Patrick (Ryan) Jackson, Ph.D.
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 Since unpublished research benefits nobody, he actively strives to publish his studies in peer-reviewed journals, technical reports, conference papers, and data releases.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
First evidence of grass carp recruitment in the Great Lakes Basin
Hydraulic and water-quality data collection for the investigation of Great Lakes tributaries for Asian carp spawning and egg-transport suitability
Development of a Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator to evaluate the transport and dispersion of Asian carp eggs in rivers
Visualizing flow fields using acoustic Doppler current profilers and the Velocity Mapping Toolbox
Evaluation of the potential for hysteresis in index-velocity ratings for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois
Integrated synoptic surveys using an autonomous underwater vehicle and manned boats
Groundwater and surface-water interactions near White Bear Lake, Minnesota, through 2011
Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT): a processing and visualization suite for moving-vessel ADCP measurements
Real-time piscicide tracking using Rhodamine WT dye for support of application, transport, and deactivation strategies in riverine environments
Comparison of index velocity measurements made with a horizontal acoustic Doppler current profiler
The role of the U.S. Geological Survey in Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting in Illinois, 1984-2010
Bed morphology, flow structure, and sediment transport at the outlet of Lake Huron and in the upper St. Clair River
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First evidence of grass carp recruitment in the Great Lakes Basin
We use aging techniques, ploidy analysis, and otolith microchemistry to assess whether four grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella captured from the Sandusky River, Ohio were the result of natural reproduction within the Lake Erie Basin. All four fish were of age 1 +. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that these fish were not aquaculture-reared and that they were most likely the result of successfulAuthorsDuane Chapman, J. Jeremiah Davis, Jill A. Jenkins, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Jeffrey G. Miner, John Farver, P. Ryan JacksonHydraulic and water-quality data collection for the investigation of Great Lakes tributaries for Asian carp spawning and egg-transport suitability
If the invasive Asian carps (bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) migrate to the Great Lakes, in spite of the efforts to stop their advancement, these species will require the fast-flowing water of the Great Lakes tributaries for spawning and recruitment in order to establish a growing population. Two Lake Michigan tributaries (the Milwaukee and St.AuthorsElizabeth A. Murphy, P. Ryan JacksonDevelopment of a Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator to evaluate the transport and dispersion of Asian carp eggs in rivers
Asian carp are migrating towards the Great Lakes and are threatening to invade this ecosystem, hence there is an immediate need to control their population. The transport of Asian carp eggs in potential spawning rivers is an important factor in its life history and recruitment success. An understanding of the transport, development, and fate of Asian carp eggs has the potential to create preventioAuthorsTatiana Garcia, P. Ryan Jackson, Elizabeth A. Murphy, Albert J. Valocchi, Marcelo H. GarciaVisualizing flow fields using acoustic Doppler current profilers and the Velocity Mapping Toolbox
The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide examples of how the U.S. Geological Survey is using acoustic Doppler current profilers for much more than routine discharge measurements. These instruments are capable of mapping complex three-dimensional flow fields within rivers, lakes, and estuaries. Using the Velocity Mapping Toolbox to process the ADCP data allows detailed visualization of the dataAuthorsP. Ryan JacksonEvaluation of the potential for hysteresis in index-velocity ratings for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for monitoring flows in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Lemont, Illinois, as a part of the Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting is mandated by a U.S. Supreme Court decree in order to monitor, and limit, the State of Illinois’ annual diverAuthorsP. Ryan Jackson, Sumit Sinha, Som Dutta, Kevin K. Johnson, James J. Duncker, Marcelo H. GarciaIntegrated synoptic surveys using an autonomous underwater vehicle and manned boats
Traditional surface-water surveys are being combined with autonomous technology to produce integrated surveys of bathymetry, water quality, and velocity in inland lakes and reservoirs. This new technology provides valuable, high-resolution, integrated data that allow a systems-based approach to understanding common environmental problems. This fact sheet presents several example applications of inAuthorsP. Ryan JacksonGroundwater and surface-water interactions near White Bear Lake, Minnesota, through 2011
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the White Bear Lake Conservation District, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and other State, county, municipal, and regional planning agencies, watershed organizations, and private organizations, conducted a study to characterize groundwater and surface-water interactions near White Bear Lake throAuthorsPerry M. Jones, Jared J. Trost, Donald O. Rosenberry, P. Ryan Jackson, Jenifer A. Bode, Ryan M. O'GradyVelocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT): a processing and visualization suite for moving-vessel ADCP measurements
The use of acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) for discharge measurements and three-dimensional flow mapping has increased rapidly in recent years and has been primarily driven by advances in acoustic technology and signal processing. Recent research has developed a variety of methods for processing data obtained from a range of ADCP deployments and this paper builds on this progress by descAuthorsD.R. Parsons, P.R. Jackson, J. A. Czuba, F.L. Engel, B.L. Rhoads, K. A. Oberg, J.L. Best, D. S. Mueller, K. K. Johnson, J.D. RileyReal-time piscicide tracking using Rhodamine WT dye for support of application, transport, and deactivation strategies in riverine environments
Piscicide applications in riverine environments are complicated by the advection and dispersion of the piscicide by the flowing water. Proper deactivation of the fish toxin is required outside of the treatment reach to ensure that there is minimal collateral damage to fisheries downstream or in connecting and adjacent water bodies. In urban settings and highly managed waterways, further complicatiAuthorsPatrick Ryan Jackson, Jonathan D. LagemanComparison of index velocity measurements made with a horizontal acoustic Doppler current profiler
The State of Illinois' annual withdrawal from Lake Michigan is limited by a U.S. Supreme Court decree, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for monitoring flows in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Lemont, Illinois as a part of the Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. Every 5 years, a technical review commiAuthorsP. Ryan Jackson, Kevin K. Johnson, James J. DunckerThe role of the U.S. Geological Survey in Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting in Illinois, 1984-2010
The State of Illinois' annual withdrawl from Lake Michigan is limited by a U.S. Supreme Court decree. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for monitoring flows in the Chicago area waterway system (CAWS) as part of the Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting (LMDA) overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. Every five years, the USGS streamgage practices in the CAWS areAuthorsKevin K. Johnson, James J. Duncker, P. Ryan JacksonBed morphology, flow structure, and sediment transport at the outlet of Lake Huron and in the upper St. Clair River
An integrated multibeam echo sounder and acoustic Doppler current profiler field survey was conducted in July 2008 to investigate the morphodynamics of the St. Clair River at the outlet of Lake Huron. The principal morphological features of the upper St. Clair River included flow-transverse bedforms that appear weakly mobile, erosive bedforms in cohesive muds, thin non-cohesive veneers of weakly mAuthorsJ. A. Czuba, J.L. Best, K. A. Oberg, D.R. Parsons, P.R. Jackson, M.H. Garcia, P. Ashmore