Criss specializes in hydrogeology, the geology of water and systems of water. Much of his work has an environmental slant. He investigates the transport of aqueous fluids in environments such as rivers, cool potable groundwater systems essential to civilization, and deeper, hotter hydrothermal systems. Since 1990, the mid-continent experienced floods of such severity that they would not, under normal circumstances, be expected to have all occurred in a period of less than several centuries. Criss and a colleague have proven that engineering modifications of waterways have increased the frequency and severity of floods on most Midwestern rivers.

Robert Criss
Professor Emeritus of Earth & Planetary Science
Contact Information
- Phone: 314-935-7441
- Email: criss@wustl.edu
- Website: Website
Media Contact
In the media
Recently parched Mississippi River faces major floods as record snows melt
Robert Criss, professor emeritus of earth and planetary sciences
Mississippi River levels are dropping too low for barges to float
Robert Criss, Professor Emeritus of Earth and Planetary Sciences
More dramatic and more dangerous: St. Louis area flood expert shifts focus to urban flash floods
Robert Criss, professor emeritus of earth and planetary sciences
After multiple historic floods, Eureka, region rethink river management
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Senators urge changes to reduce Missouri River flooding
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Parson-Appointed Advisory Group Calls For More Flood Protection For Rural Areas
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Are toxins in coal ash posing risks to nearby communities?
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Even as floods worsen, Midwest towns plan new riverfront development
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
As Floodwaters Remain High, Many In St. Louis Wonder If They’ll Reach Flood Of ‘93 Levels
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Farmers and officials in Illinois and Missouri are desperately battling floodwaters along the Mississippi River. They’re also battling each other.
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Army Corps takes heat in wake of Missouri River flooding
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
The Great Flood of ’93 could happen again, but scientists don’t agree on the odds
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Scientists say the Mississippi is flooding more than it has in 500 years — and we caused it
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Too Much Engineering Has Made Mississippi River Floods Worse
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
In potential blow to conservation efforts, U.S. court rules restoration moves harmed farmers
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Taming the Mighty Mississippi
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Does Valley Park’s Levee Exceed the Army Corps of Engineers Height Recommendation?
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Six ways the floods of 2015 and 1982 were surprisingly similar
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Disaster foretold
Robert Criss, professor of earth and planetary sciences
Stories
Record Missouri flood manmade calamity
Why was the New Year’s flood in Missouri so bad? Most news reports blamed it on the heavy rain, but Robert Criss, PhD, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis says analysis of the flood data shows much of the damage was due to recent modifications to the river.
Major Midwest flood risk underestimated by as much as 5 feet, study finds
As floodwaters surge along major rivers in the midwestern United States, a new study from Washington University in St. Louis suggests federal agencies are underestimating historic 100-year flood levels on these rivers by as much as five feet, a miscalculation that has serious implications for future flood risks, flood insurance, and business development in an expanding floodplain.
Hydrogeologist questions reservoir releases and blasting rock to deepen the Mississippi for barge traffic
Coverage of the recent shipping crisis on the Mississippi River assumes that the appropriate response to a problem like low water levels is to find an engineering solution. Washington University in St. Louis hydrogeologist Robert E. Criss disagrees. He feels the river has been over-engineered and that many of the engineering “solutions” are not economic if all of their costs, including those to the taxpayer and to the environment, are taken into account.
New model provides different take on planetary accretion
The prevailing model for planetary accretion assumes that the Solar System’s planets formed in an extremely hot, two-dimensional disk of gas and dust, post-dating the Sun. In the March issue of Planetary and Space Science, two scientists at Washington University in St. Louis propose a radically different model, in which collapse takes place in a cold, three-dimensional dust cloud.
Flooding will only worsen unless river management improves, says WUSTL hydrogeologist
Washington University in St. Louis hydrogeologist Robert Criss, PhD, wasn’t particularly surprised by the spring floods on the Mississippi this year. Floods are becoming more frequent and more severe, he says. “We are increasingly constraining the river by building wing dikes and higher levees and then upping the ante by building in the river’s natural flood plains” Criss says. “There are far better ways to deal with this problem than have municipalities compete with one another to build the highest levee and fight over who has the right to be protected in times of distress.”
St. Louis floodplains at risk from radioactive landfill, says WUSTL geologist
St. Louis floodplains are in danger of contamination from radioactive wastes dumped years ago at a landfill in North St. Louis County, according to Robert Criss, Ph.D. professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Population growth puts dent in natural resources
CrissIt’s a 500-pound gorilla that Robert Criss, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, sees standing on the speaker’s dais at political rallies, debates and campaigns. Its name is population growth. And sometime during President-elect Barack Obama’s first several months in office, he will have to factor it into future environmental policy, says Criss.”Population growth is driving all of our resource problems, including water and energy. The three are intertwined,” Criss says. “The United States has over 305 million people of the 6.7 billion on the planet. We are dividing a finite resource pie among a growing number of people on Earth. We cannot expect to sustain exponential population growth matched by increased per capita use of water and energy. It’s troubling. But politicians and religious leaders totally ignore the topic.”