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Scott A Olson

Scott Olson is a Hydrologist in the New England Water Science Center.

He has worked on numerous surface-water hydrology projects in New England since 1985.

Education and Certifications

  • B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Maine

  • Registered Professional Engineer in the State of New Hampshire

Science and Products

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Hydrologic Technicians set up a total station near a covered bridge on the Housatonic River in Connecticut

Characterizing Future Flood Flows for Flood Insurance Studies

Current methods of flood-frequency analyses for flood insurance studies assume that the statistical distribution of data from past observations will continue unchanged in the future. This is known as the assumption of stationarity. This assumption allows scientists to estimate flood magnitude and frequency based on past records and the expectation that those estimates will represent current and...
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New England Water Science Center
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Characterizing Future Flood Flows for Flood Insurance Studies

Current methods of flood-frequency analyses for flood insurance studies assume that the statistical distribution of data from past observations will continue unchanged in the future. This is known as the assumption of stationarity. This assumption allows scientists to estimate flood magnitude and frequency based on past records and the expectation that those estimates will represent current and...
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A small rocky stream surrounded by fall foliage

Characterizing Future Climate and Hydrology in Massachusetts using Stochastic Modeling Methods

Communities across Massachusetts may face potential consequences of climate change, ranging from more extreme rainfall to more pronounced and frequent droughts. Climate change could alter the state’s hydrology in potentially complex and unanticipated ways. Typical approaches for projecting hydrologic risk under climate change can misrepresent and underestimate the variability of climate and...
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New England Water Science Center
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Characterizing Future Climate and Hydrology in Massachusetts using Stochastic Modeling Methods

Communities across Massachusetts may face potential consequences of climate change, ranging from more extreme rainfall to more pronounced and frequent droughts. Climate change could alter the state’s hydrology in potentially complex and unanticipated ways. Typical approaches for projecting hydrologic risk under climate change can misrepresent and underestimate the variability of climate and...
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Screenshot of the Flood Insurance Map

Development of Flood Insurance Maps in New England

FEMA has requested USGS expertise in hydraulics, hydrology, and mapping to generate flood insurance maps for New England.
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New England Water Science Center
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Development of Flood Insurance Maps in New England

FEMA has requested USGS expertise in hydraulics, hydrology, and mapping to generate flood insurance maps for New England.
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Development of Streamflow Record Extension Equations in New Hampshire

Currently, there are 16 designated rivers in New Hampshire in need of daily mean streamflow estimates for managing instream flows. Many of New Hampshire’s Designated Rivers have current and/or historical streamflow data that may be used to extend an existing streamgages streamflow record in time through record extension techniques. Evaluating the feasibility of record extension techniques to...
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New England Water Science Center
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Development of Streamflow Record Extension Equations in New Hampshire

Currently, there are 16 designated rivers in New Hampshire in need of daily mean streamflow estimates for managing instream flows. Many of New Hampshire’s Designated Rivers have current and/or historical streamflow data that may be used to extend an existing streamgages streamflow record in time through record extension techniques. Evaluating the feasibility of record extension techniques to...
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Survey at a dam-removal and culvert-retrofit site

Flow Modeling at Dam Removal Sites Associated with Hurricane Sandy Resiliency Efforts

The purpose of this work is to better understand the effects of dam removal on local hydraulics, fish passage, and flooding. This study is part of a larger effort to monitor ecological resilience changes at nine Hurricane Sandy coastal resiliency aquatic connectivity restoration projects. It will contribute crucial knowledge that will be used to improve aquatic connectivity system cost...
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New England Water Science Center, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed
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Flow Modeling at Dam Removal Sites Associated with Hurricane Sandy Resiliency Efforts

The purpose of this work is to better understand the effects of dam removal on local hydraulics, fish passage, and flooding. This study is part of a larger effort to monitor ecological resilience changes at nine Hurricane Sandy coastal resiliency aquatic connectivity restoration projects. It will contribute crucial knowledge that will be used to improve aquatic connectivity system cost...
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Data for Characterizing Changes in the 1-percent Annual Exceedance Probability Streamflows for Climate Change Scenarios in the Housatonic River Watershed, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency has conducted a study to evaluate potential changes to1-percent annual exceedance probability (AEP) streamflows. The study was conducted using the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). Climate inputs to the model of temperature and precipitation were scaled to anticipated changes that could occur in 2030,
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New England Water Science Center

Data and shapefiles used to document the floods associated with the January and March 2018 Nor'easters for Coastal Areas of New England

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to document the floods of January 4, 2018 and March 2-4, 2018, in coastal Massachusetts. USGS conducted a frequency analysis of stillwater elevations at three National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration coastal gages following the coastal floods of 2018. The data for these an
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New England Water Science Center

Data for Simulating the Effects of Air Temperature and Precipitation Changes on Streamflow and Water Temperature in the Meduxnekeag River Watershed, Maine

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (HBMI), has developed tools to assess the effects climate change on hydrology and water temperatures in the Meduxnekeag River Watershed in Maine. A USGS Scientific Investigations Report (SIR) report documents tools and datasets developed by the USGS to evaluate how climate change will affect the hydrology a
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New England Water Science Center

Data and hydraulic models at selected dam-removal and culvert-retrofit sites in the northeastern United States

This dataset contains U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed hydraulic models, USGS developed hydrology data, US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) supplied data (topography/bathymetry and structure data for pre removal conditions), and USGS field surveyed data at nine dam-removal and culvert-retrofit sites in the northeastern United States (Olson and Simeone, 2021). The hydrology, the USFWS suppl
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New England Water Science Center
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Characterizing changes in the 1-percent annual exceedance probability streamflows for climate-change scenarios in the Housatonic River watershed of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York

Current methods for determining the 1-percent annual exceedance probability (AEP) for a streamflow assume stationarity (the assumption that the statistical distribution of data from past observations does not contain trends and will continue unchanged in the future). This assumption allows the 1-percent AEP to be determined based on historical streamflow records. However, the assumption of station
Authors
Scott A. Olson
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Simulating the effects of climate-related changes to air temperature and precipitation on streamflow and water temperature in the Meduxnekeag River watershed, Maine

Responsible stewardship of native fish populations and riparian plants in the Meduxnekeag River watershed in northeastern Maine is a high priority for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. Understanding the potential changes in hydrology and water temperature as a result of climate change is important to this priority for evaluating future habitat conditions in the watershed. This report, prepared
Authors
David M. Bjerklie, Scott A. Olson
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Documentation and mapping of flooding from the January and March 2018 nor’easters in coastal New England

In January and March 2018, coastal Massachusetts experienced flooding from two separate nor’easters. To put the January and March floods into historical context, the USGS computed statistical stillwater elevations. Stillwater elevations recorded in January 2018 in Boston (9.66 feet relative to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988) have an annual exceedance probability of between 2 and 1 perce

Authors
Pamela J. Lombard, Scott A. Olson, Luke P. Sturtevant, Rena D. Kalmon
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Hydraulic modeling at selected dam-removal and culvert-retrofit sites in the northeastern United States

Aquatic connectivity projects, such as removing dams and modifying culverts, have substantial benefits. The restoration of natural flow conditions improves water quality, sediment transport, aquatic and riparian habitat, and fish passage. These projects can also decrease hazards faced by communities by lowering water-surface elevations of flood waters and by removing the risk of dam breaches assoc
Authors
Scott A. Olson, Caelan E. Simeone
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Methods for estimating regional coefficient of skewness for unregulated streams in New England, based on data through water year 2011

The magnitude of annual exceedance probability floods is greatly affected by the coefficient of skewness (skew) of the annual peak flows at a streamgage. Standard flood frequency methods recommend weighting the station skew with a regional skew to better represent regional and stable conditions. This study presents an updated analysis of a regional skew for New England developed using a robust Bay
Authors
Andrea G. Veilleux, Phillip J. Zarriello, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Elizabeth A. Ahearn, Scott A. Olson, Timothy A. Cohn
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Water Resources Mission Area

Development and evaluation of a record extension technique for estimating discharge at selected stream sites in New Hampshire

Daily mean discharges are needed for rivers in New Hampshire for the management of instream flows. It is impractical, however, to continuously gage all streams in New Hampshire, and at many sites where information is needed, the discharge data required do not exist. For such sites, techniques for estimating discharge are available. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire
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Scott A. Olson, Abraham J. Meyerhofer
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

The Connecticut Streamflow and Sustainable Water Use Estimator—A decision-support tool to estimate water availability at ungaged stream locations in Connecticut

Freshwater streams in Connecticut are subject to many competing demands, including public water supply; agricultural, commercial, and industrial water use; and ecosystem and habitat needs. In recent years, drought has further stressed Connecticut’s water resources. To sustainably allocate and manage water resources among these competing uses, Federal, State, and local water-resource managers requi
Authors
Sara B. Levin, Scott A. Olson, Martha G. Nielsen, Gregory E. Granato
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Tropical storm Irene flood of August 2011 in northwestern Massachusetts

A Presidential disaster was declared in northwestern Massachusetts, following flooding from tropical storm Irene on August 28, 2011. During the storm, 3 to 10 inches of rain fell on soils that were susceptible to flash flooding because of wet antecedent conditions. The gage height at one U.S. Geological Survey streamgage rose nearly 20 feet in less than 4 hours because of the combination of satura
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Gardner C. Bent, Scott A. Olson, Andrew J. Massey
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Flood Map for the Winooski River in Waterbury, Vermont, 2014

From August 28 to 29, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene delivered rainfall ranging from approximately 4 to more than 7 inches in the Winooski River Basin in Vermont. The rainfall resulted in severe flooding throughout the basin and significant damage along the Winooski River. In response to the flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, condu
Authors
Scott A. Olson
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Flood recovery maps for the White River in Bethel, Stockbridge, and Rochester, Vermont, and the Tweed River in Stockbridge and Pittsfield, Vermont, 2014

From August 28 to 29, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene delivered rainfall ranging from about 4 inches to more than 7 inches in the White River Basin. The rainfall resulted in severe flooding throughout the basin and significant damage along the White River and Tweed River. In response to the flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, conducted a ne
Authors
Scott A. Olson
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Assessment of the spatial extent and height of flooding in Lake Champlain during May 2011, using satellite remote sensing and ground-based information

Landsat 5 and moderate resolution imaging spectro-radiometer satellite imagery were used to map the area of inundation of Lake Champlain, which forms part of the border between New York and Vermont, during May 2011. During this month, the lake’s water levels were record high values not observed in the previous 150 years. Lake inundation area determined from the satellite imagery is correlated with
Authors
David M. Bjerklie, Thomas J. Trombley, Scott A. Olson
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New England Water Science Center

Estimation of flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities for unregulated, rural streams in Vermont, with a section on Vermont regional skew regression

This report provides estimates of flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for streamgages in and adjacent to Vermont and equations for estimating flood discharges at AEPs of 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent (recurrence intervals of 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-years, respectively) for ungaged, unregulated, rural streams in Vermont. The equa

Authors
Scott A. Olson, Andrea G. with a section by Veilleux
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center, StreamStats

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