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
Ecology for a crowded planet
Watershed sustainability: Downstream effects of timber harvest in the Ozarks of Missouri
Fluvial processes and passive rehabilitation of the Lisbon Bottom side-channel chute, Lower Missouri River
Land-use changes and the physical habitat of streams - a review with emphasis on studies within the U.S. Geological Survey Federal-State Cooperative Program
Warmwater streams: Chapter 19
Physical setting: Chapter 1 in Initial biotic survey of Lisbon Bottom, Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
Riparian-vegetation controls on the spatial pattern of stream-channel instability, Little Piney Creek, Missouri
Gravel sediment routing from widespread, low-intensity landscape disturbance, Current River basin, Missouri
Geomorphic changes on the Mississippi River flood plain at Miller City, Illinois, as a result of the flood of 1993
Non-USGS Publications**
**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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Ecology for a crowded planet
Within the next 50 to 100 years, the support and maintenance of an extended human family of 8 to 11 billion people will be difficult at best. The authors of this Policy Forum describe changes that are required if we hope to meet the needs and aspirations of humans while improving the health of our planet's ecosystems. Problems as diverse as disease transmission and global climate change have benefWatershed sustainability: Downstream effects of timber harvest in the Ozarks of Missouri
The downstream effects of timber harvest in the Ozarks of Missouri can be evaluated by analogy to other geographic areas and by historical analysis of responses to past land use activities. Based on research from other geographic regions, timber harvest in the Ozarks would be expected to have minor effects on annual water yield and dissolved-phase water quality. The potential exists for haul roadsFluvial processes and passive rehabilitation of the Lisbon Bottom side-channel chute, Lower Missouri River
Multiple large floods in 1993-1997 on the Lower Missouri River carved a side-channel chute through the river bottom at Lisbon, Missouri. Although similar in some respects to engineered side-channel chutes designed for habitat rehabilitation projects, the Lisbon Bottom chute has been unique in that it was allowed to evolve for more than four years with minimal stabilization. During the wet years, 1Land-use changes and the physical habitat of streams - a review with emphasis on studies within the U.S. Geological Survey Federal-State Cooperative Program
Understanding the links between land-use changes and physical stream habitat responses is of increasing importance to guide resource management and stream restoration strategies. Transmission of runoff and sediment to streams can involve complex responses of drainage basins, including time lags, thresholds, and cumulative effects. Land-use induced runoff and sediment yield often combine with channWarmwater streams: Chapter 19
No abstract available.Physical setting: Chapter 1 in Initial biotic survey of Lisbon Bottom, Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
Lisbon Bottom consists of approximately 875 ha of river bottom along the Missouri River in Howard County, Missouri, from approximately river mile (RM) 213 to RM 219. As used in this report, the Lisbon Bottom area also includes the main channel of the Missouri River adjacent to the Lisbon Bottom and portions of the adjacent flood plain in Saline County, Missouri.Before regulation and structuring ofRiparian-vegetation controls on the spatial pattern of stream-channel instability, Little Piney Creek, Missouri
The role of riparian vegetation is assessed quantitatively by using a five-decade record of valley bottom vegetation and channel dynamics developed from historical aerial photography. A 12-kilometer reach of a typical Ozarks stream was mapped using aerial photographs from 1938, 1948, 1955, 1965, 1976, and 1989; maps were then analyzed in a digital geographic information system. Analysis of sequentGravel sediment routing from widespread, low-intensity landscape disturbance, Current River basin, Missouri
During the last 160 years, land-use changes in the Ozarks have had the potential to cause widespread, low-intensity delivery of excess amounts of gravel-sized sediment to stream channels. Previous studies have indicated that this excess gravel bedload is moving in wave-like forms through Ozarks drainage basins. The longitudinal, areal distribution of gravel bars along 160 km of the Current River,Geomorphic changes on the Mississippi River flood plain at Miller City, Illinois, as a result of the flood of 1993
During the 1993 floods on the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers, the most dramatic changes to floodplains occurred at levee-break complexes where large discharges were concentrated through narrow breaks in levees. Scour and deposition associated with levee breaks adversely affected large areas of formerly productive bottomland. This case study of the levee-break complex at Miller City, IllinoiNon-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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