Christopher A Curran (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Assessment of Sediment Quality and Volume behind Enloe Dam
The Issue: The Enloe Dam, a 100-yr old structure on the Similkameen River in Washington State, has not produced hydropower since 1958 and options are being considered for potential removal of the dam. The concentrations of sediment contaminants (primarily trace elements from a long history of mining and smelting operations in the US and Canada) trapped by Enloe Dam are unknown and may be high...
USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project
The Elwha River Restoration Project has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.
Sumas River Sediment Load
The Issue: A large, clay-rich active landslide on the western flank of Sumas Mountain in Whatcom County, Washington, is a significant source of sediment to Swift Creek and the salmon-bearing Sumas River. The landslide contains naturally occurring serpentinite that weathers to chrysotile asbestos and elevated levels of metals. The asbestos load in water as well as deposits along the banks and flood...
Elwha River Sediment Monitoring
The Issue: The Elwha River Restoration Project is the largest single restoration action planned for the Puget Sound region in the foreseeable future and is a high priority for the Puget Sound Partnership. Beginning in 2011, two large dams on the Elwha River in Clallam County, Washington, will be removed by the National Park Service over about two and a half years. During removal, sediment...
Geomorphology & Sediment Transport
Geomorphology is the study of the formation and evolution of landforms on Earth's surface. In the Pacific Northwest, volcanoes, tectonic movement, glaciers, rain, snow, wind, vegetation, animals, and people all shape the landscape at different scales of time and space. Of particular interest in the region is the form and processes of rivers, a branch of the science termed fluvial geomorphology...
Sauk River Sediment
Fine-grained sediments in the lower reach of the Sauk River are adversely affecting the health and spawning of Chinook salmon. Climate change and forestry practices have been proposed as suspected causes of a reported increase in sediment loading to the river. To determine the amount and timing of suspended-sediment loading to the river and possible connections to adverse effects on Chinook salmon...
Science and Products
Assessment of Sediment Quality and Volume behind Enloe Dam
The Issue: The Enloe Dam, a 100-yr old structure on the Similkameen River in Washington State, has not produced hydropower since 1958 and options are being considered for potential removal of the dam. The concentrations of sediment contaminants (primarily trace elements from a long history of mining and smelting operations in the US and Canada) trapped by Enloe Dam are unknown and may be high...
USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project
The Elwha River Restoration Project has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.
Sumas River Sediment Load
The Issue: A large, clay-rich active landslide on the western flank of Sumas Mountain in Whatcom County, Washington, is a significant source of sediment to Swift Creek and the salmon-bearing Sumas River. The landslide contains naturally occurring serpentinite that weathers to chrysotile asbestos and elevated levels of metals. The asbestos load in water as well as deposits along the banks and flood...
Elwha River Sediment Monitoring
The Issue: The Elwha River Restoration Project is the largest single restoration action planned for the Puget Sound region in the foreseeable future and is a high priority for the Puget Sound Partnership. Beginning in 2011, two large dams on the Elwha River in Clallam County, Washington, will be removed by the National Park Service over about two and a half years. During removal, sediment...
Geomorphology & Sediment Transport
Geomorphology is the study of the formation and evolution of landforms on Earth's surface. In the Pacific Northwest, volcanoes, tectonic movement, glaciers, rain, snow, wind, vegetation, animals, and people all shape the landscape at different scales of time and space. Of particular interest in the region is the form and processes of rivers, a branch of the science termed fluvial geomorphology...
Sauk River Sediment
Fine-grained sediments in the lower reach of the Sauk River are adversely affecting the health and spawning of Chinook salmon. Climate change and forestry practices have been proposed as suspected causes of a reported increase in sediment loading to the river. To determine the amount and timing of suspended-sediment loading to the river and possible connections to adverse effects on Chinook salmon...