Dan Scott, PhD, L.G.

Dan is a fluvial geomorphologist who studies how wood, sediment, and water interact to shape river corridors. Dan helps clients understand river processes to inform their decision-making about river engineering, management, and planning. He leads studies of river processes, history, and character, then synthesizes that knowledge for clients to provide evidence-backed, actionable guidance as they work to solve complex problems. River engineering and management often requires making difficult decisions in the face of substantial uncertainty about future conditions. Dan gives clients the scientific understanding to navigate this uncertainty, empowering them to make decisions that can accomodate the full spectrum of how a river may evolve in the future. 

In addition to working for WSE, Dan is a Research Scientist at Colorado State University. His research currently focuses on how rivers split themselves around bifurcations, how in-stream wood influences geomorphic change, the dynamics of floodplain connectivity, and how wood gets to, moves through, and deposits within river networks. In his research, Dan weaves together field data with statistical analyses to tell compelling stories about how rivers shape themselves and respond to human actions. He helps develop the context and understanding that are key to solving complex river management challenges. Dan's position as both an academic and practicing consultant allows him to bridge the gap between research and river restoration practice. 

Dan currently lives in Longmont, Colorado but developed his love for rivers and mountain landscapes growing up in the Washington Cascades and works primarily in Washington, Oregon, and Colorado. When he isn't studying rivers, he spends his time mountain biking, playing in the mountains with his family, and wood carving.

Peer-Reviewed 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., 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

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