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C-FLOW
ConFluencia: Forests, Landscapes, and Our Waters
A Utah–Esquel research partnership dedicated to understanding and sustaining Patagonia’s unique ecology, forestry, and water resources.
C-FLOW is a collaborative research group made up of scientists from Utah State University (USA) and CIEMEP (CONICET–UNPSJB, Argentina), working together to understand and address key environmental challenges in northern Patagonia. Our team brings expertise in water management, watershed science, forest ecology, and aquatic biology to study the complex interactions between forests, rivers, and human communities. Established in 2024–2025, C-FLOW is committed to advancing cross-border science, supporting evidence-based conservation and land management, and communicating findings in accessible ways to both scientific and local audiences.
Scientists
Dr. Sarah Null is a professor of watershed sciences at Utah State University, specializing in water resource management, hydrology, and environmental planning. Her research focuses on balancing ecological health with human water use, particularly in mountain and arid landscapes across the western U.S. and internationally.
Dr. Luis Beltrán Epele is a researcher with CONICET at CIEMEP (Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica) and a professor at Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco. His work focuses on freshwater ecology, aquatic biodiversity, and the conservation of Patagonian river and lake systems under changing environmental conditions.
Dr. Curtis A. Gray is a forest ecologist, specializing in forest dynamics, disturbance ecology, and remote sensing. His research explores how fire, invasive species, and land use shape forest structure and function, with a focus on informing sustainable management in mountain and temperate forest ecosystems.
Dr. Guillermo Defossé is a professor and researcher in Forest Engineering at the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco and a member of CONICET. His work focuses on forest ecology, silviculture, and the sustainable management of Patagonian forest ecosystems, with particular attention to native species and ecosystem restoration.
Projects
Patagonian streamflow trends through time
This work evaluates long-term observed streamflow records from across Argentine Patagonia to detect trends, variability, and potential shifts in hydrologic regimes. By analyzing regional-scale data, the study aims to improve understanding of how climate variability, land use change, and other drivers are influencing streamflow patterns in this ecologically and hydrologically diverse region.
Integrating Drone Mapping, GeoAI Deep Learning, and Spatial Point Patterns
This study demonstrates a low-cost UAV-based workflow for mapping forest structure and analyzing spatial patterns of tree species in Patagonian Argentina, where exotic pines are encroaching into native forests. Using photogrammetry, machine learning, and deep learning, we classified tree species, measured canopy traits, and conducted spatial point pattern analysis across three 7.5 ha sites. Results show that pine encroachment alters tree spatial distributions, promoting clustering and suppressing native regeneration, indicating potential long-term impacts on forest dynamics and fire regimes.
Explore the full project in our interactive StoryMap.
The Vanishing Ice and Snow: Changing Phenology and Aquatic Invertebrate Life in Patagonia
Using the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) from MODIS, Landsat, and Sentinel-2 data, we examine lake ice-off timing, the first ice-free day each year, as well as the number of snow-free days over the past three decades. Focusing on more than 100 lakes in the Chubut region of Patagonia, we assessed trends in ice-off timing and their ecological implications. Snow cover duration is one of the strongest predictors of macroinvertebrate patterns, making changes in ice phenology especially important for understanding shifts in aquatic ecosystems.
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