Tanja N. Williamson, PhD
Soil-water scientist experienced in natural and human-affected systems, including links with vegetation and landscape dynamics. Research interest spans landscape and water-resource effects of agriculture, mining, development, and climate change. Published research supported by OSMRE, USDA, NSF, USEPA, USGS, state agencies, and universities.
Recent and ongoing research includes:
- Hydrologic modeling of mixed land-use watersheds
- the importance of land-cover change to streamflow magnitude, variability, and seasonality
- developing decision-support systems that inform resource managers
- Incorporation of soil-physical data into hydrologic modeling
- Comparison of lab and field measurements to modeled soil properties
- Sensitivity of hydrologic models to changes in soil properties
- Simulation of hydrologic response from landscape reconstruction
- Temporal variability of soil-water storage and movement
- Agricultural resilience under projected climate change
- Delineation of ephemeral and intermittent streams in Appalachia
- Conservation management in agricultural landscapes
- Identifying sediment source
- Linking soil-water storage with the stream environment
- Extent and characteristics of tile-drains (sub-surface agricultural drainage)
Education
Ph.D. Soil and Water Science (Pedology), University of California, Riverside, 1999
M.S. Earth Science (Geomorphology), University of California, Riverside, 1995
B.S. Geoscience, The Pennsylvania State University, 1992 (includes PSU Field Camp)
Professional Experience
U.S. Geological Survey
- Research Hydrologist, Kentucky Water Science Center (2010 to present)
- Hydrologist, Kentucky Water Science Center (2006 to 2010)
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky (2016 to present)
Quinte Conservation, Belleville, ON, Canada (2006)
Loyalist College, Belleville, ON, Canada (2004-2005)
University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, Geosciences (1999-2004)
Science and Products
Using machine learning to map topographic-soil & densely-patterned sub-surface agricultural drainage (tile drains) from satellite imagery
Agriculture Best Management Practices: Quantification of In-Stream Phosphorus and Sediment Storage and Transport - Linking Land Use and Landscape Best Management Practices with Downstream Transport in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds
Environmental Effects of Agricultural Practices
Simulation of Soil-Water Availability
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Fallout-radionuclide activity in samples collected from fine-grained, streambed sediment in the Black Creek, Indiana stream-channel network, 2019
Chemical and physical data for sediment source tracking of streambed sediment in Black Creek, Indiana, tributary to the Maumee River and western Lake Erie, July 2019
Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources for Haw Creek, Indiana
Machine learning with satellite imagery to document the historical transition from topographic to dense sub-surface agricultural drainage networks (tile drains)
Continuous meteorological and soil data to support understanding of nutrient and sediment loads from overland and subsurface-tile flow at paired edge-of-field agricultural sites, 2015–21, Black Creek watershed, near Harlan, Indiana, USA
Meteorological data from edge-of-field sites in Michigan and Wisconsin, 2015-18
Extractable elements data for sediment-source fingerprinting in Black Creek, Indiana, tributary to the Maumee River and western Lake Erie
Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources for the Commonwealth of Kentucky updated for 2019
Black Creek Rapid Geomorphic Assessment, Allen County, Indiana
Low-altitude visible, multispectral, and thermal-infrared imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Michigan Flume 2
Low-altitude visible and multispectral imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Ohio Surface Water 1
Low-altitude visible, multispectral, and thermal-infrared imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Wisconsin Bioreactor
Community for Data Integration 2020 project report
Controls on in-stream nitrogen loss in western Lake Erie tributaries
Sediment budget of a Maumee River headwater tributary: How streambank erosion, streambed-sediment storage, and streambed-sediment source inform our understanding of legacy phosphorus
The U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Research Act Program—Meeting local, State, and national needs for water resources science and training
The future of Indiana's water resources: A report from the Indiana climate change impacts assessment
Machine-learning model to delineate sub-surface agricultural drainage from satellite imagery
Dynamics of streamflow permanence in a headwater network: Insights from catchment-scale model simulations
Building a library of source samples for sediment fingerprinting – Potential and proof of concept
Four decades of regional wet deposition, local bulk deposition, and stream-water chemistry show the influence of nearby land use on forested streams in Central Appalachia☆
Watershed- and reach-scale drivers of phosphorus retention and release by streambed sediment in a western Lake Erie watershed during summer
Phosphorus sources, forms, and abundance as a function of streamflow and field conditions in a Maumee River tributary, 2016-2019
Evaluating the influence of the Forestry Reclamation Approach on throughfall quantity in eastern Kentucky
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Using machine learning to map topographic-soil & densely-patterned sub-surface agricultural drainage (tile drains) from satellite imagery
Agriculture Best Management Practices: Quantification of In-Stream Phosphorus and Sediment Storage and Transport - Linking Land Use and Landscape Best Management Practices with Downstream Transport in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds
Environmental Effects of Agricultural Practices
Simulation of Soil-Water Availability
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Fallout-radionuclide activity in samples collected from fine-grained, streambed sediment in the Black Creek, Indiana stream-channel network, 2019
Chemical and physical data for sediment source tracking of streambed sediment in Black Creek, Indiana, tributary to the Maumee River and western Lake Erie, July 2019
Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources for Haw Creek, Indiana
Machine learning with satellite imagery to document the historical transition from topographic to dense sub-surface agricultural drainage networks (tile drains)
Continuous meteorological and soil data to support understanding of nutrient and sediment loads from overland and subsurface-tile flow at paired edge-of-field agricultural sites, 2015–21, Black Creek watershed, near Harlan, Indiana, USA
Meteorological data from edge-of-field sites in Michigan and Wisconsin, 2015-18
Extractable elements data for sediment-source fingerprinting in Black Creek, Indiana, tributary to the Maumee River and western Lake Erie
Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources for the Commonwealth of Kentucky updated for 2019
Black Creek Rapid Geomorphic Assessment, Allen County, Indiana
Low-altitude visible, multispectral, and thermal-infrared imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Michigan Flume 2
Low-altitude visible and multispectral imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Ohio Surface Water 1
Low-altitude visible, multispectral, and thermal-infrared imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Wisconsin Bioreactor
Community for Data Integration 2020 project report
Controls on in-stream nitrogen loss in western Lake Erie tributaries
Sediment budget of a Maumee River headwater tributary: How streambank erosion, streambed-sediment storage, and streambed-sediment source inform our understanding of legacy phosphorus
The U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Research Act Program—Meeting local, State, and national needs for water resources science and training
The future of Indiana's water resources: A report from the Indiana climate change impacts assessment
Machine-learning model to delineate sub-surface agricultural drainage from satellite imagery
Dynamics of streamflow permanence in a headwater network: Insights from catchment-scale model simulations
Building a library of source samples for sediment fingerprinting – Potential and proof of concept
Four decades of regional wet deposition, local bulk deposition, and stream-water chemistry show the influence of nearby land use on forested streams in Central Appalachia☆
Watershed- and reach-scale drivers of phosphorus retention and release by streambed sediment in a western Lake Erie watershed during summer
Phosphorus sources, forms, and abundance as a function of streamflow and field conditions in a Maumee River tributary, 2016-2019
Evaluating the influence of the Forestry Reclamation Approach on throughfall quantity in eastern Kentucky
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.