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Toby Welborn

Geospatial Science Section Chief, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center 

Toby Welborn has been with the U.S. Geological Survey since 1999.  In that time, he has served as a Geographer, the Spatial Analysis Unit section lead for the Nevada Water Science Center, and most recently the Geospatial Science Section Chief for the Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center.  In those roles he has provided technical expertise and guidance to stakeholders, cooperators, and colleagues and  worked closely with a talented team of developers, geographers and hydrologists contributing to ongoing research within the USGS to produce innovative geospatial and data solutions for hydrologic and spatial analyses and visualizations.

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Building a framework to compute continuous grids of basin characteristics for the conterminous United States

The proposed work will create a seamless pilot dataset of continuous basin characteristics (for example upstream average precipitation, elevation, or dominant land cover type) for the conterminous United States. Basin characteristic data are necessary for training or parameterizing statistical, machine learning, and physical models, and for making predictions across the landscape, particularly in
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Community for Data Integration (CDI)
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Building a framework to compute continuous grids of basin characteristics for the conterminous United States

The proposed work will create a seamless pilot dataset of continuous basin characteristics (for example upstream average precipitation, elevation, or dominant land cover type) for the conterminous United States. Basin characteristic data are necessary for training or parameterizing statistical, machine learning, and physical models, and for making predictions across the landscape, particularly in
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Dry Rio Grande riverbed near Selden Canyon, New Mexico.

Analyzing the Response of Waterflow to Projected Climate Conditions in the Upper Rio Grande Basin

Water availability in the upper Rio Grande Basin is dependent on winter and monsoon season precipitation. Consecutive years of drought and above average temperatures have diminished water supply and increased demand for water in this region. The increasing gap between water supply and demand is cause for concern. Climate projections for the southwestern and south central United States suggest that
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Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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Analyzing the Response of Waterflow to Projected Climate Conditions in the Upper Rio Grande Basin

Water availability in the upper Rio Grande Basin is dependent on winter and monsoon season precipitation. Consecutive years of drought and above average temperatures have diminished water supply and increased demand for water in this region. The increasing gap between water supply and demand is cause for concern. Climate projections for the southwestern and south central United States suggest that
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Animation of low and high flow through Walker Canyon

Nevada Flood Chronology

The lowest annual average precipitation and one of the fastest growing populations in the United States contribute to a tendency for both the general public and land-use planners to underestimate flood hazards in Nevada, despite historical evidence of frequent flooding.
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Nevada Water Science Center
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Nevada Flood Chronology

The lowest annual average precipitation and one of the fastest growing populations in the United States contribute to a tendency for both the general public and land-use planners to underestimate flood hazards in Nevada, despite historical evidence of frequent flooding.
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Hydrogeologic, geologic, and water-level data for the groundwater component of the upper Rio Grande Focus Area Study, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, United States and Chihuahua, Mexico 2017

This Data Release contains various types of hydrologic and geologic data from the Upper Rio Grande Focus Area Study from 1921-2017, including groundwater-level measurement data compiled and synthesized from various sources, water-level altitude and water-level change maps developed from the water-level measurement data every 5 years from 1980-2015, and the horizontal extent of 13 alluvial basins i
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Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Flow-Conditioned Parameter Grids for the Contiguous United States: A Pilot, Seamless Basin Characteristic Dataset

Abstract To aid in parameterization of mechanistic, statistical, and machine learning models of hydrologic systems in the contiguous United States (CONUS), flow-conditioned parameter grids (FCPGs) have been generated describing upstream basin mean elevation, slope, land cover class, latitude, and 30-year climatologies of mean total annual precipitation, minimum daily air temperature, and maximum d
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Community for Data Integration (CDI), Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Geospatial Data, Tabular Data, and Surface-Water Model Archive for Delineation of Flood-Inundation Areas in Grapevine Canyon Near Scotty's Castle, Death Valley National Park, California

This U.S. Geological Survey data release consists of a polygon geospatial dataset representing estimated flood-inundation areas in Grapevine Canyon near Scotty's Castle, Death Valley National Park, and the data acquired and processed to support the delineation of those areas. Supporting datasets include topographic survey data collected by global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and terrestrial
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Nevada Water Science Center

Irrigated Acreage Delineated from Landsat-Derived Maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) 1975-2010, Walker River Basin Nevada and California

These data represent the extent and spatial distribution of irrigated acreage delineated from maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from Landsat scenes in the Walker River Basin, California and Nevada, at five-year intervals from 1975-2010. The field boundaries in this data set are digitized from one-year composite maximum NDVI data derived from atmospherically corrected La
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Nevada Water Science Center

Evapotranspiration units and potential areas of groundwater discharge delineated July 2024, 2009 in the upper Humboldt River Basin, northeastern Nevada

This USGS data release represents the evapotranspiration units and potential areas of groundwater discharge geospatial data from the following publication: Plume, R.W., and Smith, J.L., 2013, Properties of basin-fill deposits, a 19712000 water budget, and surface-water-groundwater interactions in the upper Humboldt River basin, northeastern Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigatio
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Nevada Water Science Center

Phreatophytic land-cover map of the northern and central Great Basin Ecoregion: California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, and Wyoming

Increasing water use and changing climate in the Great Basin of the western United States are likely affecting the distribution of phreatophytic vegetation in the region. Phreatophytic plant communities that depend on groundwater are susceptible to natural and anthropogenic changes to hydrologic flow systems. The purpose of this report is to document the methods used to create the accompanying map
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Western Geographic Science Center

Hydrogeology of the Lake Tahoe Basin, California and Nevada

Ground water in the Lake Tahoe basin is the primary source of domestic and municipal water supply and an important source of inflow to Lake Tahoe. Over the past 30-40 years, Federal, State, and local agencies, and research institutions have collected hydrologic data to quantify the ground-water resources in the Lake Tahoe basin. These data are dispersed among the various agencies and institutions
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center
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Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater characterization in selected alluvial basins in the upper Rio Grande basin, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, United States, and Chihuahua, Mexico, 1980 to 2015

Increasing demand for the limited water resources of the United States continues to put pressure on resource management agencies to balance the competing needs of ecosystem health with municipal, agricultural, and other uses. To meet these needs, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a multiyear study to evaluate water resources in the upper Rio Grande Basin in the southwestern United States. The u
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Water Resources, Oklahoma Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Delineation of flood-inundation areas in Grapevine Canyon near Scotty’s Castle, Death Valley National Park, California

On October 18, 2015, a large flood caused considerable damage in Grapevine Canyon near Death Valley Scotty Historic District, in Death Valley National Park, California. Significant channel changes had limited the applicability of previously created flood-inundation maps to current conditions. Predicted flood-inundation maps for Scotty’s Castle were updated using one-dimensional hydraulic models. A
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Flood-inundation mapping of a steep, gravel desert stream in Death Valley National Park, California

In desert landscapes, flooding can result in dramatic changes to streams. However, the frequency, magnitude, and geomorphic effects of floods in such environments are less understood compared to wetter environments (Tooth, 2000). In desert landscapes, steep slopes and sparse vegetation result in runoff and flashy flood peaks, often lasting for only a few hours. Many floods are the result of isolat
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana from the August and September 2017 flood resulting from Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, on August 25, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane with wind gusts exceeding 150 miles per hour. As Harvey moved inland, the forward motion of the storm slowed down and produced tremendous rainfall amounts over southeastern Texas, with 8-day rainfall amounts exceeding 60 inches in some locations, which is about 15 inches more than average annual amou
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Water Resources, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Groundwater-level change and evaluation of simulated water levels for irrigated areas in Lahontan Valley, Churchill County, west-central Nevada, 1992 to 2012

The acquisition and transfer of water rights to wetland areas of Lahontan Valley, Nevada, has caused concern over the potential effects on shallow aquifer water levels. In 1992, water levels in Lahontan Valley were measured to construct a water-table map of the shallow aquifer prior to the effects of water-right transfers mandated by the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribal Settlement Act of 1990 (Public
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Soil, plant, and terrain effects on natural perchlorate distribution in a desert landscape

Perchlorate (ClO4−) is a contaminant that occurs naturally throughout the world, but little is known about its distribution and interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. The objectives of this Amargosa Desert, Nevada study were to determine (i) the local-scale distribution of shallow-soil (0–30 cm) ClO4− with respect to shrub proximity (far and near) in three geomorphic settings (shoulder slope, foo
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Water Resources, Ecosystems, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, Nevada Water Science Center

ARkStorm@Tahoe: Stakeholder perspectives on vulnerabilities and preparedness for an extreme storm event in the greater Lake Tahoe, Reno, and Carson City region

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are strongly linked to extreme winter precipitation events in the Western U.S., accounting for 80 percent of extreme floods in the Sierra Nevada and surrounding lowlands. In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey developed the ARkStorm extreme storm scenario for California to quantify risks from extreme winter storms and to allow stakeholders to better explore and mitigate poten
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Natural Hazards, Water Resources, Science Application for Risk Reduction

The distribution and modeling of nitrate transport in the Carson Valley alluvial aquifer, Douglas County, Nevada

Residents of Carson Valley in Douglas County, Nevada, rely on groundwater from an alluvial aquifer for domestic use and agricultural irrigation. Since the 1970s, there has been a rapid increase in population in several parts of the valley that rely on domestic wells for drinking water and septic systems for treatment of household waste. As a result, the density of septic systems in the developed a
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Hydrologic and Water-Quality Responses in Shallow Ground Water Receiving Stormwater Runoff and Potential Transport of Contaminants to Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, 2005-07

Clarity of Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada has been decreasing due to inflows of sediment and nutrients associated with stormwater runoff. Detention basins are considered effective best management practices for mitigation of suspended sediment and nutrients associated with runoff, but effects of infiltrated stormwater on shallow ground water are not known. This report documents 2005-07 hydrogeol
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Mapping Evapotranspiration Units in the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah

Accurate estimates of ground-water discharge are crucial in the development of a water budget for the Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifer system study area. One common method used throughout the southwestern United States is to estimate ground-water discharge from evapotranspiration (ET). ET is a process by which water from the Earth's surface is transferred to the atmosphere. The volume of wat
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Irrigated Acreage Within the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah

Accurate delineations of irrigated acreage are needed for the development of water-use estimates and in determining water-budget calculations for the Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifer system (BARCAS) study. Irrigated acreage is estimated routinely for only a few basins in the study area. Satellite imagery from the Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper platforms were used to del
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Water-Table Levels and Gradients, Nevada, 1947-2004

In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began a program to protect the quality of ground water in areas other than ground-water protection areas. These other sensitive ground water areas (OSGWA) are areas that are not currently, but could eventually be, used as a source of drinking water. The OSGWA program specifically addresses existing wells that are used for underground injection of m
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center
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Newly Released Web-based Tool Aims to Provide Real-time Walker River Basin Hydrologic Data

The newly released web-based Walker Basin Hydro Mapper aims to provide real-time visualization of streamflow, and waterbody stage and volume in the...

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