Jonathan Warrick
My research focuses on the intersection of rivers and the sea. Topics include the movement of sediment within and from coastal watersheds, and how sediment can alter coastal landscapes and habitats. Recently these subjects have been addressed in my work on the Elwha River, Washington, where the largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed in 2014.
In The News
2017, Los Angeles Times article, “Highway 1 was buried under a massive landslide. Months later, engineers battle Mother Nature to fix it”
2016, The Department of Interior and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, International RiverPrize Finalist
2015, New York Times article, “When Dams Come Down, Salmon and Sand Can Prosper”
2014, National Geographic news article, “World’s Largest Dam Removal Unleashes U.S. River After Century of Electric Production”
2013, Book, “Elwha: A River Reborn”
2012, Front-page Seattle Times article, “Dam gone, nature rebuilds Elwha River beach”
2009, Science Daily article, “Sediment Yield From The Tectonically Active Semiarid Western Transverse Ranges Of California”
2006, Environmental Science & Technology news article, “California’s Shifting Sands”
Professional Experience
Research Geologist, GS-15, 2016-present, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Research Geologist, GS-14, 2008-2016, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Research Geologist, GS-13, 2004-2008, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, GS-12, 2002-2004, USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Menlo Park, California
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., 2002, University of California, Santa Barbara
M.Sc., 1995, University Wisconsin-Madison
B.Sc., 1993, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Science and Products
Trend analyses with river sediment rating curves
Earth is (mostly) flat: Apportionment of the flux of continental sediment over millennial time scales: COMMENT
Hyperpycnal plume-derived fans in the Santa Barbara Channel, California
Trends in the suspended-sediment yields of coastal rivers of northern California, 1955–2010
Fine-grained sediment dispersal along the California coast
Dispersal of fine sediment in nearshore coastal waters
River turbidity and sediment loads during dam removal
Dam decommissioning has become an important means for removing unsafe or obsolete dams and for restoring natural fluvial processes, including discharge regimes, sediment transport, and ecosystem connectivity [Doyle et al., 2003]. The largest dam-removal project in history began in September 2011 on the Elwha River of Washington State (Figure 1a). The project, which aims to restore the river ecosys
The effects of wildfire on the sediment yield of a coastal California watershed
The occurrence of two wildfires separated by 31 yr in the chaparral-dominated Arroyo Seco watershed (293 km
The offshore export of sand during exceptional discharge from California rivers
Observations of coastal sediment dynamics of the Tijuana Estuary Fine Sediment Fate and Transport Demonstration Project, Imperial Beach, California
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter: Elwha River Delta, Washington
Vegetation of the Elwha River estuary: Chapter 8 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
Science and Products
Trend analyses with river sediment rating curves
Earth is (mostly) flat: Apportionment of the flux of continental sediment over millennial time scales: COMMENT
Hyperpycnal plume-derived fans in the Santa Barbara Channel, California
Trends in the suspended-sediment yields of coastal rivers of northern California, 1955–2010
Fine-grained sediment dispersal along the California coast
Dispersal of fine sediment in nearshore coastal waters
River turbidity and sediment loads during dam removal
Dam decommissioning has become an important means for removing unsafe or obsolete dams and for restoring natural fluvial processes, including discharge regimes, sediment transport, and ecosystem connectivity [Doyle et al., 2003]. The largest dam-removal project in history began in September 2011 on the Elwha River of Washington State (Figure 1a). The project, which aims to restore the river ecosys
The effects of wildfire on the sediment yield of a coastal California watershed
The occurrence of two wildfires separated by 31 yr in the chaparral-dominated Arroyo Seco watershed (293 km