Roland J Viger
Roland Viger is Chief of the Geo-Intelligence Branch for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
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
Potential effects of climate change on streamflow for seven watersheds in eastern and central Montana
NHDPlusHR: A national geospatial framework for surface-water information
Community for Data Integration 2014 annual report
Effects of climate and land cover on hydrology in the southeastern U.S.: Potential impacts on watershed planning
Community for Data Integration 2013 Annual Report
PRMS-IV, the precipitation-runoff modeling system, version 4
The effects of changing land cover on streamflow simulation in Puerto Rico
The effects of Missouri River mainstem reservoir system operations on 2011 flooding using a Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System model
Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in the southeastern United States
U.S. Geological Survey core science systems strategy: characterizing, synthesizing, and understanding the critical zone through a modular science framework
Erosion, storage, and transport of sediment in two subbasins of the Rio Puerco, New Mexico
Science strategy for Core Science Systems in the U.S. Geological Survey, 2013-2023
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 42
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 prairie streams, the Precipitation-Runoff ModelingAuthorsKatherine J. Chase, Adel E. Haj, R. Steven Regan, Roland J. VigerNHDPlusHR: 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 representations of the network while maintaining featurAuthorsRoland J. Viger, Alan H. Rea, Jeffrey D. Simley, Karen M. HansonCommunity for Data Integration 2014 annual report
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researches Earth science to help address complex issues affecting society and the environment. In 2006, the USGS held the first Scientific Information Management Workshop to bring together staff from across the organization to discuss the data and information management issues affecting the integration and delivery of Earth science research and investigate the useAuthorsMadison L. Langseth, Michelle Y. Chang, Jennifer Carlino, Daniella D. Birch, Joshua Bradley, R. Sky Bristol, Craig Conzelmann, Robert H. Diehl, Paul S. Earle, Laura E. Ellison, Anthony L. Everette, Pamela L. Fuller, Janice M. Gordon, David L. Govoni, Michelle R. Guy, Heather S. Henkel, Vivian B. Hutchison, Tim Kern, Frances L. Lightsom, Joseph W. Long, Ryan Longhenry, Todd M. Preston, Stan W. Smith, Roland J. Viger, Katherine Wesenberg, Eric C. WoodEffects of climate and land cover on hydrology in the southeastern U.S.: Potential impacts on watershed planning
The hydrologic response to statistically downscaled general circulation model simulations of daily surface climate and land cover through 2099 was assessed for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin located in the southeastern United States. Projections of climate, urbanization, vegetation, and surface-depression storage capacity were used as inputs to the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling SAuthorsJacob H. LaFontaine, Lauren E. Hay, Roland J. Viger, R. Steve Regan, Steven L. MarkstromCommunity for Data Integration 2013 Annual Report
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts earth science to help address complex issues affecting society and the environment. In 2006, the USGS held the first Scientific Information Management Workshop to bring together staff from across the organization to discuss the data and information management issues affecting the integration and delivery of earth science research and investigate the use oAuthorsMichelle Y. Chang, Jennifer Carlino, Christopher Barnes, David L. Blodgett, Andrew R. Bock, Anthony L. Everette, Gregory L. Fernette, Lorraine E. Flint, Janice M. Gordon, David L. Govoni, Lauren E. Hay, Heather S. Henkel, Megan Hines, Sally L. Holl, Collin G. Homer, Vivian B. Hutchison, Drew A. Ignizio, Tim J. Kern, Frances L. Lightsom, Steven L. Markstrom, Michael S. O'Donnell, Jacquelyn L. Schei, Lorna A. Schmid, Kathryn M. Schoephoester, Peter N. Schweitzer, Susan K. Skagen, Daniel J. Sullivan, Colin Talbert, Meredith Pavlick WarrenPRMS-IV, the precipitation-runoff modeling system, version 4
Computer models that simulate the hydrologic cycle at a watershed scale facilitate assessment of variability in climate, biota, geology, and human activities on water availability and flow. This report describes an updated version of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System. The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System is a deterministic, distributed-parameter, physical-process-based modeling system dAuthorsSteven L. Markstrom, R. Steve Regan, Lauren E. Hay, Roland J. Viger, Richard M. Webb, Robert A. Payn, Jacob H. LaFontaineThe effects of changing land cover on streamflow simulation in Puerto Rico
This study quantitatively explores whether land cover changes have a substantive impact on simulated streamflow within the tropical island setting of Puerto Rico. The Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) was used to compare streamflow simulations based on five static parameterizations of land cover with those based on dynamically varying parameters derived from four land cover scenes for thAuthorsAshley E. Van Beusekom, Lauren E. Hay, Roland J. Viger, William A. Gould, Jaime Collazo, Azad Henareh KhalyaniThe effects of Missouri River mainstem reservoir system operations on 2011 flooding using a Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System model
In 2011 the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System (Reservoir System) experienced the largest volume of flood waters since the initiation of record-keeping in the nineteenth century. The high levels of runoff from both snowpack and rainfall stressed the Reservoir System’s capacity to control flood waters and caused massive damage and disruption along the river. The flooding and resulting damageAuthorsAdel E. Haj, Daniel E. Christiansen, Roland J. VigerApplication of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in the southeastern United States
A hydrologic model of the Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin (ACFB) has been developed as part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center effort to provide integrated science that helps resource managers understand the effect of climate change on a range of ecosystem responses. The hydrologic model was developed as part of the Southeast RegionaAuthorsJacob H. LaFontaine, Lauren E. Hay, Roland J. Viger, Steve L. Markstrom, R. Steve Regan, Caroline M. Elliott, John JonesU.S. Geological Survey core science systems strategy: characterizing, synthesizing, and understanding the critical zone through a modular science framework
Executive SummaryCore Science Systems is a new mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that resulted from the 2007 Science Strategy, “Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges: U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007–2017.” This report describes the Core Science Systems vision and outlines a strategy to facilitate integrated characterization and understanding of the complex Earth system. The visAuthorsR. Sky Bristol, Ned H. Euliss, Nathaniel L. Booth, Nina Burkardt, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Dean B. Gesch, Brian E. McCallum, David M. Miller, Suzette A. Morman, Barbara S. Poore, Richard P. Signell, Roland J. VigerByCore Science Systems Mission Area, Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Community for Data Integration (CDI), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Coastal Changes and ImpactsErosion, storage, and transport of sediment in two subbasins of the Rio Puerco, New Mexico
Arroyos in the American Southwest proceed through cut-and-fill cycles that operate at centennial to millennial time scales. The geomorphic community has put much effort into understanding the causes of arroyo cutting in the late Quaternary and in the modern record (late 1800s), while little effort has gone into understanding how arroyos fill and the sources of this fill. Here, we successfully deveAuthorsA. C. Gellis, M.J. Pavich, A.L. Ellwein, S. Aby, I. Clark, M.E. Wieczorek, R. VigerScience strategy for Core Science Systems in the U.S. Geological Survey, 2013-2023
Core Science Systems is a new mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that grew out of the 2007 Science Strategy, “Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges: U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007–2017.” This report describes the vision for this USGS mission and outlines a strategy for Core Science Systems to facilitate integrated characterization and understanding of the complex earth system.AuthorsR. Sky Bristol, Ned H. Euliss, Nathaniel L. Booth, Nina Burkardt, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Dean B. Gesch, Brian E. McCallum, David M. Miller, Suzette A. Morman, Barbara S. Poore, Richard P. Signell, Roland J. Viger - Software