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Tessa Harden

Tess Harden is a hydrologist at the USGS Oregon Water Science Center.

Tess started as a student hydrologist at the USGS in 2008 but spent 2011-2015 as a geologist for the Bureau of Reclamation in Denver, Colorado developing data to improve flood hazard assessments for dam safety before returning to the USGS at the end of 2015.

Tess’s work primarily focuses on paleoflood hydrology, quantifying extreme riverine floods, reducing uncertainty in flood-frequency analyses, and investigating the link between climate and extreme events. When not hunting for flood deposits, Tess has been known to develop 1D and 2D hydraulic models, map floodplain geomorphology, dabble in sediment fingerprinting and examine trends in streamflow.

Education and Certifications

  • B.S. in geology with a minor in chemistry from the University of Southern Indiana, 1999

  • M.S. in geosciences from the University of Arizona, 2007

  • Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Resources/Geology from Portland State University, 2012

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