P. Ryan Jackson, Hydrologist, USGS, Central Midwest Water Science Center, located in Urbana, Illinois.
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 Since unpublished research benefits nobody, he actively strives to publish his studies in peer-reviewed journals, technical reports, conference papers, and data releases.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
Asian Carp Integrated Control and Containment: Brandon Road Lock and Dam
Asian Carp Risk Assessment and Life History: Assessment of Hydraulic and Water-Quality Influences on Waterways to Develop Control Options
Development of a FluEgg Model for the St. Croix River
Early Life History of Bighead, Silver, Black, and Grass Carps
Velocity and Water-Quality Data for the Maumee River Between Defiance and Toledo, Ohio, 2019
Hydraulic Model Archive and Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) Results for Simulations of Invasive Carp Egg and Larval Drift in the Maumee River, Ohio
Bathymetric data for the Maumee River between Defiance and Toledo, Ohio, 2019
Bathymetric, water velocity, and water temperature data on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota, June 19-22, 2018
Bathymetric and water quality data on the Sandusky River between Tiffin and Fremont, Ohio, November 4-7, 2019
Swimming speeds of grass carp in response to turbulence
Bathymetric and water quality data on the Sandusky River between Tiffin and Fremont, Ohio, November 4-7, 2019
Velocity, Discharge, and Dye Concentrations During a Dye Tracer Study on the Lower Sandusky River, Ohio, July 11-13, 2017
Up-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler data in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, January 2014 to January 2018
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
Velocity profiling at the US Army Corps of Engineers Electric Dispersal Barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal during passage of fully loaded commercial tows
Continuous Monitoring and Synoptic Mapping of Nearshore Water Quality, Currents, and Bathymetry in Lake Michigan at Jeorse Park Beach near Gary, Indiana
USGS Telemetry Project
Uncertainty analysis of index-velocity meters and discharge computations at the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, water years 2006–16
Microbial source tracking and evaluation of best management practices for restoring degraded beaches of Lake Michigan
Circulation, mixing, and transport in nearshore Lake Erie in the vicinity of Villa Angela Beach and Euclid Creek, Cleveland, Ohio, June 10–12, 2019, and August 19–21, 2019
Real-time telemetry and multi-state modeling
Performance of a carbon dioxide injection system at a navigation lock to control the spread of aquatic invasive species
The role of hydraulic and geomorphic complexity in predicting invasive carp spawning potential: St. Croix River, Minnesota and Wisconsin, United States
Emerging control strategies for integrated pest management of invasive carps
Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) user’s manual
Predicting the spatiotemporal exposure of aquatic species to intrusions of fire retardant in streams with limited data
Using turbulence to identify preferential areas for grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) larvae in streams: A laboratory study
Identifying turbulence features hindering swimming capabilities of grass carp larvae (Ctenopharyngodon idella) through submerged vegetation
Science and Products
- Science
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 withAsian 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 scientists...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 into...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 are not likely to... - Data
Filter Total Items: 20
Velocity and Water-Quality Data for the Maumee River Between Defiance and Toledo, Ohio, 2019
As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 774-18 entitled “Development of monitoring and response methodologies, and implementation of an Adaptive Management Framework to work towards Eradication of Grass Carp in Lake Erie” an integrated bathymetric/hydrodynamic/water-quality survey of the Maumee River (Ohio) was completed by the U.S. GeoHydraulic Model Archive and Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) Results for Simulations of Invasive Carp Egg and Larval Drift in the Maumee River, Ohio
The U.S. Geological Survey simulated the drift and dispersal of invasive carp eggs and larvae in the Maumee River, Ohio, using the Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) (Garcia and others, 2013; Domanski, 2020). The hydraulic inputs used in the FluEgg simulations were generated using a one-dimensional Hydrologic Engineering Center-River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) 5.0.7 model of the Maumee River (HECBathymetric data for the Maumee River between Defiance and Toledo, Ohio, 2019
As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project template 774-18 entitled "Development of monitoring and response methodologies, and implementation of an Adaptive Management Framework to work towards Eradication of Grass Carp in Lake Erie" an integrated bathymetric/hydrodynamic/water-quality survey of the Maumee River (Ohio) was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in theBathymetric, water velocity, and water temperature data on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota, June 19-22, 2018
From June 19-22, 2018, bathymetric, water velocity, and water temperature data were collected on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Stillwater, Minnesota. These data were collected with a Teledyne RD Instruments RiverRay acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and georeferenced using a Trimble R10 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver connected to a real-timeBathymetric 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. Cross-sectionsSwimming speeds of grass carp in response to turbulence
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 patches of submerged rigid vegetation). Grass carp laBathymetric 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. Cross-sectionsVelocity, Discharge, and Dye Concentrations During a Dye Tracer Study on the Lower Sandusky River, Ohio, July 11-13, 2017
A dye tracer study was completed on the lower Sandusky River between July 11-13, 2017, during a confirmed Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) spawning event. The data contained in this data release include time series of dye concentration at fixed stations downstream of the injection site and three-dimensional water-velocity data and discharge measurements collected using acoustic Doppler currentUp-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler data in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, January 2014 to January 2018
A critical component of the Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting (LMDA) program, which oversees the diversion of Great Lakes water by the State of Illinois, is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow gaging station on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Lemont, Illinois (05536890). The long-term application of an up-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) at this gaging staWater 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
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 which a tow, coVelocity profiling at the US Army Corps of Engineers Electric Dispersal Barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal during passage of fully loaded commercial tows
In 2016, 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 which a tow, coContinuous Monitoring and Synoptic Mapping of Nearshore Water Quality, Currents, and Bathymetry in Lake Michigan at Jeorse Park Beach near Gary, Indiana
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 recreational acti - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 51
USGS Telemetry Project
No abstract available.Uncertainty analysis of index-velocity meters and discharge computations at the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, water years 2006–16
Monitoring discharge in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is critical for the accounting done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of the diversion of water from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River Basin by the State of Illinois. The primary streamgage used for this discharge monitoring, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois (U.S. Geological Survey station 05536890), is opeMicrobial source tracking and evaluation of best management practices for restoring degraded beaches of Lake Michigan
Attempts to mitigate shoreline microbial contamination require a thorough understanding of pollutant sources, which often requires multiple years of data collection (e.g., point/nonpoint) and the interacting factors that influence water quality. Because restoration efforts can alter shoreline or beach morphology, revisiting source inputs is often necessary. Microbial source tracking (MST) using soCirculation, mixing, and transport in nearshore Lake Erie in the vicinity of Villa Angela Beach and Euclid Creek, Cleveland, Ohio, June 10–12, 2019, and August 19–21, 2019
Villa Angela Beach, on the Lake Erie lakeshore near Cleveland, Ohio, is just west of the mouth of Euclid Creek, a small, flashy stream that drains approximately 23 square miles and is susceptible to periodic contamination from combined sewer overflows (CSOs; 190 and 189 events in 2018 and 2019, respectively). Concerns about high concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in water samples collectReal-time telemetry and multi-state modeling
This project will result in real-time data and other invasive carp movement information to inform realtime management decisions and refine the SEICarP model. FY 2022 funding will produce final transition probability estimates from the newly-developed Bayesian multi-state model, continue the maintenance of real-time telemetry to inform contingency actions, and produce a study plan to refine fishingPerformance of a carbon dioxide injection system at a navigation lock to control the spread of aquatic invasive species
Natural resource agencies need effective strategies to control the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) such as invasive fish, which can expand their range using rivers as hydrological pathways to access new areas. Lock and dam structures within major rivers are prospective locations to deploy techniques, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) infusion into lock water, that could impede upstream AIS migThe role of hydraulic and geomorphic complexity in predicting invasive carp spawning potential: St. Croix River, Minnesota and Wisconsin, United States
Since they were first introduced to the United States more than 50 years ago, invasive carp have rapidly colonized rivers of the Mississippi River Basin, with detrimental effects on native aquatic species. Their continued range expansion, and potential for subsequent invasion of the Great Lakes, has led to increased concern for the susceptibility of as-yet uncompromised lotic and lentic systems inEmerging control strategies for integrated pest management of invasive carps
Invasive carps are ecologically and economically problematic fish species in many large river basins in the United States and pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems throughout much of North America. Four species of invasive carps: black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), are partFluvial 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 (Mylopharyngodon piceus) once developmental data are availablePredicting 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 and the exposure time of species in the affected reach is the lUsing 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 patches of submerged rigid vegetation). Grass carpIdentifying 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 array of rigid cylinders to mimic vegetation. We used