Robert R Mason
Science and Products
Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) Network
During large coastal storms, the storm surge and waves are the main cause of destruction and landscape change, transporting saline water, sediment, and debris inland. The USGS, in collaboration with stakeholders, has constructed the Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) Network along the Northeastern Atlantic Coast. SWaTH monitors and documents the height, extent, and timing of storm...
Historical Flooding
The USGS provides practical, unbiased information about the Nation's rivers and streams that is crucial in mitigating hazards associated with floods. This site provides information about the USGS activities, data, and services provided during regional high-flow events, such as hurricanes or multi-state flooding events. The USGS response to these events is typically managed by the National...
Evaluation of recommended revisions to Bulletin 17B
For the past 36 years, Bulletin 17B, published by the Interagency Committee on Water Data in 1982, has guided flood-frequency analyses in the United States. During this period, much has been learned about both hydrology and statistical methods. In keeping with the tradition of periodically updating the Bulletin 17B guidelines in light of advances...
Cohn, Timothy A.; Barth, Nancy A. ; England, John F. ; Faber, Beth A.; Mason, Robert R.; Stedinger, Jery R.
A comparison of methods for streamflow uncertainty estimation
Streamflow time series are commonly derived from stage‐discharge rating curves, but the uncertainty of the rating curve and resulting streamflow series are poorly understood. While different methods to quantify uncertainty in the stage‐discharge relationship exist, there is limited understanding of how uncertainty estimates differ between methods...
Kiang, Julie E.; Gazoorian, Christopher L.; McMillan, Hillary; Coxon, Gemma; Le Coz, Jerome; Westerberg, Ida; Belleville, Arnaud; Sevrez, Damien; Sikorska, Anna; Petersen‐Øverleir, Asgeir; Reitan, Trond; Freer, Jim; Renard, Benjamin; Mansanarez, Valentin; Mason, Robert R.
Guidelines for determining flood flow frequency—Bulletin 17C
Accurate estimates of flood frequency and magnitude are a key component of any effective nationwide flood risk management and flood damage abatement program. In addition to accuracy, methods for estimating flood risk must be uniformly and consistently applied because management of the Nation’s water and related land resources is a collaborative...
England, John F.; Cohn, Timothy A.; Faber, Beth A.; Stedinger, Jery R.; Thomas, Wilbert O.; Veilleux, Andrea G.; Kiang, Julie E.; Mason, Robert R.
The U.S. Geological Survey Peak-Flow File Data Verification Project, 2008–16
Annual peak streamflow (peak flow) at a streamgage is defined as the maximum instantaneous flow in a water year. A water year begins on October 1 and continues through September 30 of the following year; for example, water year 2015 extends from October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015. The accuracy, characterization, and completeness of the...
Ryberg, Karen R.; Goree, Burl B.; Williams-Sether, Tara; Mason, Robert R. How uncertainty analysis of streamflow data can reduce costs and promote robust decisions in water management applications
Streamflow data are used for important environmental and economic decisions, such as specifying and regulating minimum flows, managing water supplies, and planning for flood hazards. Despite significant uncertainty in most flow data, the flow series for these applications are often communicated and used without uncertainty information. In this...
McMilan, Hilary; Seibert, Jan; Petersen‐Øverleir, Asgeir; Lang, Michel; White, Paul; Snelder, Ton; Rutherford, Kit; Krueger, Tobias; Mason, Robert R.; Kiang, Julie E. A survey of uncertainty in stage-discharge rating curves and streamflow records in the United States
No abstract available.
Kiang, Julie E.; Mason, Robert R.; Cohn, Timothy A. Rating curve uncertainty: A comparison of estimation methods
The USGS is engaged in both internal development and collaborative efforts to evaluate existing methods for characterizing the uncertainty of streamflow measurements (gaugings), stage-discharge relations (ratings), and, ultimately, the streamflow records derived from them. This paper provides a brief overview of two candidate methods that may be...
Constantinescu, George; Garcia, Marcelo H.; Hanes, Dan; Mason, Robert R.; Kiang, Julie E.; Cohn, Timothy A.
Assessing inundation hazards to nuclear powerplant sites using geologically extended histories of riverine floods, tsunamis, and storm surges
Most nuclear powerplants in the United States are near rivers, large lakes, or oceans. As evident from the Fukushima Daiichi, Japan, disaster of 2011, these water bodies pose inundation threats. Geologic records can extend knowledge of rare hazards from flooding, storm surges, and tsunamis. This knowledge can aid in assessing the safety of...
O'Connor, Jim; Atwater, Brian F.; Cohn, Timothy A.; Cronin, Thomas M.; Keith, Mackenzie K.; Smith, Christopher G.; Mason, Robert R.
Estimating magnitude and frequency of floods using the PeakFQ 7.0 program
Flood-frequency analysis provides information about the magnitude and frequency of flood discharges based on records of annual maximum instantaneous peak discharges collected at streamgages. The information is essential for defining flood-hazard areas, for managing floodplains, and for designing bridges, culverts, dams, levees, and other flood-...
Veilleux, Andrea G.; Cohn, Timothy A.; Flynn, Kathleen M.; Mason, Robert R.; Hummel, Paul R.
The USGS at Embudo, New Mexico: 125 years of systematic streamgaging in the United States
John Wesley Powell, second Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, had a vision for the Western United States. In the late 1800s, Powell explored the West as head of the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region. He devoted a large part of “Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States with a more detailed...
Gunn, Mark A.; Matherne, Anne Marie; Mason, Robert R.
Calculating weighted estimates of peak streamflow statistics
According to the Federal guidelines for flood-frequency estimation, the uncertainty of peak streamflow statistics, such as the 1-percent annual exceedance probability (AEP) flow at a streamgage, can be reduced by combining the at-site estimate with the regional regression estimate to obtain a weighted estimate of the flow statistic. The procedure...
Cohn, Timothy A.; Berenbrock, Charles; Kiang, Julie E.; Mason, Robert R. USGS perspectives on an integrated approach to watershed and coastal management
The writers discuss three critically important steps necessary for achieving the goal for improved integrated approaches on watershed and coastal protection and management. These steps involve modernization of monitoring networks, creation of common data and web services infrastructures, and development of modeling, assessment, and research tools...
Larsen, Matthew C.; Hamilton, Pixie A.; Haines, John W.; Mason, Robert R.