Roland Wayne Tollett balanced his passion for baseball with his academic pursuits while earning his degree. He played for Chipola Jr. College in Marianna, Florida from 1988-1990 and for Louisiana Tech University from 1990-1992. Despite the demands of being a student-athlete, Roland successfully completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Louisiana Tech University in August.
Roland holds a master’s degree in Geology and Geophysics from Louisiana State University, where he studied under the esteemed clay mineralogist Professor Ray E. Ferrell Jr. He has completed a range of courses in water quality and hydrology and has contributed to numerous publications, including abstracts, reports, and fact sheets. Roland is also a contributing author for program letters and quarterly reports for the Fort Polk Military Project and a member of the ACAD NAWQA Study Unit. His current work includes assisting with the Fort Polk Project, co-authoring a NAWQA regional summary report for the Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands Principal Aquifer, and deploying pressure transducers to document hurricane storm surge as part of a team in Ruston, LA. Roland has delivered over 10 professional presentations at conferences and events such as the Sustainability Conference at Fort Polk Military Reservation, the USGS DODEC conference in Gulfport, MS, and the National Ground Water Association conference in San Antonio, TX.
Professional Experience
Contributing author for program letters and quarterly reports for the Fort Polk Military Project and a member of the ACAD NAWQA Study Unit.
Assisting with the Fort Polk Project, co-authoring a NAWQA regional summary report for the Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands Principal Aquifer, and deploying pressure transducers to document hurricane storm surge as part of a team in Ruston,
Delivered over 10 professional presentations at conferences and events such as the Sustainability Conference at Fort Polk Military Reservation, the USGS DODEC conference in Gulfport, MS, and the National Ground Water Association conference in San Antonio, TX.
Education and Certifications
1998 - Louisiana State University - MS Geology and Geophysics
1988-1990 - Chipola Jr. College in Marianna, Florida
1990-1992 - Louisiana Tech University - Bachelor of Science degree in geology
Science and Products
Louisiana Public Awareness, Hydrologic Studies, and Hydrologic Data
Louisiana Public Awareness, Hydrologic Studies, and Hydrologic Data
Datasets of depth to water, spring 2016, 2018, and 2020, and spring-to-spring water-level change 2016-18, 2018-20, and 2016-20, Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer
This data release consists of 4 data sets--rasters of generalized depth to water in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA) in spring 2016, 2018, and 2020 and a point file of the wells with water-level measurements used to create the depth to water rasters and, for each well with applicable data, the values of water-level change from spring 2016 to spring 2018, spring 2018 to spring 2
Datasets used to map the potentiometric surface, Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 2020
A potentiometric-surface map for spring 2020 was created for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA), which was referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using most of the available groundwater-altitude data from wells and surface-water-altitude data from streamgages. The location and water-level altitude in feet for these wells and streamgages in spring 2020
Water-quality and grain-size data collected at three sites near the Peason Ridge training area and two sites near the Main Post at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, 2015-2016
In 2015-2016, physicochemical properties and chemical characteristics of stream water, bed sediment, groundwater, and soil were determined in watersheds located outside of, but in proximity to, the Peason Ridge Training Area and Main Post at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk boundaries to document background trace element concentrations. Water samples were analyzed for physicochemi
Datasets used to map the potentiometric surface, Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 2018
A potentiometric-surface map for spring 2018 was created for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer, which was referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using most of the available groundwater-altitude data from wells and surface-water-altitude data from streamgages. Most of the wells were measured annually or one time, after installation, but some wells were
Map of Study Area and Phytoplankton Taxonomy in Three North Louisiana Reservoirs: Cross Lake, Bayou D'Arbonne Lake, and Poverty Point Reservoir, June 2009-February 2011
This data release includes GIS shapefiles and metadata for location of the study area and phytoplankton taxonomy counts determined by Dr. Russel Rhodes, Faculty Emeritus, Department of Biology, Missouri State University, in three north Louisiana reservoirs: Cross Lake, Bayou D'Arbonne Lake, and Poverty Point Reservoir, June 2009-February 2011.
Altitude of the potentiometric surface in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 2020
The purpose of this report is to present a potentiometric-surface map for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA). The source data for the map were groundwater-altitude data from wells measured manually or continuously generally in spring 2020 and from the altitude of the top of the water surface measured generally on April 9, 2020, in rivers in the area.
Altitude of the potentiometric surface in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 2018
A potentiometric-surface map for spring 2018 was created for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer using available groundwater-altitude data from 1,126 wells completed in the MRVA aquifer and from the altitude of the top of the water surface in area rivers from 66 streamgages. Personnel from Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Geological Su
Filter Total Items: 18
Aquatic-life criteria compared to concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in streams near Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, December 2015–August 2016
The primary focus of this study was to document cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in selected streams near the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Polk Military Reservation and to compare those values to Federal and State aquatic-life criteria guidelines. The acute aquatic-life criteria used for this study are as follows: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Authors
Roland W. Tollett
Methane and benzene in drinking-water wells overlying the Eagle Ford, Fayetteville, and Haynesville Shale hydrocarbon production areas
Water wells (n = 116) overlying the Eagle Ford, Fayetteville, and Haynesville Shale hydrocarbon production areas were sampled for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers to investigate the occurrence and sources of selected hydrocarbons in groundwater. Methane isotopes and hydrocarbon gas compositions indicate most of the methane in the wells was biogenic and produced by the CO2 reduction
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Mark A. Engle, Kenneth Belitz, Patricia B. Ging, Andrew G. Hunt, Bryant C. Jurgens, Yousif K. Kharaka, Roland W. Tollett, Timothy M. Kresse
The quality of our Nation's waters: water quality in the Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system and Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, south-central United States, 1994-2008
About 8 million people rely on groundwater from the Mississippi embayment—Texas coastal uplands aquifer system for drinking water. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer also provides drinking water for domestic use in rural areas but is of primary importance to the region as a source of water for irrigation. Irrigation withdrawals from this aquifer are among the largest in the Nation and p
Authors
James A. Kingsbury, Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Brian G. Katz, Heather L. Welch, Roland W. Tollett, Lynne S. Fahlquist
Processes affecting geochemistry and contaminant movement in the middle Claiborne aquifer of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system
Groundwater chemistry and tracer-based age data were used to assess contaminant movement and geochemical processes in the middle Claiborne aquifer (MCA) of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system. Water samples were collected from 30 drinking-water wells (mostly domestic and public supply) and analyzed for nutrients, major ions, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and transient age tra
Authors
Brian G. Katz, James A. Kingsbury, Heather L. Welch, Roland W. Tollett
Quality of Shallow Groundwater and Drinking Water in the Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands Aquifer System and the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, South-Central United States, 1994-2004
The Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system is an important source of drinking water, providing about 724 million gallons per day to about 8.9 million people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Alabama. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer ranks third in the Nation for total withdrawals of which more than 98 percent i
Authors
Heather L. Welch, James A. Kingsbury, Roland W. Tollett, Ronald C. Seanor
Monitoring Inland Storm Surge and Flooding From Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana, September 2008
On August 29-31, 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a mobile monitoring network consisting of 124 pressure transducers (sensors) (figs. 1, 2) at 80 sites over an area of about 4,200 square miles to record the timing, extent, and magnitude of inland hurricane storm surge and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall in southeastern Louisiana on September 1. O
Authors
Benton D. McGee, Burl B. Goree, Roland W. Tollett, Robert R. Mason,
Physicochemical properties and chemical characteristics of water, bed sediment, and mussel tissue from selected streams near the Redleg and Peason Ridge impact areas, Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, June 2001 - November 2003
At the request of the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, the U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed water, bed-sediment, and mussel-tissue samples from selected streams near the Redleg impact area (RIA) and Peason Ridge impact areas (PRIA) at the Fort Polk Military Reservation (Reservation), Louisiana. from June 2001 through November 2003. Samples were collected from 1
Authors
Roland W. Tollett, Robert B. Fendick
Effects of Hardened Low-Water Crossings on Periphyton and Water Quality in Selected Streams at the Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, 1998-99 and 2003-04
In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), at the request of the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, began a follow-up study to determine whether installation and modification of hardened low-water crossings had short-term (less than 1 year) or long-term (greater than 1 year) effects on periphyton or water quality in five streams at the Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisia
Authors
Barbara W. Bryan, C. Frederick Bryan, John K. Lovelace, Roland W. Tollett
Monitoring Hurricane Rita Inland Storm Surge
Pressure transducers (sensors) are accurate, reliable, and cost-effective tools to measure and record the magnitude, extent, and timing of hurricane storm surge. Sensors record storm-surge peaks more accurately and reliably than do high-water marks. Data collected by sensors may be used in storm-surge models to estimate when, where, and to what degree stormsurge flooding will occur during future s
Authors
Benton D. McGee, Roland W. Tollett, Burl B. Goree
Hurricane Rita surge data, southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, September to November 2005
Pressure transducers and high-water marks were used to document the inland water levels related to storm surge generated by Hurricane Rita in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. On September 22-23, 2005, an experimental monitoring network consisting of 47 pressure transducers (sensors) was deployed at 33 sites over an area of about 4,000 square miles to record the timing, extent, and ma
Authors
Benton D. McGee, Burl B. Goree, Roland W. Tollett, Brenda K. Woodward, Wade H. Kress
Monitoring Inland Storm Surge and Flooding from Hurricane Rita
Pressure transducers (sensors) and high-water marks were used to document the inland water levels related to storm surge generated by Hurricane Rita in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. On September 22-23, 2005, an experimental monitoring network of sensors was deployed at 33 sites over an area of about 4,000 square miles to record the timing, extent, and magnitude of inland hurricane
Authors
Benton D. McGee, Roland W. Tollett, Robert R. Mason,
Explosive compounds detected in tissue of freshwater mussels from selected streams near or on the Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, May and June 2002
No abstract available.
Authors
Roland W. Tollett, Grant Kolb
Science and Products
- Science
Louisiana Public Awareness, Hydrologic Studies, and Hydrologic Data
Louisiana Public Awareness, Hydrologic Studies, and Hydrologic Data - Data
Datasets of depth to water, spring 2016, 2018, and 2020, and spring-to-spring water-level change 2016-18, 2018-20, and 2016-20, Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer
This data release consists of 4 data sets--rasters of generalized depth to water in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA) in spring 2016, 2018, and 2020 and a point file of the wells with water-level measurements used to create the depth to water rasters and, for each well with applicable data, the values of water-level change from spring 2016 to spring 2018, spring 2018 to spring 2Datasets used to map the potentiometric surface, Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 2020
A potentiometric-surface map for spring 2020 was created for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA), which was referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using most of the available groundwater-altitude data from wells and surface-water-altitude data from streamgages. The location and water-level altitude in feet for these wells and streamgages in spring 2020Water-quality and grain-size data collected at three sites near the Peason Ridge training area and two sites near the Main Post at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, 2015-2016
In 2015-2016, physicochemical properties and chemical characteristics of stream water, bed sediment, groundwater, and soil were determined in watersheds located outside of, but in proximity to, the Peason Ridge Training Area and Main Post at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk boundaries to document background trace element concentrations. Water samples were analyzed for physicochemiDatasets used to map the potentiometric surface, Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 2018
A potentiometric-surface map for spring 2018 was created for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer, which was referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using most of the available groundwater-altitude data from wells and surface-water-altitude data from streamgages. Most of the wells were measured annually or one time, after installation, but some wells wereMap of Study Area and Phytoplankton Taxonomy in Three North Louisiana Reservoirs: Cross Lake, Bayou D'Arbonne Lake, and Poverty Point Reservoir, June 2009-February 2011
This data release includes GIS shapefiles and metadata for location of the study area and phytoplankton taxonomy counts determined by Dr. Russel Rhodes, Faculty Emeritus, Department of Biology, Missouri State University, in three north Louisiana reservoirs: Cross Lake, Bayou D'Arbonne Lake, and Poverty Point Reservoir, June 2009-February 2011. - Maps
Altitude of the potentiometric surface in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 2020
The purpose of this report is to present a potentiometric-surface map for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA). The source data for the map were groundwater-altitude data from wells measured manually or continuously generally in spring 2020 and from the altitude of the top of the water surface measured generally on April 9, 2020, in rivers in the area.Altitude of the potentiometric surface in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 2018
A potentiometric-surface map for spring 2018 was created for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer using available groundwater-altitude data from 1,126 wells completed in the MRVA aquifer and from the altitude of the top of the water surface in area rivers from 66 streamgages. Personnel from Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Geological Su - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 18
Aquatic-life criteria compared to concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in streams near Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, December 2015–August 2016
The primary focus of this study was to document cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in selected streams near the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Polk Military Reservation and to compare those values to Federal and State aquatic-life criteria guidelines. The acute aquatic-life criteria used for this study are as follows: the U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAuthorsRoland W. TollettMethane and benzene in drinking-water wells overlying the Eagle Ford, Fayetteville, and Haynesville Shale hydrocarbon production areas
Water wells (n = 116) overlying the Eagle Ford, Fayetteville, and Haynesville Shale hydrocarbon production areas were sampled for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers to investigate the occurrence and sources of selected hydrocarbons in groundwater. Methane isotopes and hydrocarbon gas compositions indicate most of the methane in the wells was biogenic and produced by the CO2 reductionAuthorsPeter B. McMahon, Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Mark A. Engle, Kenneth Belitz, Patricia B. Ging, Andrew G. Hunt, Bryant C. Jurgens, Yousif K. Kharaka, Roland W. Tollett, Timothy M. KresseThe quality of our Nation's waters: water quality in the Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system and Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, south-central United States, 1994-2008
About 8 million people rely on groundwater from the Mississippi embayment—Texas coastal uplands aquifer system for drinking water. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer also provides drinking water for domestic use in rural areas but is of primary importance to the region as a source of water for irrigation. Irrigation withdrawals from this aquifer are among the largest in the Nation and pAuthorsJames A. Kingsbury, Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Brian G. Katz, Heather L. Welch, Roland W. Tollett, Lynne S. FahlquistProcesses affecting geochemistry and contaminant movement in the middle Claiborne aquifer of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system
Groundwater chemistry and tracer-based age data were used to assess contaminant movement and geochemical processes in the middle Claiborne aquifer (MCA) of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system. Water samples were collected from 30 drinking-water wells (mostly domestic and public supply) and analyzed for nutrients, major ions, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and transient age traAuthorsBrian G. Katz, James A. Kingsbury, Heather L. Welch, Roland W. TollettQuality of Shallow Groundwater and Drinking Water in the Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands Aquifer System and the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, South-Central United States, 1994-2004
The Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system is an important source of drinking water, providing about 724 million gallons per day to about 8.9 million people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Alabama. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer ranks third in the Nation for total withdrawals of which more than 98 percent iAuthorsHeather L. Welch, James A. Kingsbury, Roland W. Tollett, Ronald C. SeanorMonitoring Inland Storm Surge and Flooding From Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana, September 2008
On August 29-31, 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a mobile monitoring network consisting of 124 pressure transducers (sensors) (figs. 1, 2) at 80 sites over an area of about 4,200 square miles to record the timing, extent, and magnitude of inland hurricane storm surge and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall in southeastern Louisiana on September 1. OAuthorsBenton D. McGee, Burl B. Goree, Roland W. Tollett, Robert R. Mason,Physicochemical properties and chemical characteristics of water, bed sediment, and mussel tissue from selected streams near the Redleg and Peason Ridge impact areas, Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, June 2001 - November 2003
At the request of the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, the U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed water, bed-sediment, and mussel-tissue samples from selected streams near the Redleg impact area (RIA) and Peason Ridge impact areas (PRIA) at the Fort Polk Military Reservation (Reservation), Louisiana. from June 2001 through November 2003. Samples were collected from 1AuthorsRoland W. Tollett, Robert B. FendickEffects of Hardened Low-Water Crossings on Periphyton and Water Quality in Selected Streams at the Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, 1998-99 and 2003-04
In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), at the request of the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, began a follow-up study to determine whether installation and modification of hardened low-water crossings had short-term (less than 1 year) or long-term (greater than 1 year) effects on periphyton or water quality in five streams at the Fort Polk Military Reservation, LouisiaAuthorsBarbara W. Bryan, C. Frederick Bryan, John K. Lovelace, Roland W. TollettMonitoring Hurricane Rita Inland Storm Surge
Pressure transducers (sensors) are accurate, reliable, and cost-effective tools to measure and record the magnitude, extent, and timing of hurricane storm surge. Sensors record storm-surge peaks more accurately and reliably than do high-water marks. Data collected by sensors may be used in storm-surge models to estimate when, where, and to what degree stormsurge flooding will occur during future sAuthorsBenton D. McGee, Roland W. Tollett, Burl B. GoreeHurricane Rita surge data, southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, September to November 2005
Pressure transducers and high-water marks were used to document the inland water levels related to storm surge generated by Hurricane Rita in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. On September 22-23, 2005, an experimental monitoring network consisting of 47 pressure transducers (sensors) was deployed at 33 sites over an area of about 4,000 square miles to record the timing, extent, and maAuthorsBenton D. McGee, Burl B. Goree, Roland W. Tollett, Brenda K. Woodward, Wade H. KressMonitoring Inland Storm Surge and Flooding from Hurricane Rita
Pressure transducers (sensors) and high-water marks were used to document the inland water levels related to storm surge generated by Hurricane Rita in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. On September 22-23, 2005, an experimental monitoring network of sensors was deployed at 33 sites over an area of about 4,000 square miles to record the timing, extent, and magnitude of inland hurricaneAuthorsBenton D. McGee, Roland W. Tollett, Robert R. Mason,Explosive compounds detected in tissue of freshwater mussels from selected streams near or on the Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, May and June 2002
No abstract available.AuthorsRoland W. Tollett, Grant Kolb