Item talk:Q46737

usgs_staff_profile:

 meta:
   status_code: 200
   timestamp: '2023-09-30T16:56:28.334902'
   url: https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/robert-m-hirsch
 profile:
   abstracts: []
   affiliations: []
   education: []
   email: rhirsch@usgs.gov
   expertise_terms:
   - droughts
   - floods
   - streamflow
   - surface water (non-marine)
   - surface water quality
   - statistics
   honors: []
   intro_statements:
   - Robert M Hirsch is a Research Hydrologist Emeritus for the USGS Water Resources
     Mission Area.
   name: Robert M Hirsch
   name_qualifier: null
   orcid: 0000-0002-4534-075X
   organization_link: https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources
   organization_name: Water Resources Mission Area
   personal_statement: "My main interest is improving the analysis of hydrologic\
     \ data, with a focus on the topic of trends in streamflow and trends in surface\
     \ water quality.  My research on this has resulted in the development of the\
     \ EGRET software (Exploration and Graphics for RivEr Trends) written in R and\
     \ available freely online.The focus of my research is the description and understanding\
     \ of long-term variability and change in surface-water quality and streamflow.\
     \  I develop and apply new statistical tools to help characterize these changes\
     \ to gain the best possible understanding of the nature of the change and its\
     \ implications from a policy perspective (related to water quality improvement,\
     \ flood hazard mitigation, water supply planning). This work has resulted in\
     \ the development of the statistical method Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge,\
     \ and Season (WRTDS), which I have applied to the study of water quality trends\
     \ in a variety of watersheds including Chesapeake Bay, the Mississippi River,\
     \ Lake Erie, and Lake Champlain. This technique is a central feature of the\
     \ EGRET R package. That package is designed to be a \u201Ctoolbox\u201D for\
     \ analysis of daily streamflow data and surface water quality data.My other\
     \ major recent contribution is the publication of \"Statistical Methods in Water\
     \ Resources\" the 2020 edition published as USGS Techniques and Methods (tm4A3).\
     \ In addition to the pdf and the printed book, the text has on-line resources\
     \ which include all of the data sets used as examples in the book, all of the\
     \ R code used in the analysis of those data, and all of the R code used to produce\
     \ the graphics in the book.I hold a B.A. in Geology from Earlham College, an\
     \ M.S. in Geology from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Geography\
     \ and Environmental Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. I began my\
     \ USGS career in 1976 and conducted research on water supply, water quality,\
     \ pollutant transport, and flood frequency analysis. In 1993-1994 I was Acting\
     \ Director of the USGS, and from 1994-2008 I was the Chief Hydrologist of the\
     \ USGS. In 2008 I returned to research and since that time I have focused efforts\
     \ on describing long-term changes in streamflow and water quality. I retired\
     \ from the USGS in 2018 but continue to collaborate with colleagues inside and\
     \ outside the USGS. I am a member of the Water Science and Technology Board\
     \ of the NASEM and have served on four expert committees of that Board."
   professional_experience: []
   title: Research Hydrologist Emeritus