USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center: Robert Jacobson, PhD, Branch Chief (Supervisory Research Hydrologist)

In The News

• Chance of Oil Spill Rises with Floodwaters: Displaced Sediment Leaves Pipeline Beneath Riverbeds Exposed to Dangers
  Thursday, August 04, 2011
  (Wall Street Journal)
  USGS scientist Robert Jacobson was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article by Jack Nicas, entitled, "Chance of Oil Spill Rises with Floodwaters: Displaced Sediment Leaves Pipeline Beneath Riverbeds Exposed to Dangers".  Read More
• Scientist Questions Flood Benefits of Public Lands Along Missouri River
  Tuesday, July 05, 2011
  (Columbia Missourian)
  Public lands along the Missouri River don't soak up nearly as much floodwater as previously believed. At least that's the initial conclusion of Robb Jacobson, who has studied the river for two decades. The idea of publicly managed wetlands warding off big floods was "wishful thinking," he said, and couldn't be backed by science. "For large floods, unless we have a lot more of these flood plains and wetlands, it's unlikely they'll store a big enough volume to attenuate the flood," Jacobson said. "Locally, they'll have an effect. But systematically, they won't."  Read More
• Flood Risk Determines Wetland Restoration Potential Along Missouri River
  Friday, June 10, 2011
  (USGS News Release)
  High or low flood risks can determine where wetland restoration might occur on the lower Missouri River, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center and the Nature Conservancy’s Missouri River Program.
  Contact: Robert Jacobson, 573-876-1844  Read More
• Record Precipitation, Reservoir Releases to Cause Missouri River Flooding
  Wednesday, June 01, 2011
  (Columbia Missourian)
  The forecast flood levels are the result of record releases of water from reservoirs on the upper Missouri River in Montana and the Dakotas. The upper Missouri River basin received a year’s worth of rain in the past few weeks, and snow pack runoff into the upper portion of the river is 140 percent of normal, according to the Weather Service.  Read More
• Missouri River Floods as Holiday Weekend Approaches
  Thursday, May 26, 2011
  (Columbia Missourian)
  While the high levels pose a danger to river recreation, flood damage is not expected this week, said hydrologist Robert Jacobson of the U.S. Geological Survey office in Columbia.  Read More