Research

Ecohydrology/Hydrogeophysics

Our goal here is to develop methods to observe spatially distributed estimates of moisture states within trees along their whole extension using Electrical Resistivity (ER) paired with ecophysiological measurements. Understanding how trees store and release water in response to soil moisture availability and environmental drivers, and how moisture states vary spatially within large species such as Ponderosa Pine is a fundamental scientific question linking hydrology and ecology.

Hydrogeophysics/Hydrologic Modeling

Our goal is to research the extent that subsurface flow paths in floodplains are influenced by low-tech processed-based restoration in headwater streams. 

We will focus our efforts on two or more stream reaches within the Cache la Poudre River Watershed and on Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest land scheduled for restoration in 2024 or 2025.

Ecohydrology/Hydrologic Modeling

This project aims at improving representation of ecophysiological processes in watershed-scale hydrologic models. We want to explore how the inclusion of transient water storage in trees might improve our ability to properly represent water balance metrics in forested ecosystems such as the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Hydrologic Modeling 

The goal of the present study is to understand river intermittency using a conceptual mathematical model. The river or watershed is assumed to behave like a linear reservoir, and conceptual formulations are derived accordingly. These formulations are based on hydroclimatic parameters of the river, and the model's validity is verified using real-world data from multiple watersheds.

Sociohydrology / Hydrologic Modeling

The goals of this research is to understand the social and hyrologic impacts caused by undocumented levees in the continental United States. While hydrologic models, risk assessment, and benefit-cost analysis are widely studied for documented levees, there is little oversight on the human-water impacts resulting from informal and undocumented water management systems, specifically levees.