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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

Filter Total Items: 18

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
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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
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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
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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

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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center, StreamStats

Annual exceedance probabilities of the peak discharges of 2011 at streamgages in Vermont and selected streamgages in New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, and northeastern New York

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, determined annual exceedance probabilities for peak discharges occurring during the 2011 water year (October 1 to September 30) at streamgages in Vermont and selected streamgages in New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, and northeastern New York. This report presents the 2011 water year peak discharges at 145
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center, StreamStats

High-water marks from flooding in Lake Champlain from April through June 2011 and Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011 in Vermont

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, identified high-water marks after two floods in Vermont during 2011. Following a snowy winter, new monthly precipitation records were set in Burlington, Vermont, in April and May 2011, causing extensive flooding from April through June. The spring 2011 flooding resulted in a new record for stage (103.27 feet,
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Technique for estimation of streamflow statistics in mineral areas of interest in Afghanistan

A technique for estimating streamflow statistics at ungaged stream sites in areas of mineral interest in Afghanistan using drainage-area-ratio relations of historical streamflow data was developed and is documented in this report. The technique can be used to estimate the following streamflow statistics at ungaged sites: (1) 7-day low flow with a 10-year recurrence interval, (2) 7-day low flow wit

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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center, International Programs

Streamflow characteristics at streamgages in northern Afghanistan and selected locations

Statistical summaries of streamflow data for 79 historical streamgages in Northern Afghanistan and other selected historical streamgages are presented in this report. The summaries for each streamgage include (1) station description, (2) graph of the annual mean discharge for the period of record, (3) statistics of monthly and annual mean discharges, (4) monthly and annual flow duration, (5) proba

Estimation of Flood Discharges at Selected Recurrence Intervals for Streams in New Hampshire

This report provides estimates of flood discharges at selected recurrence intervals for streamgages in and adjacent to New Hampshire and equations for estimating flood discharges at recurrence intervals of 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 500-years for ungaged, unregulated, rural streams in New Hampshire. The equations were developed using generalized least-squares regression. Flood-frequency and
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Flood of May 2006 in New Hampshire

From May 13-17, 2006, central and southern New Hampshire experienced severe flooding caused by as much as 14 inches of rainfall in the region. As a result of the flood damage, a presidential disaster declaration was made on May 25, 2006, for seven counties-Rockingham, Hillsborough, Strafford, Merrimack, Belknap, Carroll, and Grafton. Following the flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey, in a coopera
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Flood of October 8 and 9, 2005, on Cold River in Walpole, Langdon, and Alstead and on Warren Brook in Alstead, New Hampshire

Southwestern New Hampshire experienced damaging flooding on October 8 and 9, 2005. The flooding was the result of a storm producing at least 7 inches of rain in a 30-hour period. The heavy, intense rainfall resulted in runoff and severe flooding, especially in regions of steep topography that are vulnerable to flash flooding. Some of the worst property damage was in the towns of Alstead, Langdon,
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

A logistic regression equation for estimating the probability of a stream in Vermont having intermittent flow

A logistic regression equation was developed for estimating the probability of a stream flowing intermittently at unregulated, rural stream sites in Vermont. These determinations can be used for a wide variety of regulatory and planning efforts at the Federal, State, regional, county and town levels, including such applications as assessing fish and wildlife habitats, wetlands classifications, rec
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center
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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...
Learn More
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HydroRisk Flow Chart

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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Surveying for the FEMA project

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...
Learn More
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Surveying for the FEMA project

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
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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 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
Screenshot of two-dimensional hydraulic model at Hyde Pond Dam site on Whitford Brook, Mystic, Connecticut.
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Science and Products