Michelle Stern
Michelle is a hydrologist at the USGS California Water Science Center in Sacramento, CA.
Her research focus is on climate change and soil moisture as key processes of watershed and regional-scale hydrologic modeling. Other research interests include geospatial analysis and sediment transport. She has also performed extensive laboratory work determining physical properties of soil samples and sediment cores. Current research includes refining and applying the Basin Characterization Model (BCM), and the development of an Hydrologic Simulation Program - FORTRAN (HSPF) model of the Sacramento River basin to determine future sediment supply to the Bay-Delta as part of the Computational Assessments of Scenarios of Change for the Delta Ecosystem (CASCaDE) project. A key goal of all her research is to determine a holistic understanding of watershed hydrologic processes at different spatial scales.
Science and Products
Culturally Prescribed Fire
Rendering High-Resolution Hydro-Climatic Data for Southern California
Monitoring and modeling soil moisture to improve runoff forecasting and drought characterization in the Feather River Basin
New Technologies for Mapping Surface Soil Moisture Over Wildfire-Prone Landscapes
Improving Water Resilience and Availability Through Culturally Prescribed Fires as a Management Tool on Yurok Tribal Lands
Sediment transport, streamflow, and climate change: long-term resilience of the Bay-Delta
Soil moisture datasets at five sites in the central Sierra Nevada and northern Coast Ranges, California
Researching Climate Conditions for CAL FIRE Wildfire Restoration Efforts
Basin Characterization Model (BCM)
Increasing Soil Organic Carbon to Mitigate Greenhouse Gases and Increase Climate Resiliency for California
Future Climate and Hydrology from Twenty Localized Constructed Analog (LOCA) Scenarios and the Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8)
Aerial imagery and other remotely-sensed data from a UAS survey of Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma County, CA
Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8) for California Coastal Basins - Monthly Historical (water years 1896-2019) and Future (water years 2006-2099) Climate and Hydrology
Lower Salinas Valley Hydrologic Models: Climate Data
Salinas Valley Hydrologic System: Regional Climate Data
Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8) monthly recharge and runoff for the Anza-Cahuilla Groundwater Basin, California
The Basin Characterization Model - A monthly regional water balance software package (BCMv8) data release and model archive for hydrologic California (ver. 3.0, June 2023)
Daily Basin Characterization Model (BCM) archive for Humboldt Bay/Eel River
Sacramento River Basin future daily streamflow and sediment HSPF outputs
Discovery and potential ramifications of reduced iron-bearing nanoparticles — Magnetite, wüstite, and zero-valent iron — In wildland–urban interface fire ashes
Selecting the optimal fine-scale historical climate data for assessing current and future hydrological conditions
A basin-scale approach to estimating recharge in the desert: Anza-Cahuilla groundwater basin, CA
Amplified impact of climate change on fine-sediment delivery to a subsiding coast, Humboldt Bay, California
The basin characterization model—A regional water balance software package
The future of sediment transport and streamflow under a changing climate and the implications for long-term resilience of the San Francisco Bay-Delta
PFHydro: A new watershed-scale model for post-fire runoff simulation
Characterization of hydrology and sediment transport following drought and wildfire in Cache Creek, California
A multi-scale soil moisture monitoring strategy for California: Design and validation
Increasing soil organic carbon to mitigate greenhouse gases and increase climate resiliency for California
Soil moisture datasets at five sites in the central Sierra Nevada and northern Coast Ranges, California
Geothermal implications of a refined composition-age geologic map for the volcanic terrains of southeast Oregon, northeast California, and southwest Idaho, USA
Non-USGS Publications**
**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.
Basin Characterization Model (BCM)
The Basin Characterization Model (BCM) models the interactions of climate with empirically measured landscape attributes including topography, soils, and underlying geology. It is a grid-based model that calculates the water balance for each 18-acre cell (270m resolution) in a given watershed in set time steps for the entire area.
Science and Products
Culturally Prescribed Fire
Rendering High-Resolution Hydro-Climatic Data for Southern California
Monitoring and modeling soil moisture to improve runoff forecasting and drought characterization in the Feather River Basin
New Technologies for Mapping Surface Soil Moisture Over Wildfire-Prone Landscapes
Improving Water Resilience and Availability Through Culturally Prescribed Fires as a Management Tool on Yurok Tribal Lands
Sediment transport, streamflow, and climate change: long-term resilience of the Bay-Delta
Soil moisture datasets at five sites in the central Sierra Nevada and northern Coast Ranges, California
Researching Climate Conditions for CAL FIRE Wildfire Restoration Efforts
Basin Characterization Model (BCM)
Increasing Soil Organic Carbon to Mitigate Greenhouse Gases and Increase Climate Resiliency for California
Future Climate and Hydrology from Twenty Localized Constructed Analog (LOCA) Scenarios and the Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8)
Aerial imagery and other remotely-sensed data from a UAS survey of Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma County, CA
Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8) for California Coastal Basins - Monthly Historical (water years 1896-2019) and Future (water years 2006-2099) Climate and Hydrology
Lower Salinas Valley Hydrologic Models: Climate Data
Salinas Valley Hydrologic System: Regional Climate Data
Basin Characterization Model (BCMv8) monthly recharge and runoff for the Anza-Cahuilla Groundwater Basin, California
The Basin Characterization Model - A monthly regional water balance software package (BCMv8) data release and model archive for hydrologic California (ver. 3.0, June 2023)
Daily Basin Characterization Model (BCM) archive for Humboldt Bay/Eel River
Sacramento River Basin future daily streamflow and sediment HSPF outputs
Discovery and potential ramifications of reduced iron-bearing nanoparticles — Magnetite, wüstite, and zero-valent iron — In wildland–urban interface fire ashes
Selecting the optimal fine-scale historical climate data for assessing current and future hydrological conditions
A basin-scale approach to estimating recharge in the desert: Anza-Cahuilla groundwater basin, CA
Amplified impact of climate change on fine-sediment delivery to a subsiding coast, Humboldt Bay, California
The basin characterization model—A regional water balance software package
The future of sediment transport and streamflow under a changing climate and the implications for long-term resilience of the San Francisco Bay-Delta
PFHydro: A new watershed-scale model for post-fire runoff simulation
Characterization of hydrology and sediment transport following drought and wildfire in Cache Creek, California
A multi-scale soil moisture monitoring strategy for California: Design and validation
Increasing soil organic carbon to mitigate greenhouse gases and increase climate resiliency for California
Soil moisture datasets at five sites in the central Sierra Nevada and northern Coast Ranges, California
Geothermal implications of a refined composition-age geologic map for the volcanic terrains of southeast Oregon, northeast California, and southwest Idaho, USA
Non-USGS Publications**
**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.
Basin Characterization Model (BCM)
The Basin Characterization Model (BCM) models the interactions of climate with empirically measured landscape attributes including topography, soils, and underlying geology. It is a grid-based model that calculates the water balance for each 18-acre cell (270m resolution) in a given watershed in set time steps for the entire area.