Dan Scott, PhD, LG

I am a fluvial geomorphologist, or someone who studies how rivers shape the surface of the earth. While my educational background is in geology, my work encompasses both the physical aspects of rivers as well as how river ecosystems both shape and respond to their physical environment. I’ve been working on resolving applied questions regarding river management and how rivers work for over a decade.

In addition to consulting, I am also a Research Scientist at Colorado State University, where I study how wood, sediment, water, and biota come together to shape riverscapes. I am based in Longmont, CO, but I have studied streams across the Western United States and globally to develop my sense for how rivers shape the land and their ecosystems. I bring to both my scientific research and consulting a deep understanding of the tendencies of rivers and a strong curiosity to learn more about them.

If you’d like help understanding a river or just want to talk about rivers, please get in touch!

Publications:

Scott, D. N., 2024. Wood Jam Characteristics Influence but Do Not Fully Explain Wood Jam Morphologic Functions. Geomorphica. DOI: 10.59236/geomorphica.v1i1.37

Ockelford, A., Wohl, E., Ruiz‐Villanueva, V., Comiti, F., Piégay, H., Darby, S., Parsons, D., Yochum, S. E., Wolstenholme, J., White, D., Uno, H., Triantafillou, S., Stroth, T., Smrdel, T., Scott, D. N., Scamardo, J. E., Rees, J., Rathburn, S., Morrison, R. R., Milan, D., Marshall, A., Lininger, K. B., Kemper, J. T., Karpack, M., Johaneman, T., Iskin, E., del Hoyo, J. G., Hortobágyi, B., Hinshaw, S., Heath, J., Emmanuel, T., Dunn, S., Christensen, N., Beeby, J., Ash, J., Ader, E., Aarnink, J., 2024. Working with wood in rivers in the Western United States. River Research and Applications. DOI: 10.1002/rra.4331

Scott, D. N., 2024. Widespread Wood Placement and Regrading Drive Lateral Connectivity and Reworking of the Channel and Floodplain in a Valley Bottom Reset to Stage 0. Geomorphology. DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108987

Scott, D. N., 2023. A Primer on the Wood Regime for Stream Management. Coloradosmp.org

Scott, D. N., Shahverdian, S., Flitcroft, R., Wohl, E., 2022. Geomorphic heterogeneity as a framework for assessing river corridor processes and characteristics. River Research and Applications. DOI: 10.1002/rra.4036

Flitcroft, R. L., Brignon, W. R., Staab, B., Bellmore, J. R., Burnett, J., Burns, P., Cluer, B., Giannico, G., Helstab, J. M., Jennings, J., Mayes, C., Mazzacano, C., Mork, L., Meyer, K., Munyon, J., Penaluna, B. E., Powers, P., Scott, D. N., Wondzell, S. M. (2022). Rehabilitating Valley Floors to a Stage 0 Condition: A Synthesis of Opening Outcomes. Frontiers in Environmental Science. DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.892268

Scott, D. N., Collins, B. D., 2021. Frequent Mass Movements From Glacial and Lahar Terraces, Controlled by Both Hillslope Characteristics and Fluvial Erosion, are an Important Sediment Source to Puget Sound Rivers. Water Resources Research. DOI: 10.1029/2020WR028389

Scott, D. N., Wohl, E. E., 2020. Geomorphology and climate interact to control organic carbon stock and age in mountain river valley bottoms. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. DOI: 10.1002/esp.4855

Scott, D. N., Wohl, E., Yochum, S. E., 2019, Wood Jam Dynamics Database and Assessment Model (WooDDAM): A framework to measure and understand wood jam characteristics and dynamics. River Research and Applications. DOI: 10.1002/rra.3481

Wohl, E., Kramer, N., Ruiz-Villanueva, V., Scott, D. N., Comiti, F., Gurnell, A. M., Piegay, H., Lininger, K. B., Jaeger, K. L., Walters, D. M., Fausch, K. D., 2019, The Natural Wood Regime in Rivers. BioScience. DOI:10.1093/biosci/biz013

Scott, D. N., Wohl, E. E., 2019. Bedrock fracture influences on geomorphic process and form across process domains and scales. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (State of Science). DOI: 10.1002/esp.4473

Wohl, E. E., Scott, D. N., Yochum, S. E., 2019. Enhancing the Benefits of Large Wood and Beaver Dams in Stream Corridors. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-404. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Scott, D. N., Wohl, E. E., 2018. Geomorphic regulation of floodplain soil organic carbon concentration in watersheds of the Rocky and Cascade Mountains, USA. Earth Surface Dynamics. DOI: 10.5194/esurf-6-1101-2018

Scott, D. N., Wohl, E. E., 2018. Natural and Anthropogenic Controls on Wood Loads in River Corridors of the Rocky, Cascade, and Olympic Mountains, USA. Water Resources Research. DOI: 10.1029/2018WR022754

Wohl, E., Scott, D. N., Lininger, K. B., 2018. Spatial distribution of channel and floodplain large wood in forested river corridors of the Northern Rockies. Water Resources Research. DOI: 10.1029/2018WR022750

Wohl, E., Lininger, K., Scott, D. N., 2018. River Beads as a Conceptual Framework for Building Carbon Storage and Resilience to Extreme Climate Events into River Management. Biogeochemistry. DOI: 10.1007/s10533-017-0397-7

Scott, D. N., Wohl, E. E. 2017. Evaluating Carbon Storage on Subalpine Lake Deltas. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. DOI: 10.1002/esp.4110

Wohl, E., Scott, D. N. 2017. Transience of channel head locations following disturbance. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Letters to ESEX, 42, 1132-1139. DOI: 10.1002/esp.4124

Wohl, E., Scott, D. N. 2017. Wood and Sediment Dynamics in River Corridors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. DOI: 10.1002/esp.3909 

Scott, D.N., Brogan, D. J., Schook, D. M., Lininger, K. B., Sparacino, M. S., Daugherty, E. E., Patton, A. I. 2016. Evaluating Survey Instruments and Methods in a Steep Channel. Geomorphology. DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.08.020

Scott, D. N., Montgomery, D. R., Wohl, E. E., 2014. Log Step and Clast Interactions in Mountain Streams in the Central Cascade Range of Washington State, USA. Geomorphology. DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.04.004