Earth’s “critical zone”, the zone of the planet from treetops to base of groundwater, is critical because it is a sensitive region, open to impacts from human activities, while providing water necessary for human consumption and food production. Quantifying water movement in the subsurface is critical to predicting how water-driven critical zone processes respond to changes in climate and human perturbation of the natural system. While shallow soils and above-ground parts of the critical zone can be easy to instrument and explore, the deeper parts of the critical zone—through the soils and into rock—are harder to access, leaving many open questions about the role of water in this environment. Here, I open the black box in the subsurface and shed light on a few key subsurface processes that control water movement and availability: linkages between changes in evapotranspiration and subsurface water stores, water movement in 3-D over large areas, and potential control of slope aspect on subsurface permeability. Geophysical tools are central to the quantitative study of these problems in the deeper subsurface where we don't have easy access for observation. Specifically, I explore how soil moisture is affected by daily transpiration using time-lapse electrical resistivity imaging on a highly instrumented ponderosa pine and the surrounding soil throughout a growing season, and explore coupled numerical models to explain these data.
Kamini Singha
Professor, Hydrologic Science and Engineering Program
Ben Fryrear Endowed Chair for Innovation and Excellence
Associate Department Head, Geology and Geological Engineering
Colorado School of Mines
Mailing address: 1516 Illinois Street, Golden, CO 80401
Campus address: 311E Berthoud Hall
phone: +1 303.273.3822, Skype: ksingha
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