Rob Runkel
Rob is a Research Hydrologist with the USGS Colorado Water Science Center in Lakewood, CO.
Rob began his career with the USGS while he was a graduate student in Environmental Engineering at the University of Colorado. Rob's expertise and experience includes the development and application of models to simulate constituent transport, the characterization of small watersheds affected by acid mine drainage, and the use of tracers to quantify constituent transport in surface waters.
Professional Experience
1992-Present Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado
1989-1992 Research Engineer, University of Colorado, Center for Advanced Decision Support in Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES), Boulder, Colorado
1987-1989 Hydrologist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
Education and Certifications
Bachelor of Science, Summa Cum Laude, 1985, Computer Science and Environmental Studies, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Master of Environmental Management, 1987, Water Resources, Duke University: Monte Carlo Analysis of the Surface Water Component for Land Disposal Restriction Determinations
Doctor of Philosophy, 1993, Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado: Development and Application of an Equilibrium-based Simulation Model for Reactive Solute Transport in Small Streams
Affiliations and Memberships*
Associate Editor, Water Resources Research, 2006–2014
Member, American Geophysical Union
Member, Society for Freshwater Science
Member, European Geosciences Union
Science and Products
Rhodamine concentration data, Kootenai River, near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2008
Effects of hydrologic variability and remedial actions on first flush and metal loading from streams draining the Silverton caldera, 1992–2014
Assessment of a conservative mixing model for the evaluation of constituent behavior below river confluences, Elqui River Basin, Chile
Water-quality change following remediation using structural bulkheads in abandoned draining mines, upper Arkansas River and upper Animas River, Colorado USA
Critical shifts in trace metal transport and remediation performance under future low river flows
Transport and speciation of uranium in groundwater-surface water systems impacted by legacy milling operations
Exploring the potential of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to measure the extent of chronic disturbance in peatlands: Examples from acid mine drainage and peat fire
Cinnamon gulch revisited: Another look at separating natural and mining-impacted contributions to instream metal load
Exploration of diffuse and discrete sources of acid mine drainage to a headwater mountain stream in Colorado, USA
Synoptic sampling and principal components analysis to identify sources of water and metals to an acid mine drainage stream
A software tool to assess uncertainty in transient-storage model parameters using Monte Carlo simulations
The precipitation of indium at elevated pH in a stream influenced by acid mine drainage
Strontium isotopic systematics of mineralized and background water samples, Montezuma Mining District, Colorado
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
Filter Total Items: 13
Rhodamine concentration data, Kootenai River, near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2008
This data release provides measurements of dye concentration collected to support and validate numerical simulations of dispersion on the Kootenai River, downstream of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. On August 13, 2008, at 06:00, 25.4 kilograms of rhodamine WT was diluted using raw river water in a 378.5 liter tank and released as a nearly single slug. The dye was released near River Kilometer (RKM) 239 ove - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 76
Effects of hydrologic variability and remedial actions on first flush and metal loading from streams draining the Silverton caldera, 1992–2014
This study examined water quality in the upper Animas River watershed, a mined watershed that gained notoriety following the 2015 Gold King mine release of acid mine drainage to downstream communities. Water-quality data were used to evaluate trends in metal concentrations and loads over a two-decade period. Selected sites included three sites on tributary streams and one main-stem site on the AniAuthorsTanya N Petach, Robert L. Runkel, Rory M. Cowie, Diane M. McKnightAssessment of a conservative mixing model for the evaluation of constituent behavior below river confluences, Elqui River Basin, Chile
Fate and transport modeling of water-borne contaminants is a data demanding and costly endeavor, requiring considerable expes such, it becomes important to know when a complex modeling approach is required, and when a simpler approach is adequate. This is the main objective herein, where a conservative mixing model is used to characterize the transport of As, Cu, Fe, and SO4. The study area is divAuthorsCatalina Rossi, Jorge Oyarzún, Pablo Pasten, Robert L. Runkel, Jorge Núñez, Denisse Duhalde, Hugo Maturana, Eduardo Rojas, José L. Arumí, Daniela Castillo, Ricardo OyarzúnWater-quality change following remediation using structural bulkheads in abandoned draining mines, upper Arkansas River and upper Animas River, Colorado USA
Water-quality effects after remediating abandoned draining mine tunnels using structural bulkheads were examined in two study areas in Colorado, USA. A bulkhead was installed in the Dinero mine tunnel in 2009 to improve water quality in Lake Fork Creek, a tributary to the upper Arkansas River. Although bulkhead installation improved pH, and manganese and zinc concentrations and loads at the DineroAuthorsKatherine Walton-Day, Alisa Mast, Robert L. RunkelCritical shifts in trace metal transport and remediation performance under future low river flows
Exceptionally low river flows are predicted to become more frequent and more severe across many global regions as a consequence of climate change. Investigations of trace metal transport dynamics across streamflows reveal stark changes in water chemistry, metal transformation processes, and remediation effectiveness under exceptionally low-flow conditions. High spatial resolution hydrological andAuthorsPatrick A. Byrne, Patrizia Onnis, Robert L. Runkel, Ilaria Frau, Sarah F. L. Lynch, Paul EdwardsTransport and speciation of uranium in groundwater-surface water systems impacted by legacy milling operations
Growing worldwide concern over uranium contamination of groundwater resources has placed an emphasis on understanding uranium transport dynamics and potential toxicity in groundwater-surface water systems. In this study, we utilized novel in-situ sampling methods to establish the location and magnitude of contaminated groundwater entry into a receiving surface water environment, and to investigateAuthorsPatrick A. Byrne, Christopher C. Fuller, David L. Naftz, Robert L. Runkel, Niklas J Lehto, William L DamExploring the potential of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to measure the extent of chronic disturbance in peatlands: Examples from acid mine drainage and peat fire
Peatlands are accumulations of partially decayed organic soil that cover approximately 3% of Earth’s surface and have been shown to serve essential environmental and ecological functions such as sequestering carbon, purifying water, and providing habitat for organisms. However, peatlands are threatened by pressures from agriculture, urban development, mining, and climate change. Geophysical methodAuthorsNeil Terry, Robert L. Runkel, Dale D. Werkema, Elizabeth Rutila, Xavier Comas, Matthew Warren, Agus Kristiyono, Daniel MurdiyarsoCinnamon gulch revisited: Another look at separating natural and mining-impacted contributions to instream metal load
Baseline, premining data for streams draining abandoned mine lands is virtually non existent, and indirect methods for estimating premining conditions are needed to establish realistic, cost effective cleanup goals. One such indirect method is the proximal analog approach, in which premining conditions are estimated using data from nearby mineralized areas that are unaffected by mining. In this paAuthorsRobert L. Runkel, Philip L. Verplanck, Briant Kimball, Katherine Walton-DayExploration of diffuse and discrete sources of acid mine drainage to a headwater mountain stream in Colorado, USA
We investigated the impact of acid mine drainage (AMD) contamination from the Minnesota Mine, an inactive gold and silver mine, on Lion Creek, a headwater mountain stream near Empire, Colorado. The objective was to map the sources of AMD contamination, including discrete sources visible at the surface and diffuse inputs that were not readily apparent. This was achieved using geochemical sampling,AuthorsAllison Johnston, Robert L. Runkel, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Kamini SinghaSynoptic sampling and principal components analysis to identify sources of water and metals to an acid mine drainage stream
Combining the synoptic mass balance approach with principal components analysis (PCA) can be an effective method for discretising the chemistry of inflows and source areas in watersheds where contamination is diffuse in nature and/or complicated by groundwater interactions. This paper presents a field-scale study in which synoptic sampling and PCA are employed in a mineralized watershed (Lion CreeAuthorsPatrick Byrne, Robert L. Runkel, Katherine Walton-DayA software tool to assess uncertainty in transient-storage model parameters using Monte Carlo simulations
Researchers and practitioners alike often need to understand and characterize how water and solutes move through a stream in terms of the relative importance of in-stream and near-stream storage and transport processes. In-channel and subsurface storage processes are highly variable in space and time and difficult to measure. Storage estimates are commonly obtained using transient-storage models (AuthorsAdam S. Ward, Christa A. Kelleher, Seth J. K. Mason, Thorsten Wagener, Neil McIntyre, Brian L. McGlynn, Robert L. Runkel, Robert A. PaynThe precipitation of indium at elevated pH in a stream influenced by acid mine drainage
Indium is an increasingly important metal in semiconductors and electronics and has uses in important energy technologies such as photovoltaic cells and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). One significant flux of indium to the environment is from lead, zinc, copper, and tin mining and smelting, but little is known about its aqueous behavior after it is mobilized. In this study, we use Mineral Creek, a hAuthorsSarah Jane O. White, Fatima A. Hussain, Harold F. Hemond, Sarah A. Sacco, James P. Shine, Robert L. Runkel, Katherine Walton-Day, Briant A. KimballStrontium isotopic systematics of mineralized and background water samples, Montezuma Mining District, Colorado
Surface and groundwater samples within the Montezuma mining district were sampled to evaluate the use of strontium isotopic compositions as signatures of different water types. Waters draining Precambrian metamorphic units had distinctly higher 87Sr/ 86Sr values (0.72893 to 0.73833) than waters draining Tertiaryage plutonic rocks (0.71064 and 0.71114). Waters draining mine workings along Tertiary-AuthorsPhilip L. Verplanck, Robert L. Runkel - Software
*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