Dr. Robert Jacobson is a Supervisory Research Hydrologist at the Columbia Environmental Research Center.
Dr. Robert B. Jacobson received his Ph.D. from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, and he holds an undergraduate degree in Geology from Carleton College. He has worked for the U.S. Geological Survey since 1983 in geologic hazards, neotectonics, paleoseismology, geomorphology, surficial processes and riverine habitat dynamics. He is the Chief of the River Studies Branch, where he supervises a staff of ecologists, fish biologists, geomorphologists and hydrologists engaged in interdisciplinary research in fundamental river processes, applied to pressing river management decisions.
Professional Experience
2009 - Present - Supervisory Research Hydrologist, Branch Chief, Project Chief. Supervises a team of approximately 30 ecologists, fish biologists, geomorphologists, and hydrologists engaged in interdisciplinary research in river ecosystems. My research efforts are directed toward decision-relevant information needs for management and restoration of large rivers, with an emphasis on the M
1997 – 2009 - Research Hydrologist and Principal Investigator, River Corridor Habitat Dynamics. Supervised a team of hydrologists and geomorphologists and collaborated with fish biologists, ecologists, hydrologists, and geographers engaged in interdisciplinary river research. Focus was on gravel-bed streams of the Ozark Plateaus and the highly engineered Lower Missouri River.
1989 – 1997 - Research Hydrologist, Project Chief, USGS, Rolla, Missouri. Research in surficial processes, emphasis on sediment routing through watersheds, formation and maintenance of aquatic habitat
1983 – 1989 - Research Geologist, USGS, Reston, Virginia. Research in surficial processes, emphasis on neotectonics, paleoseismology, Quaternary climate change, landslide and flood hazards, Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Appalachian mountains.
Education and Certifications
PhD – The Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering.
B.A. – Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota. Magna cum laude with Department honors, in Geology.
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 134
Land Capability Potential Index (LCPI) and geodatabase for the Lower Missouri River Valley
The Land Capacity Potential Index (LCPI) is a coarse-scale index intended to delineate broad land-capability classes in the Lower Missouri River valley bottom from the Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota to the mouth of the Missouri River near St. Louis, Missouri (river miles 811–0). The LCPI provides a systematic index of wetness potential and soil moisture-retention potential of the vall
Riverine habitat dynamics
The physical habitat template is a fundamental influence on riverine ecosystem structure and function. Habitat dynamics refers to the variation in habitat through space and time as the result of varying discharge and varying geomorphology. Habitat dynamics can be assessed at spatial scales ranging from the grain (the smallest resolution at which an organism relates to its environment) to the exten
Effects of flow dynamics on the aquatic-terrestrial transition zone (ATTZ) of lower Missouri river sandbars with implications for selected biota
Sandbars are an important aquatic terrestrial transition zone (ATTZ) in the active channel of rivers that provide a variety of habitat conditions for riverine biota. Channelization and flow regulation in many large rivers have diminished sandbar habitats and their rehabilitation is a priority. We developed sandbar-specific models of discharge-area relationships to determine how changes in flow reg
The U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystem Science Strategy, 2012-2022 - Advancing discovery and application through collaboration
Ecosystem science is critical to making informed decisions about natural resources that can sustain our Nation’s economic and environmental well-being. Resource managers and policy-makers are faced with countless decisions each year at local, state, tribal, territorial, and national levels on issues as diverse as renewable and non-renewable energy development, agriculture, forestry, water supply,
Optimum swimming pathways of fish spawning migrations in rivers
Fishes that swim upstream in rivers to spawn must navigate complex fluvial velocity fields to arrive at their ultimate locations. One hypothesis with substantial implications is that fish traverse pathways that minimize their energy expenditure during migration. Here we present the methodological and theoretical developments necessary to test this and similar hypotheses. First, a cost function is
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Lower Missouri River: Annual report 2010
The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The project strategy integrates field and laboratory studies of sturgeon reproductive ecology, early life history, habitat requirements, and physiology. The project scope of work is dev
Discussion of "Natural hydrograph of the Missouri River near Sioux City and the least tern and piping plover" by Donald G. Jorgensen
The author analyzed stream-flow data from a single gauging station to predict preengineering flooding frequency for "sandbar islands adjacent to stream gauge on the Missouri River at Sioux City." He predicted dates that sandbars would be exposed and discussed his results relative to reproduction by least terns (Sternula antillarum) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). His analysis predicted sa
Habitat and landscape effects on abundance of Missouri's grassland birds
Of 6 million ha of prairie that once covered northern and western Missouri,
3-D flow and scour near a submerged wing dike: ADCP measurements on the Missouri River
Detailed mapping of bathymetry and three-dimensional water velocities using a boat-mounted single-beam sonar and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) was carried out in the vicinity of two submerged wing dikes located in the Lower Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri. During high spring flows the wing dikes become submerged, creating a unique combination of vertical flow separation and overt
Identifying structural elements needed for development of a predictive life-history model for pallid and shovelnose sturgeons
Intensive management of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers has resulted in dramatic changes to the river systems and their biota. These changes have been implicated in the decline of the pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus), which has been listed as a United States federal endangered species. The sympatric shovelnose sturgeon (S. platorynchus) is more common and widespread but has also been in
Hydrologic and geomorphic considerations in restoration of river-floodplain connectivity in a highly altered river system, Lower Missouri River, USA
Planning for restoration of river-floodplain systems requires understanding how often and how much of a floodplain may be inundated, and how likely the floodplain is to retain the water once flooded. These factors depend fundamentally on hydrology and geomorphology of the channel and floodplain. We discuss application of an index of river-floodplain connectivity, the Land Capability Potential Inde
Non-USGS Publications**
Jacobson, R. B., 1986, Genesis and distribution of colluvium, Buffalo Creek Area, Marion County, West Virginia: Transportation Research Record, Transportation Research Board, v. 1089, p. 63-67.
Jacobson, R. B., and Coleman, D.J., 1986, Stratigraphy and recent evolution of Maryland Piedmont flood plains: American Journal of Science, v. 286, p. 617-637
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
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- Publications
Filter Total Items: 134
Land Capability Potential Index (LCPI) and geodatabase for the Lower Missouri River Valley
The Land Capacity Potential Index (LCPI) is a coarse-scale index intended to delineate broad land-capability classes in the Lower Missouri River valley bottom from the Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota to the mouth of the Missouri River near St. Louis, Missouri (river miles 811–0). The LCPI provides a systematic index of wetness potential and soil moisture-retention potential of the vallRiverine habitat dynamics
The physical habitat template is a fundamental influence on riverine ecosystem structure and function. Habitat dynamics refers to the variation in habitat through space and time as the result of varying discharge and varying geomorphology. Habitat dynamics can be assessed at spatial scales ranging from the grain (the smallest resolution at which an organism relates to its environment) to the extenEffects of flow dynamics on the aquatic-terrestrial transition zone (ATTZ) of lower Missouri river sandbars with implications for selected biota
Sandbars are an important aquatic terrestrial transition zone (ATTZ) in the active channel of rivers that provide a variety of habitat conditions for riverine biota. Channelization and flow regulation in many large rivers have diminished sandbar habitats and their rehabilitation is a priority. We developed sandbar-specific models of discharge-area relationships to determine how changes in flow regThe U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystem Science Strategy, 2012-2022 - Advancing discovery and application through collaboration
Ecosystem science is critical to making informed decisions about natural resources that can sustain our Nation’s economic and environmental well-being. Resource managers and policy-makers are faced with countless decisions each year at local, state, tribal, territorial, and national levels on issues as diverse as renewable and non-renewable energy development, agriculture, forestry, water supply,Optimum swimming pathways of fish spawning migrations in rivers
Fishes that swim upstream in rivers to spawn must navigate complex fluvial velocity fields to arrive at their ultimate locations. One hypothesis with substantial implications is that fish traverse pathways that minimize their energy expenditure during migration. Here we present the methodological and theoretical developments necessary to test this and similar hypotheses. First, a cost function isEcological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Lower Missouri River: Annual report 2010
The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The project strategy integrates field and laboratory studies of sturgeon reproductive ecology, early life history, habitat requirements, and physiology. The project scope of work is devDiscussion of "Natural hydrograph of the Missouri River near Sioux City and the least tern and piping plover" by Donald G. Jorgensen
The author analyzed stream-flow data from a single gauging station to predict preengineering flooding frequency for "sandbar islands adjacent to stream gauge on the Missouri River at Sioux City." He predicted dates that sandbars would be exposed and discussed his results relative to reproduction by least terns (Sternula antillarum) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). His analysis predicted saHabitat and landscape effects on abundance of Missouri's grassland birds
Of 6 million ha of prairie that once covered northern and western Missouri,3-D flow and scour near a submerged wing dike: ADCP measurements on the Missouri River
Detailed mapping of bathymetry and three-dimensional water velocities using a boat-mounted single-beam sonar and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) was carried out in the vicinity of two submerged wing dikes located in the Lower Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri. During high spring flows the wing dikes become submerged, creating a unique combination of vertical flow separation and overtIdentifying structural elements needed for development of a predictive life-history model for pallid and shovelnose sturgeons
Intensive management of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers has resulted in dramatic changes to the river systems and their biota. These changes have been implicated in the decline of the pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus), which has been listed as a United States federal endangered species. The sympatric shovelnose sturgeon (S. platorynchus) is more common and widespread but has also been inHydrologic and geomorphic considerations in restoration of river-floodplain connectivity in a highly altered river system, Lower Missouri River, USA
Planning for restoration of river-floodplain systems requires understanding how often and how much of a floodplain may be inundated, and how likely the floodplain is to retain the water once flooded. These factors depend fundamentally on hydrology and geomorphology of the channel and floodplain. We discuss application of an index of river-floodplain connectivity, the Land Capability Potential IndeNon-USGS Publications**
Jacobson, R. B., 1986, Genesis and distribution of colluvium, Buffalo Creek Area, Marion County, West Virginia: Transportation Research Record, Transportation Research Board, v. 1089, p. 63-67.Jacobson, R. B., and Coleman, D.J., 1986, Stratigraphy and recent evolution of Maryland Piedmont flood plains: American Journal of Science, v. 286, p. 617-637**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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