Samuel H Austin
Hydrologist, USGS Virginia Water Science Center
Biography
Duke University School of the Environment, MF, Forestry; Warren Wilson College, BA, Environmental Science
Areas of interest: Surface water hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, environmental and economic analytics, forest management, forecasting, scenario analysis. Evaluating management decisions, trends, time-series, economic and financial questions, supply-chain dynamics, logistics, impulse-response problems.
Special skills: System dynamics modeling, developing project specific analytical tools, custom design of sampling experiments, characterizing statistical variation and relations, determining probable outcomes, testing data for trends, evaluating large and small datasets, reconditioning data.
Methods applied: Discrete and dynamic modeling and simulation. Evaluation of processes, decision interactions, and outcomes that include identifying system structure and simulating endogenous feedback. Interpreting, and characterizing large datasets using innovative statistical methods.
Fields of endeavor: Forest land-use and carbon metrics, surface water flows, hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, processes that include humans and ecosystems.
Areas of special knowledge: forest hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, watershed analysis, forest ecosystem dynamics, open channel flow, suspended and bed sediments, particle shear stress, critical shear velocities, stream classification and evaluation, production-distribution and control systems, management decision-making, biogeochemical cycling and feedback in natural systems.
Examples illustrating the educational potential of interactive simulation tools are found here: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5626-023X
- Darcy's Law
- Urban Runoff
- Sediment Motion
Science and Products
Freshwater Flow into Chesapeake Bay
Explore resources here describing estimates of freshwater flow entering Chesapeake Bay.
The health of the Chesapeake Bay is greatly affected by freshwater flow from rivers draining its watershed. The amount of freshwater flow (also called streamflow) will:
• Change salinity levels in the Bay, which affect oysters, crabs, and finfish.
• Influence the...
Chesapeake Bay Estimated Streamflow: METHODS
Methods for Estimating Streamflow to Chesapeake Bay
The following is a description of how data presented on the website "Chesapeake Bay Estimated Streamflow" are computed.
Essentially, the methodology was published more than 51 years ago, and has been adapted for use in modern automated computing systems....
Modeling summer month hydrological drought probabilities in the United States using antecedent flow conditions
Climate change raises concern that risks of hydrological drought may be increasing. We estimate hydrological drought probabilities for rivers and streams in the United States (U.S.) using maximum likelihood logistic regression (MLLR). Streamflow data from winter months are used to estimate the chance of hydrological drought during summer months. Daily streamflow data collected from 9,144...
Contact the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center
For more information and data, contact the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center:
USGS-VDOT Bridge Scour Pilot Study
Cost effective and safe highway bridge designs are required to ensure the long-term sustainability of Virginia’s road systems. The water flows that, over time, scour streambed sediments from bridge piers inherently affect bridge safety and design costs. To ensure safety, bridge designs must anticipate streambed scour at bridge piers over the lifespan of a bridge. Until recently Federal Highway...
Estimating Drought Streamflow Probabilities for Virginia Streams
Planning for drought conditions in Virginia streams is essential to the sound management of water resources and associated riparian and watershed ecosystems. Reliable estimations of the likelihood that stream flows during drought-prone months will exceed specific low-flow thresholds can provide advance warning of drought conditions, allowing extended lead times for improved drought awareness...
Estimating Peak Streamflow Per Square Mile in Virginia’s Urban Basins
Models are presented that describe Virginia urban area annual peak streamflow per square mile based on basin percent urban area and basin drainage area.
Peak-Flow Characteristics of Virginia Streams
Economic growth, and the development, management, and protection of Virginia’s natural resources require anticipating peak stream flows and changes in peak stream flows over time. Extensive hydraulic analysis and smart design are needed to limit the environmental impacts of buildings, pavements, highways, and bridges. Effective design and placement of structures built near streams and on flood...