Stephen B Gingerich
Biography
Stephen Gingerich has been a Research Hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey since 1995. He has authored over 35 scientific papers on subjects such as groundwater modeling and island hydrology. He received a BS in Geosciences from the Pennsylvania State University in 1986, a MS and a PhD in Hydrology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1992 and 1995. He was a Fulbright Scholar working in Japan during 2008-09. He started working for the USGS in 1990 as a student. He has worked on hydrologic studies in Oregon, Hawaii, Guam, Japan, the Marshall Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Diego Garcia.
Science and Products
Harney Basin Groundwater Study
This study will characterize and quantify the groundwater system in the Harney Basin to address gaps in our present understanding.
Most atolls will be uninhabitable by the mid-21st century because of sea-level rise exacerbating wave-driven flooding
Sea levels are rising, with the highest rates in the tropics, where thousands of low-lying coral atoll islands are located. Most studies on the resilience of these islands to sea-level rise have projected that they will experience minimal inundation impacts until at least the end of the 21st century. However, these have not taken into account the...
Storlazzi, Curt; Gingerich, Stephen B.; van Dongeren, Ap; Cheriton, Olivia; Swarzenski, Peter W.; Quataert, Ellen; Voss, Clifford I.; Field, Donald W.; Annamalai, Hariharasubramanian; Piniak, Greg A.; McCall, Robert T. Noble gas signatures in the Island of Maui, Hawaii: Characterizing groundwater sources in fractured systems
Uneven distribution of rainfall and freshwater scarcity in populated areas in the Island of Maui, Hawaii, renders water resources management a challenge in this complex and ill-defined hydrological system. A previous study in the Galapagos Islands suggests that noble gas temperatures (NGTs) record seasonality in that fractured, rapid infiltration...
Niu, Yi; Castro, M. Clara; Hall, Chris M.; Gingerich, Stephen B.; Scholl, Martha A.; Warrier, Rohit B. Seawater-flooding events and impact on freshwater lenses of low-lying islands: Controlling factors, basic management and mitigation
An unprecedented set of hydrologic observations was collected after the Dec 2008 seawater-flooding event on Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. By two days after the seawater flooding that occurred at the beginning of dry season, the observed salinity of water withdrawn by the island’s main skimming well increased to 100...
Gingerich, Stephen B.; Voss, Clifford I.; Johnson, Adam G. Climate trends and projections for Guam
The island of Guam experiences a tropical marine climate, which is warm and humid moderated by seasonal tradewinds and a wet and dry season. The dry season lasts from January to June, while the rainy months are from July to December. Annual rainfall totals 84-116 inches (2133-2946 mm), of which two-thirds fall during the rainy season. Seasonal...
Gingerich, Stephen B.; Keener, Victoria; Finucane, Melissa L.
The effects of withdrawals and drought on groundwater availability in the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer, Guam
Owing to population growth, freshwater demand on Guam has increased in the past and will likely increase in the future. During the early 1970s to 2010, groundwater withdrawals from the limestone Northern Guam Lens Aquifer, the main source of freshwater on the island, tripled from about 15 to 45 million gallons per day. Because of proposed military...
Gingerich, Stephen B. Estimating hydraulic properties from tidal attenuation in the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer, territory of Guam, USA
Tidal-signal attenuations are analyzed to compute hydraulic diffusivities and estimate regional hydraulic conductivities of the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer, Territory of Guam (Pacific Ocean), USA. The results indicate a significant tidal-damping effect at the coastal boundary. Hydraulic diffusivities computed using a simple analytical solution for...
Rotzoll, Kolja; Gingerich, Stephen B.; Jenson, John W.; El-Kadi, Aly I. Canopy water balance of windward and leeward Hawaiian cloud forests on Haleakalā, Maui, Hawai'i
The contribution of intercepted cloud water to precipitation at windward and leeward cloud forest sites on the slopes of Haleakalā, Maui was assessed using two approaches. Canopy water balance estimates based on meteorological monitoring were compared with interpretations of fog screen measurements collected over a 2-year period at each location....
Giambelluca, Thomas W.; DeLay, John K.; Nullet, Michael A.; Scholl, Martha A.; Gingerich, Stephen B. Hydrogeology of the Hawaiian islands
Volcanic-rock aquifers are the most extensive and productive aquifers in the Hawaiian Islands. These aquifers contain different types of groundwater systems depending on the geologic setting in which they occur. The most common groundwater systems include coastal freshwater-lens systems in the dike-free flanks of the volcanoes and dike-impounded...
Cabrera, Maria del Carmen; Lambán, Luis Javier; Valverde, Margarida; Gingerich, Stephen B.; Oki, Delwyn S.
Groundwater availability study for Guam; goals, approach, products, and schedule of activities
An expected significant population increase on Guam has raised concern about the sustainability of groundwater resources. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the University of Guam's Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific (WERI) and with funding from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), is...
Gingerich, Stephen B.; Jenson, John W.
Groundwater resources of Mosteiros basin, island of Fogo, Cape Verde, West Africa
Groundwater resources in Cape Verde provide water for agriculture, industry, and human consumption. These resources are limited and susceptible to contamination. Additional groundwater resources are needed for continued agricultural development, particularly during times of drought, but increased use and (or) climatic change may have adverse...
Heilweil, Victor M.; Gingerich, Stephen B.; Plummer, Niel; Verstraeten, Ingrid M. Interpreting canopy water balance and fog screen observations: separating cloud water from wind-blown rainfall at two contrasting forest sites in Hawai'i
No abstract available.
Bruijnzeel, L.A.; Scatena, F.N.; Hamilton, L.S.; Giambelluca, Thomas W.; DeLay, J. K.; Nullet, M.A.; Scholl, Martha A.; Gingerich, Stephen B. Oxygen, hydrogen, and helium isotopes for investigating groundwater systems of the Cape Verde Islands, West Africa
Stable isotopes (??18O, ??2H), tritium (3H), and helium isotopes (3He, 4He) were used for evaluating groundwater recharge sources, flow paths, and residence times of three watersheds in the Cape Verde Islands (West Africa). Stable isotopes indicate the predominance of high-elevation precipitation that undergoes little evaporation prior to...
Heilweil, V.M.; Solomon, K.D.; Gingerich, S.B.; Verstraeten, Ingrid M.