing to rivers. Reach-scale SC comparisons are also useful for identifying where multiple water stores contribute to baseflow. Daily SC values of adjacent gauges in...
Cartwright, Ian; Miller, MatthewAttribution: Water Resources
Year Published: 2020
Application of the RSPARROW modeling tool to estimate total nitrogen sources to streams and evaluate source reduction management scenarios in the Grande River Basin, Brazil
Large-domain hydrological models are increasingly needed to support water-resource assessment and management in large river basins. Here, we describe results for the first Brazilian application of the SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model using a new open-source modeling and interactive decision support system...
Miller, Matthew; de Souza, Marcelo L; Alexander, Richard B; Gorman Sanisaca, Lillian; de Amorim Teixeira, Alexandre; Appling, Alison P.Attribution: Water Resources
Year Published: 2020
Relating hydroclimatic change to streamflow, baseflow, and hydrologic partitioning in the Upper Rio Grande Basin, 1980 to 2015
Understanding how changing climatic conditions affect streamflow volume and timing is critical for effective water management. In the Rio Grande Basin of the southwest U.S., decreasing snowpack, increasing minimum temperatures, and decreasing streamflow have been observed in recent decades, but the effects of hydroclimatic changes on baseflow, or...
Rumsey, Christine; Miller, Matthew; Sexstone, Graham A.
Year Published: 2019
Response of nitrogen loading to the Chesapeake Bay to source reduction and land use change scenarios: A SPARROW‐informed analysis
In response to concerns regarding the health of streams and receiving waters, the United States Environmental Protection Agency established a total maximum daily load for nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for which practices must be in place by 2025 resulting in an expected 25% reduction in load from 2009 levels. The response of total...
Miller, Matthew; Capel, Paul D.; Garcia, Ana M.; Ator, Scott W.
Year Published: 2019
Salinity yield modeling of the Upper Colorado River Basin using 30-meter resolution soil maps and random forests
Salinity loading in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) costs local economies upwards of $300 million US dollars annually. Salinity source models have generally included coarse spatial data to represent non‐agriculture sources. We developed new predictive soil property and cover maps at 30 m resolution to improve source representation in...
Nauman, Travis; Ely, Christopher; Miller, Matthew; Duniway, Michael
Year Published: 2019
Monitoring the Riverine Pulse: Applying high-frequency nitrate data to advance integrative understanding of biogeochemical and hydrological processes
Widespread deployment of sensors that measure river nitrate (NO3-) concentrations has led to many recent publications in water resources journals including review papers focused on data quality assurance, improved load calculations, and better nutrient management. The principal objective of this paper is to review and synthesize studies of high-...
Burns, Douglas A.; Pellerin, Brian A.; Miller, Matthew P.; Capel, Paul; Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Duncan, Jonathan M.Attribution: Water Resources
Year Published: 2019
The role of baseflow in dissolved solids delivery to streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Salinity has a major effect on water users in the Colorado River Basin, estimated to cause almost $300 million per year in economic damages. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program implements and manages projects to reduce salinity loads, investing millions of dollars per year in irrigation upgrades, canal projects, and other...
Schwarz, Gregory; Hirsch, Robert M.; Susong, David; Rumsey, Christine; Miller, Matthew P.; Schwarz, Gregory E.; Hirsch, Robert M.; Susong, David D.
Year Published: 2018
A database of natural monthly streamflow estimates from 1950 to 2015 for the conterminous United States
Quantifying and understanding the natural streamflow regime, defined as expected streamflow that would occur in the absence of anthropogenic modification to the hydrologic system, is critically important for the development of management strategies aimed at protecting aquatic ecosystems. Water balance models have been applied frequently to...
Miller, Matthew P.; Carlisle, Daren; Wolock, David M.; Wieczorek, MichaelAttribution: Water Resources
Year Published: 2018
Stream‐centric methods for determining groundwater contributions in karst mountain watersheds
Climate change influences on mountain hydrology are uncertain, but likely to be mediated through changes in subsurface hydrologic residence times and flowpaths. The heterogeneity of karst aquifers add complexity in assessing the resiliency of these water sources to perturbation, suggesting a clear need to quantify contributions from and losses to...
Neilson, Bethany; Tennant, Hyrum; Barnes, Michelle; Stout, Trinity; Miller, Matthew P.; Gabor, Rachel S.; Jameel, Yusef; Millington, Mallory; Gelderloos, Andrew; Bowen, Gabriel J.; Brooks, Paul D.View Citation
Neilson, B.T., H. Tennant, T.L. STout, M. Miller, R.S. Gabor, Y. Jameel, M. Millington, A. Gelderloos, G. Bowen, and P. Brooks, 2018, Stream-centric methods for determining groundwater contributions in karst mountain watersehds: Water Resources Research, doi:10.1029/2018WR022664.
Year Published: 2018
Managing salinity in Upper Colorado River Basin streams: Selecting catchments for sediment control efforts using watershed characteristics and random forests models
Elevated concentrations of dissolved-solids (salinity) including calcium, sodium, sulfate, and chloride, among others, in the Colorado River cause substantial problems for its water users. Previous efforts to reduce dissolved solids in upper Colorado River basin (UCRB) streams often focused on reducing suspended-sediment transport to streams, but...
Tillman, Fred; Anning, David W.; Heilman, Julian A.; Buto, Susan G.; Miller, Matthew P.View Citation
Tillman, F.D, Anning, D.W., Heilman, J.A, Buto, S.G., and Miller, M.P., 2018, Managing salinity in upper Colorado River basin streams: Selecting catchments for sediment control efforts using watershed characteristics and random forests models: Water, 10, 676, https://doi.org/10.3390/w10060676
Pre-USGS Publications
Gardner, E.M, D.M. McKnight, W.M. Lewis, M.P. Miller (2008) Effects of nutrient enrichment on phytoplankton in an alpine lake, Colorado, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 40(1), 55-64.
Tipping, E., H.T. Corbishley, J.F. Koprivnjak, D.J. Lapworth, M.P. Miller, C.D. Vincent, J. Hamilton Taylor (2009) Quantification of natural DOM from UV absorption at two wavelengths. Environmental Chemistry, 6, 472-476.
Miller, M.P., D.M. McKnight, J. Cullis, A. Greene, K. Vietti, D. Liptzin (2009) Factors controlling streambed coverage of Didymosphenia geminata in two regulated streams in the Colorado Front Range. Hydrobiologia, 630, 207-218.
Miller, M.P., D.M. McKnight, S.C. Chapra, M.W. Williams (2009) A model of degradation and production of three pools of dissolved organic matter in an alpine lake. Limnology and Oceanography, 54(6), 2213-2227.
Miller, M.P., D.M. McKnight, S.C. Chapra (2009) Production of microbially derived fulvic acid from photolysis of quinone-containing extracellular products of phytoplankton. Aquatic Sciences, 71, 170-178.
Flanagan, C.M., D.M. McKnight, D. Liptzin, M.W. Williams, M.P. Miller (2009) Response of the phytoplankton community in an alpine lake to drought conditions: Colorado Rocky Mountain Front Range, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 41(2), 191-203.
Fellman, J.B., M.P. Miller, R.M. Cory, D.V. D’Amore, D. White (2009) Characterizing dissolved organic matter using PARAFAC modeling of fluorescence spectroscopy: A comparison of two models. Environmental Science and Technology, 43, 6228-6234.
Mladenov, N., Y. Zheng, M.P. Miller, D.R. Nemergut, T. Legg, B. Simone, C. Hageman, M. M. Rahman, K. M. Ahmed, D.M. McKnight (2010) Dissolved organic matter sources and consequences for iron and arsenic mobilization in Bangladesh aquifers. Environmental Science and Technology, 44, 123-128.
Miller, M.P., B.E. Simone, D.M. McKnight, R.M. Cory, M.W. Williams, E.W. Boyer (2010) New light on a dark subject: Comment. Aquatic Sciences, 72: 269-275.
Miller, M.P., D.M. McKnight (2010) Comparison of seasonal changes in fluorescent dissolved organic matter among aquatic lake and stream sites in the Green Lakes Valley. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, 115, GOOF12, doi:10.1029/2009JG000985.
Cory, R.M., M.P. Miller, D.M. McKnight, J. Guerard, P. Miller (2010) Effect of instrument-specific response on the analysis of fulvic acid fluorescence spectra. Limnology and Oceanography Methods, 8, 67-78.
Brasher, A.M.D., C.M. Albano, R.N. Close, Q.H. Cannon, and M.P. Miller (2010) Macroinvertebrate communities and habitat characteristics in the northern and southern Colorado Plateau networks: Natural Resources Technical Report, NPS/NCPN/NRTR-2010/320, 107pp.
Pacific Islands Stream Monitoring Protocol: Fish, Shrimp, Snails, and Habitat Characterization
Brasher, A.M.D., T. Jones, A. Farahi, M.P. Miller, K. Kozar (2011) Pacific Islands Stream Monitoring Protocol: Fish, Shrimp, Snails, and Habitat Characterization. Natural Resources Technical Report, NPS/PACN/NRR-2011/468, 357pp.
Gabor, R., A. Baker, D.M. McKnight, M.P. Miller (2014) Fluorescence indices and their interpretation. In Coble, P.G, Lead, J., Baker, A., Reynolds, D.M, and Spencer, R.G.M., eds., Aquatic Organic Matter Fluorescence Cambridge University Press.
Georgek, J.L., D.K. Solomon, V.M. Heilweil, M.P. Miller (2018) Using tracer-derived groundwater transit times to assess storage within a high-elevation watershed of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Hydrogeol. J., 26, 467-480, doi:10.1007/s10040-017-1655-4.
Bowman, W.D., D.R. Nemergut, D.M. McKnight, M.P. Miller, M.W. Williams (2014) A slide down a slippery slope-alpine ecosystem responses to nitrogen deposition. Plant Ecology and Diversity, 8, 727-738, doi:10.1080/17550874.2014.984786
Date published: January 7, 2020
Targeted management of a small number of catchments may help reduce nitrogen loading to Chesapeake Bay
A new USGS study uses the SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) model to assess how nitrogen loading to the Chesapeake Bay might change in response to changing different sources of nitrogen inputs. The largest reduction in load is predicted to occur if nitrogen fertilizer applied to agricultural land is decreased.
Attribution: Water Resources, National Water Quality Program