Richard G Niswonger
Richard Niswonger is a Research Hydrologist with the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
We study local and regional water resources to aid water management decisions by developing software and constructing models that simulate both natural hydrologic processes and human water usage.
In my current role as the national water use research manager, I lead teams in the development of nationally consistent models with three key features: automated data retrieval, monthly simulation at the USGS 12-digit Watershed Boundary Dataset (HUC12) resolution, and periodic updates for current and forecasted results. These models help identify data gaps, enhance data collection, and refine water use predictions. They facilitate frequent reporting, synthesis, and interpretation of data that support communities making informed water resources decisions.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 52
Managed aquifer recharge through off-season irrigation in agricultural regions
Options for increasing reservoir storage in developed regions are limited and prohibitively expensive. Projected increases in demand call for new long-term water storage to help sustain agriculture, municipalities, industry, and ecological services. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is becoming an integral component of water resources around the world. However, MAR faces challenges, including infrast
Authors
Richard G. Niswonger, Eric D. Morway, Enrique Triana, Justin L. Huntington
Nutrient processes at the stream-lake interface for a channelized versus unmodified stream mouth
Inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorous impact freshwater lakes by stimulating primary production and affecting water quality and ecosystem health. Communities around the world are motivated to sustain and restore freshwater resources and are interested in processes controlling nutrient inputs. We studied the environment where streams flow into lakes, referred to as the stream-lake interface (
Authors
Richard G. Niswonger, Ramon C. Naranjo, David Smith, James E. Constantz, Kip K. Allander, Donald O. Rosenberry, Bethany Neilson, Michael R. Rosen, David A. Stonestrom
Evaluating mountain meadow groundwater response to Pinyon-Juniper and temperature in a great basin watershed
This research highlights development and application of an integrated hydrologic model (GSFLOW) to a semiarid, snow-dominated watershed in the Great Basin to evaluate Pinyon-Juniper (PJ) and temperature controls on mountain meadow shallow groundwater. The work used Google Earth Engine Landsat satellite and gridded climate archives for model evaluation. Model simulations across three decades indica
Authors
Rosemary W.H. Carroll, Justin L. Huntington, Keirith A. Snyder, Richard G. Niswonger, Charles Morton, Tamzen K. Stringham
Assessing the role of climate and resource management on groundwater dependent ecosystem changes in arid environments with the Landsat archive
Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) rely on near-surface groundwater. These systems are receiving more attention with rising air temperature, prolonged drought, and where groundwater pumping captures natural groundwater discharge for anthropogenic use. Phreatophyte shrublands, meadows, and riparian areas are GDEs that provide critical habitat for many sensitive species, especially in arid and
Authors
Justin Huntington, Kenneth C. McGwire, Charles Morton, Keirith A. Snyder, Sarah Peterson, Tyler Erickson, Richard G. Niswonger, Rosemary W.H. Carroll, Guy Smith, Richard Allen
Toward improved simulation of river operations through integration with a hydrologic model
Advanced modeling tools are needed for informed water resources planning and management. Two classes of modeling tools are often used to this end–(1) distributed-parameter hydrologic models for quantifying supply and (2) river-operation models for sorting out demands under rule-based systems such as the prior-appropriation doctrine. Within each of these two broad classes of models, there are many
Authors
Eric D. Morway, Richard G. Niswonger, Enrique Triana
An overview of current applications, challenges, and future trends in distributed process-based models in hydrology
Process-based hydrological models have a long history dating back to the 1960s. Criticized by some as over-parameterized, overly complex, and difficult to use, a more nuanced view is that these tools are necessary in many situations and, in a certain class of problems, they are the most appropriate type of hydrological model. This is especially the case in situations where knowledge of flow paths
Authors
Simone Fatichi, Enrique R. Vivoni, Fred L Odgen, Valeriy Y Ivanov, Benjamin B. Mirus, David Gochis, Charles W Downer, Matteo Camporese, Jason H Davison, Brian A. Ebel, Norm Jones, Jon Kim, Giuseppe Mascaro, Richard G. Niswonger, Pedro Restrepo, Riccardo Rigon, Chaopeng Shen, Mauro Sulis, David Tarboton
Groundwater exchanges near a channelized versus unmodified stream mouth discharging to a subalpine lake
The terminus of a stream flowing into a larger river, pond, lake, or reservoir is referred to as the stream-mouth reach or simply the stream mouth. The terminus is often characterized by rapidly changing thermal and hydraulic conditions that result in abrupt shifts in surface water/groundwater (sw/gw) exchange patterns, creating the potential for unique biogeochemical processes and ecosystems. Wor
Authors
James Constantz, Ramon C. Naranjo, Richard G. Niswonger, Kip K. Allander, B. Neilson, Donald O. Rosenberry, David W. Smith, C. Rosecrans, David A. Stonestrom
Documentation of a restart option for the U.S. Geological Survey coupled Groundwater and Surface-Water Flow (GSFLOW) model
A new option to write and read antecedent conditions (also referred to as initial conditions) has been developed for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Groundwater and Surface-Water Flow (GSFLOW) numerical, hydrologic simulation code. GSFLOW is an integration of the USGS Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) and USGS Modular Groundwater-Flow Model (MODFLOW), and provides three simulation mode
Authors
R. Steve Regan, Richard G. Niswonger, Steven L. Markstrom, Paul M. Barlow
Water-budgets and recharge-area simulations for the Spring Creek and Nittany Creek Basins and parts of the Spruce Creek Basin, Centre and Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania, Water Years 2000–06
This report describes the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with ClearWater Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to develop a hydrologic model to simulate a water budget and identify areas of greater than average recharge for the Spring Creek Basin in central Pennsylvania. The model was developed to help policy makers, natural resour
Authors
John W. Fulton, Dennis W. Risser, R. Steve Regan, John F. Walker, Randall J. Hunt, Richard G. Niswonger, Scott A. Hoffman, Steven L. Markstrom
Mixing effects on nitrogen and oxygen concentrations and the relationship to mean residence time in a hyporheic zone of a riffle-pool sequence
Flow paths and residence times in the hyporheic zone are known to influence biogeochemical processes such as nitrification and denitrification. The exchange across the sediment-water interface may involve mixing of surface water and groundwater through complex hyporheic flow paths that contribute to highly variable biogeochemically active zones. Despite the recognition of these patterns in the lit
Authors
Ramon C. Naranjo, Richard G. Niswonger, Clinton Davis
Simulation of the Lower Walker River Basin hydrologic system, west-central Nevada, using PRMS and MODFLOW models
Walker Lake is a terminal lake in west-central Nevada with almost all outflow occurring through evaporation. Diversions from Walker River since the early 1900s have contributed to a substantial reduction in flow entering Walker Lake. As a result, the lake is receding, and salt concentrations have increased to a level in which Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi (Lahontan Cutthroat trout) are no longer p
Authors
Kip K. Allander, Richard G. Niswonger, Anne E. Jeton
One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (MODFLOW-OWHM)
The One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (MF-OWHM) is a MODFLOW-based integrated hydrologic flow model (IHM) that is the most complete version, to date, of the MODFLOW family of hydrologic simulators needed for the analysis of a broad range of conjunctive-use issues. Conjunctive use is the combined use of groundwater and surface water. MF-OWHM allows the simulation, analysis, and management of nearly a
Authors
Randall T. Hanson, Scott E. Boyce, Wolfgang Schmid, Joseph D. Hughes, Steffen W. Mehl, Stanley A. Leake, Thomas Maddock, Richard G. Niswonger
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 52
Managed aquifer recharge through off-season irrigation in agricultural regions
Options for increasing reservoir storage in developed regions are limited and prohibitively expensive. Projected increases in demand call for new long-term water storage to help sustain agriculture, municipalities, industry, and ecological services. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is becoming an integral component of water resources around the world. However, MAR faces challenges, including infrastAuthorsRichard G. Niswonger, Eric D. Morway, Enrique Triana, Justin L. HuntingtonNutrient processes at the stream-lake interface for a channelized versus unmodified stream mouth
Inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorous impact freshwater lakes by stimulating primary production and affecting water quality and ecosystem health. Communities around the world are motivated to sustain and restore freshwater resources and are interested in processes controlling nutrient inputs. We studied the environment where streams flow into lakes, referred to as the stream-lake interface (AuthorsRichard G. Niswonger, Ramon C. Naranjo, David Smith, James E. Constantz, Kip K. Allander, Donald O. Rosenberry, Bethany Neilson, Michael R. Rosen, David A. StonestromEvaluating mountain meadow groundwater response to Pinyon-Juniper and temperature in a great basin watershed
This research highlights development and application of an integrated hydrologic model (GSFLOW) to a semiarid, snow-dominated watershed in the Great Basin to evaluate Pinyon-Juniper (PJ) and temperature controls on mountain meadow shallow groundwater. The work used Google Earth Engine Landsat satellite and gridded climate archives for model evaluation. Model simulations across three decades indicaAuthorsRosemary W.H. Carroll, Justin L. Huntington, Keirith A. Snyder, Richard G. Niswonger, Charles Morton, Tamzen K. StringhamAssessing the role of climate and resource management on groundwater dependent ecosystem changes in arid environments with the Landsat archive
Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) rely on near-surface groundwater. These systems are receiving more attention with rising air temperature, prolonged drought, and where groundwater pumping captures natural groundwater discharge for anthropogenic use. Phreatophyte shrublands, meadows, and riparian areas are GDEs that provide critical habitat for many sensitive species, especially in arid andAuthorsJustin Huntington, Kenneth C. McGwire, Charles Morton, Keirith A. Snyder, Sarah Peterson, Tyler Erickson, Richard G. Niswonger, Rosemary W.H. Carroll, Guy Smith, Richard AllenToward improved simulation of river operations through integration with a hydrologic model
Advanced modeling tools are needed for informed water resources planning and management. Two classes of modeling tools are often used to this end–(1) distributed-parameter hydrologic models for quantifying supply and (2) river-operation models for sorting out demands under rule-based systems such as the prior-appropriation doctrine. Within each of these two broad classes of models, there are manyAuthorsEric D. Morway, Richard G. Niswonger, Enrique TrianaAn overview of current applications, challenges, and future trends in distributed process-based models in hydrology
Process-based hydrological models have a long history dating back to the 1960s. Criticized by some as over-parameterized, overly complex, and difficult to use, a more nuanced view is that these tools are necessary in many situations and, in a certain class of problems, they are the most appropriate type of hydrological model. This is especially the case in situations where knowledge of flow pathsAuthorsSimone Fatichi, Enrique R. Vivoni, Fred L Odgen, Valeriy Y Ivanov, Benjamin B. Mirus, David Gochis, Charles W Downer, Matteo Camporese, Jason H Davison, Brian A. Ebel, Norm Jones, Jon Kim, Giuseppe Mascaro, Richard G. Niswonger, Pedro Restrepo, Riccardo Rigon, Chaopeng Shen, Mauro Sulis, David TarbotonGroundwater exchanges near a channelized versus unmodified stream mouth discharging to a subalpine lake
The terminus of a stream flowing into a larger river, pond, lake, or reservoir is referred to as the stream-mouth reach or simply the stream mouth. The terminus is often characterized by rapidly changing thermal and hydraulic conditions that result in abrupt shifts in surface water/groundwater (sw/gw) exchange patterns, creating the potential for unique biogeochemical processes and ecosystems. WorAuthorsJames Constantz, Ramon C. Naranjo, Richard G. Niswonger, Kip K. Allander, B. Neilson, Donald O. Rosenberry, David W. Smith, C. Rosecrans, David A. StonestromDocumentation of a restart option for the U.S. Geological Survey coupled Groundwater and Surface-Water Flow (GSFLOW) model
A new option to write and read antecedent conditions (also referred to as initial conditions) has been developed for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Groundwater and Surface-Water Flow (GSFLOW) numerical, hydrologic simulation code. GSFLOW is an integration of the USGS Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) and USGS Modular Groundwater-Flow Model (MODFLOW), and provides three simulation modeAuthorsR. Steve Regan, Richard G. Niswonger, Steven L. Markstrom, Paul M. BarlowWater-budgets and recharge-area simulations for the Spring Creek and Nittany Creek Basins and parts of the Spruce Creek Basin, Centre and Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania, Water Years 2000–06
This report describes the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with ClearWater Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to develop a hydrologic model to simulate a water budget and identify areas of greater than average recharge for the Spring Creek Basin in central Pennsylvania. The model was developed to help policy makers, natural resourAuthorsJohn W. Fulton, Dennis W. Risser, R. Steve Regan, John F. Walker, Randall J. Hunt, Richard G. Niswonger, Scott A. Hoffman, Steven L. MarkstromMixing effects on nitrogen and oxygen concentrations and the relationship to mean residence time in a hyporheic zone of a riffle-pool sequence
Flow paths and residence times in the hyporheic zone are known to influence biogeochemical processes such as nitrification and denitrification. The exchange across the sediment-water interface may involve mixing of surface water and groundwater through complex hyporheic flow paths that contribute to highly variable biogeochemically active zones. Despite the recognition of these patterns in the litAuthorsRamon C. Naranjo, Richard G. Niswonger, Clinton DavisSimulation of the Lower Walker River Basin hydrologic system, west-central Nevada, using PRMS and MODFLOW models
Walker Lake is a terminal lake in west-central Nevada with almost all outflow occurring through evaporation. Diversions from Walker River since the early 1900s have contributed to a substantial reduction in flow entering Walker Lake. As a result, the lake is receding, and salt concentrations have increased to a level in which Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi (Lahontan Cutthroat trout) are no longer pAuthorsKip K. Allander, Richard G. Niswonger, Anne E. JetonOne-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (MODFLOW-OWHM)
The One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (MF-OWHM) is a MODFLOW-based integrated hydrologic flow model (IHM) that is the most complete version, to date, of the MODFLOW family of hydrologic simulators needed for the analysis of a broad range of conjunctive-use issues. Conjunctive use is the combined use of groundwater and surface water. MF-OWHM allows the simulation, analysis, and management of nearly aAuthorsRandall T. Hanson, Scott E. Boyce, Wolfgang Schmid, Joseph D. Hughes, Steffen W. Mehl, Stanley A. Leake, Thomas Maddock, Richard G. Niswonger - Science
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