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Paul F Juckem

Paul Juckem is a Hydrologist with the Upper Midwest Water Science Center.

His expertise in groundwater flow and transport modeling is used in studies of regional water availability, groundwater/surface-water interaction, and water quality characterization and prediction for lakes, streams, and aquifers.  Current work involves: leading the development of tools to inform resource managers about the sources, timing, and fate (forecasts) of nutrients in aquifers, wells, and waterbodies; investigating factors that influence groundwater age distributions and travel times within aquifers; assessing the role of groundwater/surface-water interactions along flood plains in attenuating peak flows; mapping the probability of contaminant plume extents in aquifers using Analytic Element groundwater flow models and Monte Carlo techniques; and evaluating effects of water level fluctuations and water quality in shallow lakes.

 

CURRENT RESEARCH

  • Nutrient and contaminant movement in groundwater systems
  • Nutrient loading to lake and river systems
  • Development of hydrologic Decision Support tools
  • Simplification methods for hydrologic modeling (emulators, machine learning, analytic solutions)
  • Uncertainty analysis and forecasting
  • Groundwater flow and transport simulation
  • Water availability and source water protection
  • Groundwater/surface-water interaction (flow and chemistry)

 

Education and Certifications

  • M.S. in Geology - University of Wisconsin-Madison. Thesis: 'Spatial Patterns and Temporal Trends in Groundwater Recharge in the Upper Coon Creek Watershed, Southwest Wisconsin,' 2003.

  • B.S. in Water Resources Management (groundwater emphasis), Geology minor – University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 1999.

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers (2000 - present)

  • Wisconsin State Section (1996 - present); Treasurer (2004 - 2008)

  • American Geophysical Union (1999 - present)

  • American Water Resources Association (1997 - 2006)

Science and Products

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Photo of the discharge from an aquifer pumping test

Groundwater monitoring and research

Groundwater is an important water resource. The USGS collects information on the quality and quantity of groundwater and conducts advanced modeling of groundwater flow and groundwater/surface-water systems. The USGS also evaluates the effects of water-use, land-use, and climate change on groundwater, surface-water, and the ecosystems that rely on them.
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center
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Groundwater monitoring and research

Groundwater is an important water resource. The USGS collects information on the quality and quantity of groundwater and conducts advanced modeling of groundwater flow and groundwater/surface-water systems. The USGS also evaluates the effects of water-use, land-use, and climate change on groundwater, surface-water, and the ecosystems that rely on them.
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MODPATH6 models used to evaluate effects of complexity on groundwater age metrics in the Fox-Wolf-Peshtigo watersheds, Wisconsin

This data release contains five groundwater particle-tracking models (MODPATH6) of northeastern Wisconsin, USA, that were developed to work with three MODFLOW models that have differing levels of complexity. The previously developed MODFLOW models (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175010 and https://doi.org/10.5066/F73J3B3P) were modified slightly to ensure proper functioning with MODPATH6. Modifi
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Water Resources Mission Area, National Water Quality Program

GFLOW model files used to generate probabilistic waste-water plume extents and contributing areas to supply wells for a proposed waste-water infiltration lagoon scenario, Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin

This data release contains files for three scenarios of an analytic element (GFLOW) groundwater flow model with particle-tracking that were developed in cooperation with the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Indian Health Service to map the probablistic plume extent for a proposed waste-water infiltration lagoon, along with maps to delineate the area contributing recharge to suppl
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

MODFLOW-NWT model data sets for simulating effects of groundwater withdrawals on streamflows in Northwestern Chippewa County, Wisconsin

A new groundwater flow model for western Chippewa County, Wisconsin has been developed by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). An analytic element GFLOW model was constructed and calibrated to generate hydraulic boundary conditions for the perimeter of the more detailed three-dimensional MODFLOW-NWT model. This three-dimensional model u
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Filter Total Items: 29

Re‐purposing groundwater flow models for age assessments: Important characteristics

Groundwater flow model construction is often time‐consuming and costly, with development ideally focused on a specific purpose, such as quantifying well capture from water bodies or providing flow fields for simulating advective transport. As environmental challenges evolve, the incentive to re‐purpose existing groundwater flow models may increase. However, few studies have evaluated which charact
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Groundwater flow model for Western Chippewa County–Including analysis of water resources related to industrial sand mining and irrigated agriculture

A groundwater flow model for western Chippewa County, Wisconsin, was developed by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) using the computer program MODFLOW. The model is the result of a five-year groundwater study commissioned by Chippewa County in 2012 to evaluate the effects of industrial sand mining and irrigated agriculture on the coun
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Simulation of the probabilistic plume extent for a potential replacement wastewater-infiltration lagoon, and probabilistic contributing areas for supply wells for the Town of Lac du Flambeau, Vilas County, Wisconsin

An existing two-dimensional, steady-state groundwater-flow model of the shallow groundwater-flow system of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in Vilas County, Wisconsin, originally developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, was used to simulate the potential for wastewater from a proposed relocation of a wastewater lagoon to contaminate the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s drinking-wate
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Extraction and development of inset models in support of groundwater age calculations for glacial aquifers

The U.S. Geological Survey developed a regional model of Lake Michigan Basin (LMB). This report describes the construction of five MODFLOW inset models extracted from the LMB regional model and their application using the particle-tracking code MODPATH to simulate the groundwater age distribution of discharge to wells pumping from glacial deposits. The five study areas of the inset model correspon
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Metamodeling and mapping of nitrate flux in the unsaturated zone and groundwater, Wisconsin, USA

Nitrate contamination of groundwater in agricultural areas poses a major challenge to the sustainability of water resources. Aquifer vulnerability models are useful tools that can help resource managers identify areas of concern, but quantifying nitrogen (N) inputs in such models is challenging, especially at large spatial scales. We sought to improve regional nitrate (NO3−) input functions by cha
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Water Resources Mission Area

Regional variability of nitrate fluxes in the unsaturated zone and groundwater, Wisconsin, USA

Process-based modeling of regional NO3− fluxes to groundwater is critical for understanding and managing water quality, but the complexity of NO3− reactive transport processes make implementation a challenge. This study introduces a regional vertical flux method (VFM) for efficient estimation of reactive transport of NO3− in the vadose zone and groundwater. The regional VFM was applied to 443 well
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Water Resources Mission Area, Toxic Substances Hydrology

Effects of water level and climate on the hydrodynamics and water quality of Anvil Lake, Wisconsin, a shallow seepage lake

Interannual differences in the water quality of Anvil Lake, Wisconsin, were examined to determine how water level and climate affect the hydrodynamics and trophic state of shallow lakes, and their importance compared to anthropogenic changes in the watershed. Anvil Lake is a relatively pristine seepage lake with hydrology dominated by precipitation, evaporation, and groundwater exchange enabling t
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Predicting redox-sensitive contaminant concentrations in groundwater using random forest classification

Machine learning techniques were applied to a large (n > 10,000) compliance monitoring database to predict the occurrence of several redox-active constituents in groundwater across a large watershed. Specifically, random forest classification was used to determine the probabilities of detecting elevated concentrations of nitrate, iron, and arsenic in the Fox, Wolf, Peshtigo, and surrounding waters
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Water Resources Mission Area, Oregon Water Science Center

Simulation of groundwater flow in the glacial aquifer system of northeastern Wisconsin with variable model complexity

The U.S. Geological Survey, National Water-Quality Assessment seeks to map estimated intrinsic susceptibility of the glacial aquifer system of the conterminous United States. Improved understanding of the hydrogeologic characteristics that explain spatial patterns of intrinsic susceptibility, commonly inferred from estimates of groundwater age distributions, is sought so that methods used for the
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Simulation of the regional groundwater-flow system of the Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin

A regional, two-dimensional, steady-state groundwater-flow model was developed to simulate the groundwater-flow system and groundwater/surface-water interactions within the Menominee Indian Reservation. The model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, to contribute to the fundamental understanding of the region’s hydrogeolog
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Simulation of groundwater flow and interaction of groundwater and surface water on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, Wisconsin

The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Indian Health Service are interested in improving the understanding of groundwater flow and groundwater/surface-water interaction on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation (Reservation) in southwest Vilas County and southeast Iron County, Wisconsin, with particular interest in an understanding of the potential for contamination of groundwater supply
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Hydrology and water quality of Shell Lake, Washburn County, Wisconsin, with special emphasis on the effects of diversion and changes in water level on the water quality of a shallow terminal lake

Shell Lake is a relatively shallow terminal lake (tributaries but no outlets) in northwestern Wisconsin that has experienced approximately 10 feet (ft) of water-level fluctuation over more than 70 years of record and extensive flooding of nearshore areas starting in the early 2000s. The City of Shell Lake (City) received a permit from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2002 to divert
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Science and Products

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government