Bill Banks, Hydrologist

Education

B.S.

1988, Towson State University, Geography and Environmental Planning

Professional Experience

Chesapeake Bay GIS Specialist
1995 - Present U.S. Geological Survey Baltimore, Maryland

- Uses Geographic Information Systems to research and develop applications, digital spatial data, and landscape analyses used to evaluate water-quality and ecosystem health issues in the Chesapeake Bay region.

- Applies programming knowledge and skills to develop and provide applications and technical assistance within Geographic Information Systems.

- Coordinates the use and availability of digital thematic data within the Chesapeake Bay region among USGS scientists and their partners. Includes metadata creation, archival, and distribution of information.

- Creates and maintains digital data and spatial applications for use in a national water-quality model.

- Assists in the design of a non-tidal water-quality monitoring network for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

- Prepares, presents, and reviews technical reports and scientific papers.

Potomac River Basin GIS Specialist
1991 - 1995 U.S. Geological Survey

- Created and managed geographic information databases for national water-quality project. Included computer environment configuration, installation of software, and the development, documentation, archival, and backup of spatial and related data sets.- Compiled data for Geographic Information System databases, including cartographic, geographic

- water-quality, ground-water, surface-water, and biological information relevant to the Potomac River watershed study.

- Prepared, presented, and reviewed technical reports and scientific papers.

1988 - 1991 U.S. Geological Survey
Graphic Specialist

- Applied cartographic knowledge to plan and prepare maps and illustrations used for presenting hydrologic information in technical reports.

 

Software and Programming Experience

ArcGIS (all modules), ArcIMS, ArcView, Access, Excel, SAS, S-Plus Visual Basic, Arc Macro Language (AML), Avenue, HTML, AWK, PERL

 

Additional Professional Activities

- Selected by USGS headquarters to chair workgroups addressing critical GIS issues resulting in the success of regional multi-state projects.

- Prepared and presented lectures and lab exercises for GIS course at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, spring, 1999 semester.

- Active member of Chesapeake Bay Program workgroups.

- Experience in UNIX, PC, and NT computing environments.

Selected Publications

Gerhart, J.M. and Brakebill, J.W., 1993, Design of a Multi-Scale Water-Quality Assessment for the Potomac River Basin. [abs]: EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, Supplement with abstracts for the 1993 Spring meeting

Brakebill, J.W., 1994, Applications of a Geographic Information System in Water-Quality Assessment of the Potomac River Basin Study Unit of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program. [abs]: EOS, USEPA Mid-Atlantic Highlands Area, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Conference, February, 1994

Brakebill, J.W., 1995, Analyzing Effects of Land Use on Ground-Water Quality in the Potomac River Basin. [abs]: EOS, USEPA Mid-Atlantic Highlands Area, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Conference, 1995

Blomquist, J.D., Fisher, G.T., Denis, J.M., Brakebill, J.W., and Werkheiser, W.H., 1995, Water-Quality Assessment of the Potomac River Basin: Basin Description and Analysis of Available Nutrient Data, 1970-90. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigation Report 95-4221, 88pp.

Gerhart, J.M. and Brakebill, J.W., 1996, Design and Implementation of a Sampling Strategy for a Water-Quality Assessment of the Potomac River Basin. U.S. Geological Survey. Water Resources Investigation Report 96-4034, 31pp.

Miller, C.V., Denis, J.M., Ator, S.W. and Brakebill, J.W., 1997, Nutrients in Streams During Baseflow in Selected Environmental Settings of the Potomac River Basin. Paper No 96179 of the Journal of the American Water Resources Associations, Vol 33 No 6, December, 1997 17pp.

Pepper, J.D., McCartan, L., and Horton, J.W.Jr., Bachman, L.J.,
Brakebill, J.W., Bohlke, J.F., and Bricker, O.P., 1997, Development of a Lithochemical Map for Prediction of Water-Quality Patterns in Maryland and Eastern Virginia. [abs]: Geo. Soc. America October, 1997.

Bachman, L.J., and Brakebill, J.W., 1997, Ground-water Nitrate Loads to Non-tidal Tributaries of Chesapeake Bay, 1972 - 1992. [abs]: American Geophysical Union, Fall, 1997

Ator,S.W., Blomquist, D.D., Brakebill, J.W., Denis, J.M., Ferrari, M. J., Miller, C.V., and Zappia, H., 1998, Water Quality in the Potomac River Basin, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, 1992-96. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1166, 38pp.

Derosier, A.L., Brakebill, J.W., Denis, J.M., and Kelley, S.K., 1998, Water-Quality Data and Selected Spatial Data From The National Water-Quality Assessment Program's Potomac River Basin Study, 1992-96. U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 98-180

Bachman, L.J., Lindsey, B., Brakebill, J.W., 1998, Ground-Water Discharge and Base-flow Nitrate loads of Nontidal Streams, and Their Relation to a Hydrogeomorphic Classification of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Middle Atlantic Coast. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 98-4059, 71pp

Preston, S.D., Smith, R.A., Alexander, R.B., Brakebill, J.W., and Schwarz, G.E., 1998, Spatially Referenced Regression Modeling of Nutrient Loading in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. [paper] Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference, April, 1998.

Brakebill, J.W., and Preston, S.D., 1999, Digital Data Used To Relate Nutrient Inputs to Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay, Version 1.0. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-60

Preston, S.D., and Brakebill, J.W., 1999, Application of Spatially Referenced Regression Modeling for the Evaluation of Total Nitrogen Loading in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4054 12p

Alexander, R.B., Brakebill, J.W., Brew, R.E., and Smith, R.A., 1999, Enhanced River Reach File 1.2. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-457

Brakebill, J.W., Preston, S.D., and Kelley, S.K., 2000, Relating Nutrient Inputs to Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. [abs]: 3th Annual Geographic Information Sciences Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 2000.

Preston, S.D., and Brakebill, J.W., 2000, A Spatially Detailed Assessment of the Relative Importance of Agricultural Sources and Environmental Loss Processes for Delivery of Nutrients to the Chesapeake Bay. [abs]: American Geophysical Union May, 2000

Brakebill, J.W., Kelley, S.K., 2000, Hydrogeomorphic Regions of the Chesapeake Bay. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OFR-00-424

Brakebill, J.W., 2000, Base Flow Locations in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OFR-00-423
Digital Data Set

Brakebill, J.W., and Preston, S.D., 2001, Building a Hydrologic Network to Support Spatially Referenced Regression Modeling in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. [abs]: April, 2001 at EPA’s Spatial Tools for Coastal Assessment and Mapping.

Preston, S.D. and Brakebill, J.W., 2001, Spatially Referenced Regression Modeling on Nutrient Loading in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. [abs]: April, 2001 at EPA’s Spatial Tools for Coastal Assessment and Mapping.

Brakebill, J.W., and Preston, S.D., 2001, Land Use Data used to Relate Nutrient Sources to Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. in Eos Transactions American Geophysical Union, 82(20), Spring Meeting Supplement [abs]: May, 2001 p.72.

Brakebill, J.W., Preston, S.D., and Martucci, S.K., 2001, Digital Data Used to Relate Nutrient Inputs to Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay, Version 2.0. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OFR-01-251

Alexander, R.B., Smith, R.A., Schwarz, G.E., Preston, S.D., Brakebill, J.W., Srinivasan, R., and Pacheco, P.A., 2001, Atmospheric Nitrogen Flux from the Watersheds of Major Estuaries of the United States: An Application of the SPARROW Watershed Model, In: Nitrogen Loading in Coastal Water Bodies: An Atmospheric Perspective, American Geophysical Union Monograph 57, Richard Valigura, Richard Alexander, Mark Castro, Tilden Meyers, Hans Paerl, Paul Stacey, and R. Eugene Turner (eds.) pp. 119-170

Preston, S.D., Brakebill, J.W., and Shenk, G.W., Joint application of watershed modeling tools to support the management of nutrient loading to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Ca., November 2001

Contributing Author, 2002, The U.S. Geological Survey and the Chesapeake Bay—The Role of Science in Environmental Restoration. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1220. S.W. Phillips ed. 32p.

Phillips, S.W., Preston, S.D., and Brakebill, J.W., Using complimentary watershed models to reduce nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, World Watershed Summit, Washington, D.C., October, 2002.

Brakebill, J.W., Contributing Author, SPARROW Workshop, Reston, Va. October, 2002.

Nolan, J.V., Brakebill, J.W., Alexander, R.B., and Schwarz, G.E., 2002, Enhanced River Reach File 2.0. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-40, Digital Data Set

Brakebill, J.W., Preston, S.D., 2003, Digital Data Used to Relate Nutrient Inputs to Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay, Version 3.0. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report

Brakebill, J.W., and Preston, S.D., 2003, A Digital Hydrologic Network Supporting Spatially Referenced Regression Modeling in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. EPA’s EMAP Symposium 2001: Coastal Monitoring Through Partnerships, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Jan-Feb [81:1-3] 73-84 403p.

Brakebill, J.W., and Preston, S.D., 2004, GIS applications supporting spatially referenced regression modeling in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. [abs]: AWRA Nashville, Tenn., May, 2004.

Preston, S.D., and Brakebill, J.W., 2004, Application of spatially referenced regressions to support stream monitoring network design in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. [abs]: AWRA Nashville, Tenn., May, 2004.