Patrick (Ryan) Jackson, Ph.D.
P. Ryan Jackson, Hydrologist, USGS, Central Midwest Water Science Center, located in Urbana, Illinois.
Biography
Ryan received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006 and was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 2006-2008. Since joining the USGS in 2008, he has been primarily working on surface water investigations projects, though some of his time each year has been dedicated to Office of Surface Water (Hydroacoustics). While Ryan's job title is hydrologist, a more accurate and descriptive title would be Environmental and Ecological Hydrodynamicist (yes, it's a mouthful). He studies complex flows in rivers and lakes and how these flows relate to physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring in the surrounding environment and ecosystems. At the heart of many of Ryan's studies is the investigation of mixing and transport in surface water with the goal of understanding a system from a holistic perspective, which includes describing the role of hydrodynamics in driving water-quality distributions and ecological processes. Examples of such studies include fate and transport of contaminants in rivermouth mixing zones in the Great Lakes, assessment of spawning suitability of Great Lakes tributaries for invasive Asian carp, and the hydrodynamics around barges and potential for entrainment and transport of invasive fish in barge junction gap spaces.
Ryan's studies rely heavily on innovative applications of hydroacoustic and water-quality instrumentation. For example, some of his studies utilize an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) paired with traditional manned-boat instrument platforms for high-resolution, integrated synoptic surveys of water-quality distributions, bathymetry, and velocity of a study site. He has a passion for data analysis and visualization and use a variety of tools including Matlab, ArcGIS, and Adobe Illustrator to unlock and present the "story in the data". Since unpublished research benefits nobody, he actively strives to publish his studies in peer-reviewed journals, technical reports, conference papers, and data releases. Finally, Ryan shares many of the data processing and visualization tools that he develops through his research with others to provide transparency and standardization, improve efficiency, and minimize duplication of effort within the USGS and the broader research community. One example is the Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT), a suite of tools for processing and visualizing data from acoustic Doppler current profilers.
Science and Products
Waterbody Rapid Assessment Tool (WaterRAT): 3-dimensional Visualization of High-Resolution Spatial Data
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are instruments that collect water-quality, depth, and other data in waterbodies. They produce complex and massive datasets. There is currently no standard method to store, organize, process, quality-check, analyze, or visualize this data. The Waterbody Rapid Assessment Tool (WaterRAT) is aPython application that processes and displays water-quality data...
Asian Carp Integrated Control and Containment: Brandon Road Lock and Dam
Increased threat of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes and spreading to other basins such as the Upper Mississippi River and Ohio River basins, has led to increased prevention and control efforts since 2010. Successful management of this invasive species requires methods to contain future spread, reduce population levels, and minimize their effects. In collaboration with partners, USGS...
Asian Carp Risk Assessment and Life History: Assessment of Hydraulic and Water-Quality Influences on Waterways to Develop Control Options
USGS scientists monitored the distribution of the Asian carp populations within the pools of the Illinois River to help identify favorable habitats. Sharp contrasts in habitat, flow conditions, water quality, and food supply between the Marseilles and Dresden Island Pools and the Chicago Area Waterway System may be acting as controlling factors to the stalled upstream movement of Asian carp...
Development of a FluEgg Model for the St. Croix River
The USGS partnered with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to collect hydraulic and water chemistry data in the lower St. Croix River for development of a model that predicts the probability of successful egg hatching and survival of juvenile invasive carp over a range of water temperature and streamflow conditions.
Early Life History of Bighead, Silver, Black, and Grass Carps
Grass, bighead, black, and silver carps spawn in turbulent rivers and their eggs develop and hatch while drifting downriver. The larvae also have a short period of developing in the drift, and then they must swim from the river and find appropriate low- or no-flow nursery areas. Rivers which are not long enough, turbulent enough, or without nursery areas in the correct locations...
Bathymetric and water quality data on the Sandusky River between Tiffin and Fremont, Ohio, November 4-7, 2019
On November 4-7, 2019, bathymetric data were collected on the Sandusky River between Tiffin and Fremont, Ohio. Wading measurements were made at cross-sections shallower than about 1 foot using a survey pole with a Trimble R10 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver connected to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) real-time virtual reference station (VRS) network.
Monitoring data to support the operation of the Electric Dispersal Barrier System on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at Romeoville, Illinois, October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018.
The U.S. Geological Survey monitors water surface flow reversals, commercial vessel traffic, and temperature and specific conductance in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Electric Dispersal Barrier System (EDBS) on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Chicago, Illinois. This data release is the 2018 water year summary of the EDBS monitoring data. Water surface flow reversals at the EDB
Water velocity profiling at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Electric Dispersal Barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal during passage of fully-loaded commercial tows in August 2017: Wall Mounted Argonaut SW
In 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers undertook a large-scale interagency field study to determine the influence of commercial barge vessels on the efficacy of the Electric Dispersal Barrier System (EDBS) in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) in preventing fish passage. This study included a series of trials in
Bathymetric Soundings in Lake Michigan at Jeorse Park Beach (2015)
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled “Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan”. This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and cont
Bathymetric Soundings in Lake Michigan at Jeorse Park Beach (2016)
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled “Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan”. This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and cont
Nearshore Currents in Lake Michigan at Jeorse Park Beach (2015)
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled 'Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan'. This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and contact recreati
Nearshore Currents in Lake Michigan at Jeorse Park Beach (2016)
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled 'Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan'. This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and contact recreati
Three-dimensional point measurements of basic water-quality parameters in Lake Michigan at Jeorse Park Beach near Gary, Indiana (September 1, 2015)
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled "Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan". This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and contact recreati
Three-dimensional point measurements of basic water-quality parameters in Lake Michigan at Jeorse Park Beach near Gary, Indiana (September 21, 2016)
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled "Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan". This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and contact recreati
Continuous Monitoring and Synoptic Mapping of Nearshore Water Quality, Currents, and Bathymetry in Lake Michigan at 63rd Street Beach at Hyde Park, Illinois
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled “Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan”. This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and cont
Bathymetric Soundings in Lake Michigan at 63rd Street Beach (2015)
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled “Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan”. This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and cont
Bathymetric Soundings in Lake Michigan at 63rd Street Beach (2016)
These data were collected as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 678-1 entitled “Evaluate immediate and long-term BMP effectiveness of GLRI restoration efforts at urban beaches on Southern and Western Lake Michigan”. This project is evaluating the effectiveness of projects that are closely associated with restoration of local habitat and cont
Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) user’s manual
The Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) was developed to simulate the transport and dispersion of invasive carp eggs and larvae in a river. FluEgg currently (2020) supports modeling of bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), silver carp (H. molitrix), and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), with the planned addition of black carp (...
Domanski, Marian M.; LeRoy, Jessica Z.; Berutti, Michael; Jackson, P. Ryan
Predicting the spatiotemporal exposure of aquatic species to intrusions of fire retardant in streams with limited data
Because fire retardant can enter streams and harm aquatic species including endangered fish, agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) must estimate the downstream extent of toxic effects every time fire retardant enters streams (denoted as an “intrusion”). A challenge in estimating the length of stream affected by the intrusion...
Rehmann, Chris R.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Puglis, Holly J. Using turbulence to identify preferential areas for grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) larvae in streams: A laboratory study
In this experimental series, we studied the swimming capabilities and response of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) larvae to flow turbulence in a laboratory flume. We compared three different experimental configurations, representing in‐stream obstructions commonly found in natural streams (e.g., a gravel bump, a single vertical cylinder, and...
Prada, Andres F.; George, Amy E.; Stahlschmidt, Benjamin H.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Chapman, Duane C.; Tinoco, Rafael O. Identifying turbulence features hindering swimming capabilities of grass carp larvae (Ctenopharyngodon idella) through submerged vegetation
Aquatic vegetation can provide habitat and refuge for a variety of species in streams. However, the flow features generated by submerged patches of vegetation can also pose a challenge for fish larvae. We conducted a series of experiments with live grass carp larvae (starting ∼50 h post hatch) in a laboratory racetrack flume, using a submerged...
Tinoco, Rafael O.; Prada, Andres F.; George, Amy E.; Stahlschmidt, Benjamin H.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Chapman, Duane C. Modelling grass carp egg transport using a 3-D hydrodynamic river model: The role of egg retention in dead zones on spawning success
Invasive grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) are known to spawn in the Sandusky River, Ohio, USA, within the Great Lakes Basin, and are threatening to expand throughout the Great Lakes. Successful spawning is thought to require that eggs remain in suspension until hatching, which depends on river hydrodynamics and temperature-dependent egg...
Heer, Tej; Wells, Mathew G.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Mandrak, Nicholas E. Analysis of nearshore placement of sediments at Ogden Dunes, Indiana
The harbor structures/shoreline armoring on the southern Lake Michigan shoreline interrupt sand migration. Ogden Dunes, Indiana, and the nearby Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore observed shoreline erosion due to engineered structures associated with Burns Waterway Harbor, east of Ogden Dunes, impeding natural east to west sediment migration. To...
Young, David L; Brutsche, Katherine E; Li, Honghai; McFall, Brian C; Maloney, Erin C; McClain, Kaitlyn E; Bucaro, David F.; LeRoy, Jessica Z.; Duncker, James J.; Johnson, Kevin K.; Jackson, P. Ryan Influence of turbulence and in-stream structures on the transport and survival of grass carp eggs and larvae at various developmental stages
Understanding the response of grass carp to flow and turbulence regimes during early life stages is fundamental to monitoring and controlling their spread. A comprehensive set of hydrodynamic experiments was conducted with live grass carp eggs and larvae, to better understand their drifting and swimming patterns with 3 different in-stream...
Prada, Andres F.; George, Amy E.; Stahlschmidt, Benjamin H.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Chapman, Duane C.; Tinoco, Rafael O. Efficacy of increasing discharge to reduce tow-mediated fish passage across an electric dispersal barrier system in a confined channel
The Electric Dispersal Barrier System (EDBS) in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) was built to limit the interbasin transfer of aquatic invasive species between the Mississippi River Basin and the Great Lakes Basin. Commercial barge traffic, or tows, moving downstream through the EDBS can facilitate the upstream passage of small fish...
LeRoy, Jessica Z.; Davis, Jeremiah J.; Shanks, Matthew R.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Murphy, Elizabeth A.; Baxter, Carey L.; Trovillion, Jonathan C.; McInerney, Michael K.
Characterizing variability in vertical profiles of streamwise velocity and implications for streamgaging practices in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, January 2014 to July 2017
A critical component of the Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting program, which oversees the diversion of Great Lakes water by the State of Illinois, is the U.S. Geological Survey streamgage on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois. The long-term application of an up-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler at this streamgage...
Jackson, P. Ryan
Flow hydraulics and mixing characteristics in and downstream from Brandon Road Lock, Joliet, Illinois
The Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River near Joliet, Illinois, has been identified for potential implementation of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) control measures. To provide additional information concerning the flow hydraulics and mixing characteristics of the lock and downstream approach channel, the U.S. Geological Survey...
Engel, Frank L.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Murphy, Elizabeth A. Identifying and eliminating sources of recreational water quality degradation along an urban coast
Restoration of highly degraded urban coastal waters often requires large-scale, complex projects, but in the interim, smaller-scale efforts can provide immediate improvements to water quality conditions for visitor use. We examined short-term efforts to improve recreational water quality near the Grand Calumet River (GC) in the Laurentian Great...
Nevers, Meredith B.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Shively, Dawn; Buszka, Paul M.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Phanikumar, Mantha S. Range estimates and habitat use of invasive Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix): Evidence of sedentary and mobile individuals
Unregulated rivers provide unobstructed corridors for the dispersal of both native and invasive species. We sought to evaluate range size and habitat use of an invasive species (Silver Carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) in an unimpounded river reach (Wabash River, IN), to provide insights into the dispersal of invasive species and their potential...
Prechtel, Austin R.; Coulter, Alison A.; Etchison, Luke; Jackson, P. Ryan; Goforth, Reuben R.