Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Megan Kenworthy

Megan Kenworthy is a hydrologist with the USGS Idaho Water Science Center in Boise, Idaho.

Megan joined the Idaho Water Science Center in 2022. Her research interests are centered on instream processes, including sediment transport, flow hydraulics, and understanding changes in stream channel morphology.

Professional Experience

  • Hydrologist, USGS Idaho Water Science Center, June 2022 - Present

  • Project Geomorphologist, Geomorphic Solutions, LLC, March 2019 - May 2022

Education and Certifications

  • M.S., Hydrology, 2011, Boise State University

  • B.A., Environmental Studies, 2004, University of Montana

Science and Products

link
Measuring Discharge with an ADCP, Clear Lakes Spring, Idaho

Estimating Spring Discharge to the Snake River, Milner Dam to King Hill, Southern Idaho

Groundwater discharges to the Snake River from numerous volcanic rock springs along the northern canyon wall between Milner Dam and King Hill. Water-resource managers need to be able to quantify the amount of this water to understand the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer's recharge, storage, and discharge. When completed, this study will provide the Idaho Department of Water Resources with an...
By
Idaho Water Science Center
link

Estimating Spring Discharge to the Snake River, Milner Dam to King Hill, Southern Idaho

Groundwater discharges to the Snake River from numerous volcanic rock springs along the northern canyon wall between Milner Dam and King Hill. Water-resource managers need to be able to quantify the amount of this water to understand the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer's recharge, storage, and discharge. When completed, this study will provide the Idaho Department of Water Resources with an...
Learn More

Benthic community composition and chemistry of water, sediment, and periphyton throughout a copper treatment to eradicate invasive mussels in the Snake River, Idaho, 2023

This dataset includes information collected before and after a 2023 copper treatment was implemented by the State of Idaho to eradicate invasive quagga mussels in the Snake River, Idaho. Water, sediment, periphyton, and macroinvertebrates were sampled at Snake River sites upstream, within, and downstream of the copper treatment reach in order to evaluate the fate and transport of the...
By
Idaho Water Science Center

White sturgeon fine-scale habitat model archive, Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2017-2022

The two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic flow model iRIC FaSTMECH (Nelson, 2003) was used to simulate hydraulic conditions in the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, ID during white sturgeon spawning season during 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. Details on model development and calibration in FaSTMECH can be found in other studies (Dudunake and others, in progress; Barton and others, 2005...
By
Idaho Water Science Center

Geomorphic Model Archive, Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2011-2022, model archive

Between 2011 and 2018, numerous restoration treatments were constructed in the Straight and Braided and Straight Reaches of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho as part of the Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Project. Led by the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the project aimed to address a range of anthropogenic impacts inhibiting natural recruitment of the critically endangered Kootenai...
By
Idaho Water Science Center
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland

USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River

USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River

Dr. Jill Rolland, Director of the USGS Northwest- Pacific Islands Region, visited Idaho during the week of September 23, 2024. During her visit, Dr.

By
Idaho Water Science Center
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland

USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River

USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River

Dr. Jill Rolland, Director of the USGS Northwest- Pacific Islands Region, visited Idaho during the week of September 23, 2024. During her visit, Dr.

By
Idaho Water Science Center

Influence of local river hydraulics on Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) habitat selection during four spawning years, 2017–2020

Understanding fine-scale habitat selection of endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) is an important component for monitoring and recovery efforts. Fine-scale habitat selection and quantifying temporal changes in suitable habitat contributes to the work of addressing recruitment failure within the Kootenai River population. Habitat suitability indices were...
Authors
Taylor Dudunake, Megan Kearney Kenworthy, Troy Smith, Sarah Stephenson, Ryan S. Hardy
By
Idaho Water Science Center

An assessment of Kootenai River channel migration and riparian habitat encroachment

The lower reach of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho is dominated by large and actively migrating meander bends. Flow conditions, altered by both upstream flow reductions and by downstream backwater effects, are believed to be important geomorphological drivers throughout the reach. For example, Trout Creek Peninsula, located in an area of active meander migration, is undergoing...
Authors
Taylor Dudunake, Megan Kearney Kenworthy, Matthew Daniels
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Idaho Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Yager, E.M., Kenworthy, M., and Monsalve, A., 2015. Taking the river inside: Fundamental advances from laboratory experiments in measuring and understanding bedload transport processes. Geomorphology, 244, pp. 21-32, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.04.002.
Kenworthy, M.K., Rittenour, T.M., Pierce, J.L., Sutfin, N.A. and Sharp, W.D., 2014. Luminescence dating without sand lenses: An application of OSL to coarse-grained alluvial fan deposits of the Lost River Range, Idaho, USA. Quaternary Geochronology, 23, pp. 9-25.
Kenwothy, M.K., 2011. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of Gravelly Alluvial Fan Deposits: Links Between Climate Change and Geomorphic Response in the Lost River Range, Idaho. Master’s thesis. Boise State University. http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/249.

**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 and Products

link
Measuring Discharge with an ADCP, Clear Lakes Spring, Idaho

Estimating Spring Discharge to the Snake River, Milner Dam to King Hill, Southern Idaho

Groundwater discharges to the Snake River from numerous volcanic rock springs along the northern canyon wall between Milner Dam and King Hill. Water-resource managers need to be able to quantify the amount of this water to understand the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer's recharge, storage, and discharge. When completed, this study will provide the Idaho Department of Water Resources with an...
By
Idaho Water Science Center
link

Estimating Spring Discharge to the Snake River, Milner Dam to King Hill, Southern Idaho

Groundwater discharges to the Snake River from numerous volcanic rock springs along the northern canyon wall between Milner Dam and King Hill. Water-resource managers need to be able to quantify the amount of this water to understand the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer's recharge, storage, and discharge. When completed, this study will provide the Idaho Department of Water Resources with an...
Learn More

Benthic community composition and chemistry of water, sediment, and periphyton throughout a copper treatment to eradicate invasive mussels in the Snake River, Idaho, 2023

This dataset includes information collected before and after a 2023 copper treatment was implemented by the State of Idaho to eradicate invasive quagga mussels in the Snake River, Idaho. Water, sediment, periphyton, and macroinvertebrates were sampled at Snake River sites upstream, within, and downstream of the copper treatment reach in order to evaluate the fate and transport of the...
By
Idaho Water Science Center

White sturgeon fine-scale habitat model archive, Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2017-2022

The two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic flow model iRIC FaSTMECH (Nelson, 2003) was used to simulate hydraulic conditions in the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, ID during white sturgeon spawning season during 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. Details on model development and calibration in FaSTMECH can be found in other studies (Dudunake and others, in progress; Barton and others, 2005...
By
Idaho Water Science Center

Geomorphic Model Archive, Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2011-2022, model archive

Between 2011 and 2018, numerous restoration treatments were constructed in the Straight and Braided and Straight Reaches of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho as part of the Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Project. Led by the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the project aimed to address a range of anthropogenic impacts inhibiting natural recruitment of the critically endangered Kootenai...
By
Idaho Water Science Center
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland

USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River

USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River

Dr. Jill Rolland, Director of the USGS Northwest- Pacific Islands Region, visited Idaho during the week of September 23, 2024. During her visit, Dr.

By
Idaho Water Science Center
USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland

USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River

USGS Idaho Water Science Center hydrologists brief Northwest-Pacific Islands Regional Director Jill Rolland at Crystal Springs along the Snake River

Dr. Jill Rolland, Director of the USGS Northwest- Pacific Islands Region, visited Idaho during the week of September 23, 2024. During her visit, Dr.

By
Idaho Water Science Center

Influence of local river hydraulics on Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) habitat selection during four spawning years, 2017–2020

Understanding fine-scale habitat selection of endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) is an important component for monitoring and recovery efforts. Fine-scale habitat selection and quantifying temporal changes in suitable habitat contributes to the work of addressing recruitment failure within the Kootenai River population. Habitat suitability indices were...
Authors
Taylor Dudunake, Megan Kearney Kenworthy, Troy Smith, Sarah Stephenson, Ryan S. Hardy
By
Idaho Water Science Center

An assessment of Kootenai River channel migration and riparian habitat encroachment

The lower reach of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho is dominated by large and actively migrating meander bends. Flow conditions, altered by both upstream flow reductions and by downstream backwater effects, are believed to be important geomorphological drivers throughout the reach. For example, Trout Creek Peninsula, located in an area of active meander migration, is undergoing...
Authors
Taylor Dudunake, Megan Kearney Kenworthy, Matthew Daniels
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Idaho Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Yager, E.M., Kenworthy, M., and Monsalve, A., 2015. Taking the river inside: Fundamental advances from laboratory experiments in measuring and understanding bedload transport processes. Geomorphology, 244, pp. 21-32, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.04.002.
Kenworthy, M.K., Rittenour, T.M., Pierce, J.L., Sutfin, N.A. and Sharp, W.D., 2014. Luminescence dating without sand lenses: An application of OSL to coarse-grained alluvial fan deposits of the Lost River Range, Idaho, USA. Quaternary Geochronology, 23, pp. 9-25.
Kenwothy, M.K., 2011. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of Gravelly Alluvial Fan Deposits: Links Between Climate Change and Geomorphic Response in the Lost River Range, Idaho. Master’s thesis. Boise State University. http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/249.

**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.

Was this page helpful?