Hydrologist
Office of the Chief Operating Officer
Email:
kperkins@usgs.gov
Office Phone:
650-329-4551
Fax:
650-329-4538
Supervisor:
Kurt J McCoy
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Haleakalā National Park (HNP) and the surrounding landscape spans many different land cover types, some of which are undergoing vegetation changes that can reduce the amount of water that infiltrates into soil. Decreased soil infiltration can lead to the erosion of terrestrial habitats, increases in the amount of sediment entering aquatic habitats, and flooding of downstream areas as runoff increases after storms. Currently, HNP managers are attempting to control runoff and erosion to avoid loss and damage within park boundaries and parks located downstream. Managers in HNP have expressed a need for information on current and future runoff and erosion risk to help prioritize management within the park and other...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: 2018,
CASC,
Completed,
Data Visualization & Tools,
Data Visualization & Tools, All tags...
Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather,
Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather,
Extreme Weather,
Extreme Weather,
Landscapes,
Landscapes,
Other Landscapes,
Other Landscapes,
Other Water,
Pacific Islands,
Pacific Islands CASC,
Projects by Region,
Science Tools for Managers,
Science Tools for Managers,
Sea-Level Rise and Coasts,
Water, Coasts and Ice, Fewer tags
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Santa Rosa Island, part of Channel Islands National Park off the coast of California, has a undergone a history of ecologic degradation due to introduced ungulate grazing for ranching (cattle and sheep) and hunting (deer and elk) purposes. Grazing in many parts of the island has resulted in widespread vegetation loss and subsequent erosion presumably causing changes in infiltration/runoff relations. In some areas, large sections of bedrock are exposed while other areas have thin soils left with much of the organic-rich materials removed. The reestablishment of healthy ecosystems on land severely degraded by long-term alternative use is challenging. This issue is especially critical in cloud forests where the soil...
Categories: Data;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Botany,
Channel Islands National Park,
Ecology,
Land Use Change,
Santa Rosa Island, All tags...
Soil Sciences,
USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC),
Water Resources,
infiltration,
runoff,
soil moisture, Fewer tags
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Given the potential effect of invasive plants and animals to water fluxes through forests, the invasive-driven degradation of native ecosystems is a topic of great concern for many downstream land and water managers. The infiltration rate determines the partitioning between runoff and infiltration into soil in Hawaiian forests and beyond. Thus, to explore the ecohydrological effects of plant and animal invasion in mesic and wet forests in Hawaii, we measured soil infiltration capacity in multiple fenced (i.e., ungulate-free)/unfenced and native/invaded forest sites along moisture and substrate age gradients across the islands of Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i. We also characterized forest composition and structure and soil...
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The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, in cooperation with the County of Maui Department of Water Supply and the State of Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management, initiated a field data-collection program to provide information for evaluating how infiltration rates and soil hydrophobicity are dependent on plant species type within forested areas on the island of Maui. The field data collection is part of a study to quantify the impacts of high-priority non-native and dominant native plant species on freshwater availability throughout the State of Hawaii (https://archive.usgs.gov/archive/sites/hi.water.usgs.gov/studies/maui_eco/index.html). The overall objective of the study is to...
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To measure, predict, and understand the flow of water through the soil and rock of the unsaturated zone. Specifically to advance (1) knowledge of aquifer recharge rates for improved management of water resources, (2) the assessment and quantification of hazards from contaminants near the earth's surface, and (3) the understanding of soil moisture processes in relation to ecological habitat. Results are directed toward large-scale problems of water quality, water availability, land-use evaluation, and environmental impacts of climate change.
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