Roland J Viger
Biography
Roland Viger holds degrees in geography from the University of Toronto and the University of Colorado-Boulder (PhD). After contracting with the USGS Branch of Petroleum Geology as a GIS analyst for the National Hydrocarbon Assessment in 1992, he joined the Water Resources National Research Program in Denver as the GIS lead on the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System project (subsequently the Modeling of Watershed Systems project). As a Research Geographer, interests include integrated simulation modeling, spatial analyses for the delineation and characterization of landscape features for modeling, and geoinformatics. In addition to improving the use of geographic information in modeling, he is interested in the development of national and continental hydrologic modeling systems. His methods, data, and software (examples include the GIS Weasel software and the Geospatial Fabric for the National Hydrologic Modeling Framework) and training materials for geographic analysis in hydrologic simulation modeling have been used throughout the U.S., as well as internationally. He provides consultation within and outside the USGS and has represented USGS interests to other organizations. He has been a member of the Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI), the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the USGS Core Science Systems Strategic Science Planning Team, various steering committees for the National Hydrography Dataset, and the future of hydrologic modeling in the USGS.
Roland is active in the USGS Community for Data Integration (CDI), and the American Water Resources Association.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D. Geography (Geographic Information Science), University of Colorado-Boulder; August 2011
- M.A. Geography (Geographic Information Science), University of Colorado-Boulder; March 2004
- B.S. Geography, University of Toronto; March 1992
APPOINTMENTS
- 2017-present: Chief, Branch of Geo-Intelligence, USGS Water Resources Mission Area
- 2011-present: Research Geographer, Modeling of Watershed Systems (MoWS), National Research Program, USGS Water Mission Area, Denver, CO
- June 2007-2011: Geographer, Modeling of Watershed Systems (MoWS), National Research Program, USGS Water Mission Area, Denver, CO
- June 1995-June 2007: Physical Scientist, Precipitation-Runoff Modeling Systems, National Research Program, USGS Water Resources Division, Denver, CO
- Oct. 1994-April 1995: Physical Science Technician, Branch of Petroleum Geology, USGS Geologic Division, Denver, CO
RECENT COMMITTEES and ACTIVITIES
- Department of Interior Open-Source GIS committee
- Advisory Council on Water Information: Subcommittee on Spatial Water Data: Open Water Data Initiative and the Internet of Water
- Strategic Science Planning Team for Core Science Systems
- Coordinator/Leader for USGS Community for Data Integration
Science and Products
Building a framework to compute continuous grids of basin characteristics for the conterminous United States
The proposed work will create a seamless pilot dataset of continuous basin characteristics (for example upstream average precipitation, elevation, or dominant land cover type) for the conterminous United States. Basin characteristic data are necessary for training or parameterizing statistical, machine learning, and physical models, and for making predictions across the landscape, particularly...
Evaluation of downscaled General Circulation Model (GCM) output for current conditions and associated error in simulated runoff for CONUS
This project will assess the accuracy of climate drivers (precipitation and temperature) from different sources for current and future conditions. The impact of these drivers on hydrologic response will be using the monthly water balance model (MWBM). The methodology for processing and analysis of these datasets will be automated for when new climate datasets become available on the USGS Geo...
SERAP: Modeling of Hydrologic Systems
A hydrologic model was developed as part of the Southeast Regional Assessment Project using the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), a deterministic, distributed-parameter, process-based system that simulates the effects of precipitation, temperature, and land use on basin hydrology. Streamflow and other components of the hydrologic cycle simulated by PRMS were used to inform other...
Southeast Regional Assessment Project (SERAP): Assessing Global Change Impacts on Natural and Human Systems in the Southeast
The Southeastern United States spans a broad range of physiographic settings and maintains exceptionally high levels of faunal diversity. Unfortunately, many of these ecosystems are increasingly under threat due to rapid human development, and management agencies are increasingly aware of the potential effects that climate change will have on these ecosystems. Natural resource managers and...
GIS Features of the Geospatial Fabric for National Hydrologic Modeling
The Geopspatial Fabric provides a consistent, documented, and topologically connected set of spatial features that create an abstracted stream/basin network of features useful for hydrologic modeling.The GIS vector features contained in this Geospatial Fabric (GF) data set cover the lower 48 U.S. states, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Four GIS feature classes are provided for each Region
Integrated hydro-terrestrial modeling: Development of a national capability
Water is one of our most important natural resources and is essential to our national economy and security. Multiple federal government agencies have mission elements that address national needs related to water. Each water-related agency champions a unique science and/or operational mission focused on advancing a portion of the nation’s ability...
Lesmes, David; Moerman, Jessica; Torgeson, Tom; Vallario, Bob; Scheibe, Timothy D.; Foufoula-Georgiou, Efi; Jenter, Harry L.; Bingner, Ronald L.; Condon, Laura; Cosgrove, Brian; Del Castillo, Carlos; Downer, Charles W; Eylander, John; Fienen, Michael N.; Frazier, Nels; Gochis, David; Goodrich, Dave; Harvey, Judson; Hughes, Joseph D.; Hyndman, David; Johnston, John M.; Melton, Forrest; Moglen, Glenn E.; Moulton, David; Lautz, Laura K.; Parmar, Rajbir; Rashleigh, Brenda; Reed, Patrick; Skalak, Katherine; Varadharajan, Charuleka; Viger, Roland J.; Voisin, Nathalie; Wahl, Mark Spatiotemporal variability of modeled watershed scale surface-depression storage and runoff for the conterminous United States
This study uses the explores the viability of a proxy model calibration strategy through assessment of the spatiotemporal variability of surface-depression storage and runoff generated with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure for hydrologic response units (HRUs; n=109,951) across the conterminous United...
Driscoll, Jessica M.; Hay, Lauren; Vanderhoof, Melanie K.; Viger, Roland J.
Simulation of water availability in the Southeastern United States for historical and potential future climate and land-cover conditions
A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCPO LCC) and the Department of the Interior Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, to evaluate the hydrologic response of a daily time step hydrologic model to historical observations and...
LaFontaine, Jacob H.; Hart, Rheannon M.; Hay, Lauren E.; Farmer, William H.; Bock, Andy R.; Viger, Roland J.; Markstrom, Steven L.; Regan, R. Steven; Driscoll, Jessica M. Enhancement of a parsimonious water balance model to simulate surface hydrology in a glacierized watershed
The U.S. Geological Survey monthly water balance model (MWBM) was enhanced with the capability to simulate glaciers in order to make it more suitable for simulating cold region hydrology. The new model, MWBMglacier, is demonstrated in the heavily glacierized and ecologically important Copper River watershed in Southcentral Alaska. Simulated water...
Valentin, Melissa M.; Viger, Roland J.; Van Beusekom, Ashley E.; Hay, Lauren E.; Hogue, Terri S.; Foks, Nathan Leon Modelling surface-water depression storage in a Prairie Pothole Region
In this study, the Precipitation-Runoff Modelling System (PRMS) was used to simulate changes in surface-water depression storage in the 1,126-km2 Upper Pipestem Creek basin located within the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. The Prairie Pothole Region is characterized by millions of small water bodies (or surface-water depressions...
Hay, Lauren E.; Norton, Parker A.; Viger, Roland J.; Markstrom, Steven L.; Regan, R. Steven; Vanderhoof, Melanie K.
Description of the National Hydrologic Model for use with the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS)
This report documents several components of the U.S. Geological Survey National Hydrologic Model of the conterminous United States for use with the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). It provides descriptions of the (1) National Hydrologic Model, (2) Geospatial Fabric for National Hydrologic Modeling, (3) PRMS hydrologic simulation code...
Regan, R. Steven; Markstrom, Steven L.; Hay, Lauren E.; Viger, Roland J.; Norton, Parker A.; Driscoll, Jessica M.; LaFontaine, Jacob H.
Community for Data Integration 2016 annual report
The Community for Data Integration (CDI) represents a dynamic community of practice focused on advancing science data and information management and integration capabilities across the U.S. Geological Survey and the CDI community. This annual report describes the various presentations, activities, and outcomes of the CDI monthly forums, working...
Langseth, Madison L.; Hsu, Leslie; Amberg, Jon J.; Bliss, Norman; Bock, Andrew R.; Bolus, Rachel T.; Bristol, R. Sky; Chase, Katherine J.; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Earle, Paul S.; Erickson, Richard; Everette, A. Lance; Falgout, Jeff T.; Faundeen, John; Fienen, Michael N.; Griffin, Rusty; Guy, Michelle R.; Henry, Kevin D.; Hoebelheinrich, Nancy J.; Hunt, Randall J.; Hutchison, Vivian B.; Ignizio, Drew A.; Infante, Dana M.; Jarnevich, Catherine; Jones, Jeanne M.; Kern, Tim; Leibowitz, Scott; Lightsom, Francis L.; Marsh, R. Lee; McCalla, S. Grace; McNiff, Marcia; Morisette, Jeffrey T.; Nelson, John C.; Norkin, Tamar; Preston, Todd M.; Rosemartin, Alyssa; Sando, Roy; Sherba, Jason T.; Signell, Richard P.; Sleeter, Benjamin M.; Sundquist, Eric T.; Talbert, Colin B.; Viger, Roland J.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Waltman, Sharon; Weber, Marc; Wieferich, Daniel J.; Williams, Brad; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie mizuRoute version 1: A river network routing tool for a continental domain water resources applications
This paper describes the first version of a stand-alone runoff routing tool, mizuRoute. The mizuRoute tool post-processes runoff outputs from any distributed hydrologic model or land surface model to produce spatially distributed streamflow at various spatial scales from headwater basins to continental-wide river systems. The tool can utilize both...
Mizukami, Naoki; Clark, Martyn P.; Sampson, Kevin; Nijssen, Bart; Mao, Yixin; McMillan, Hilary; Viger, Roland J.; Markstrom, Steven L.; Hay, Lauren E.; Woods, Ross; Arnold, Jeffrey R.; Brekke, Levi D. A glacier runoff extension to the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System
A module to simulate glacier runoff, PRMSglacier, was added to PRMS (Precipitation Runoff Modeling System), a distributed-parameter, physical-process hydrological simulation code. The extension does not require extensive on-glacier measurements or computational expense but still relies on physical principles over empirical relations as much as is...
Van Beusekom, Ashley E.; Viger, Roland J.
Community for Data Integration 2015 annual report
The Community for Data Integration (CDI) continued to experience success in fiscal year 2015. The CDI community members have been sharing, learning, and collaborating through monthly forums, workshops, working groups, and funded projects. In fiscal year 2015, CDI coordinated 10 monthly forums with 16 different speakers from the U.S. Geological...
Langseth, Madison L.; Chang, Michelle Y.; Carlino, Jennifer; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Birch, Daniella D.; Bradley, Joshua; Bristol, R. Sky; Buscombe, Daniel D.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Everette, Anthony L.; Graves, Tabitha A.; Greenwood, Michelle M.; Govoni, David L.; Henkel, Heather S.; Hutchison, Vivian B.; Jones, Brenda K.; Kern, Tim; Lacey, Jennifer; Lamb, Rynn M.; Lightsom, Frances L.; Long, John L.; Saleh, Ra'ad A.; Smith, Stan W.; Soulard, Christopher E.; Viger, Roland J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Wesenberg, Katherine E.; Wieferich, Daniel J.; Winslow, Luke A. Potential effects of climate change on streamflow for seven watersheds in eastern and central Montana
Study regionEastern and central Montana.Study focusFish in Northern Great Plains streams tolerate extreme conditions including heat, cold, floods, and drought; however changes in streamflow associated with long-term climate change may render some prairie streams uninhabitable for current fish species. To better understand future hydrology of these...
Chase, Katherine J.; Haj, Adel E.; Regan, R. Steven; Viger, Roland J. NHDPlusHR: A national geospatial framework for surface-water information
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing a new geospatial hydrographic framework for the United States, called the National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution (NHDPlusHR), that integrates a diversity of the best-available information, robustly supports ongoing dataset improvements, enables hydrographic generalization to derive alternate...
Viger, Roland J.; Rea, Alan H.; Simley, Jeffrey D.; Hanson, Karen M.
Python GIS Flood Tool (pygft)
The Python GIS Flood Tool (pygft) was designed to process stream, catchment, and elevation datasets in order to assess the extent and depth of flooding for each stream reach. The model itself is light-weight, created with the capability to scale to larger regions or CONUS (conterminous United States) scales.