Graduate Exit Talks

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 17:47:53 +0000

Graduate Exit Talks Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/22/2022 - 11:47

Sidney Bush
Ethan Burns
PhD Candidates
Department of Geography
University of Colorado Boulder

In Person:
GUGG 205
Apr 22, 2022, 3:30 PM

Or Join Zoom Meeting:
cuboulder.zoom.us/j/99818727863
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Sidney Bush Abstract:

"Investigating spatiotemporal shifts in hydrologic connectivity within a montane headwater catchment in central Colorado"

Within United States (US) western montane regions, headwater, intermittent, and ephemeral streams play an important role in the delivery of water, sediment, and nutrients downstream, and are vital to maintaining ecosystem health. Despite their importance, catchments in these regions are typically understudied compared to higher elevation alpine catchments with persistent snowpack, as they contribute less downstream discharge per unit drainage area than high alpine regions and are therefore viewed as less vital for water resource management. However, in the western US, alpine regions with high snow persistence only constitute 14% of the land surface compared to lower elevation areas with lower snow persistence that cover almost 30% of the land surface. Thus, although these lower elevation catchments yield less stream discharge per unit drainage area than those in alpine regions, their cumulative contributions to discharge in downstream rivers can be significant. In addition, because future climate projections suggest that areas with high snow persistence will decline substantially in the coming decades, it is increasingly important to understand the hydrologic processes controlling stream flow in lower elevation montane regions where precipitation inputs can be dominated by summer rain-events rather than snowpack. To address this, we collected geochemical and hydrometric data over three years to quantify hydrologic connectivity of uplands to a montane headwater stream at the Manitou Experimental Forest in central Colorado. We use a combined approach of end-member mixing analysis, paired with high resolution measurements of soil moisture, precipitation, and groundwater levels to characterize source areas to the stream in 3-dimensions: longitudinal, lateral, and vertical. Samples were collected and measurements were recorded along the stream profile (longitudinal), from groundwater wells and soil lysimeters installed with increasing distance from the stream (lateral), and from shallow versus deep groundwater wells and soil moisture measured at different depths (vertical). Our analysis suggests spatiotemporal differences in shallow and deep vertical source areas, and between riparian and upland sources to the stream. These results provide a promising step towards quantifying the expansion and contraction of runoff source areas for a montane headwater stream, which will become increasingly important to water resource management in light of climate driven shifts in precipitation.

Download printable colloquium poster

Presentation Video:

[video:https://vimeo.com/702958735]

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Welcome 2020 Graduate Students!

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 01:25:30 +0000

Welcome 2020 Graduate Students! Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/02/2020 - 19:25

Fall 2020 Graduate Students Group Photo - Left to Right: David Bachrach, Jessica Voveris, Taylor Johaneman, Andrew Eiswerth, Behzad Vahedi, Ethan Burns, Emma Rieves, Kathryn Tyler, Eric Kennedy, Emma Loizeaux. Natasha Harvey, Fan Li and Viviana Huiliñir-Curio (insets)

Name	Advisor	Degree	Previous Degree From	Interest Area
David Bachrach	Oakes	PhD	Univ of Oregon	urban geography
Ethan Burns	Barnard	MA	University of the South	hydrology
Andrew Eiswerth	O'Loughlin	MA	Georgia College & State University	political geography
Natasha Harvey	Blanken	MA	Univ of Sydney	hydrology
Viviana Huiliñir-Curio	Bryan	PhD	Universidad de la Frontera	cultural geography
Taylor Johaneman	Lininger	MA	University of Denver	hydrology
Eric Kennedy	Molotch	MA	Seattle Univerity	hydrology
Fan Li	Yeh	PhD	University of Oslo	political ecology
Emma Loizeaux	Yeh	MA	Middlebury College	Environment-Society Relations
Somayeh Nikoonazari	Ranjbar	MA	Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University	political geography
Emma Rieves	Reid	MA	Bowdoin College	Environment-Society Relations
Kathryn Tyler	Buttenfield	MA	Mount Holyoke College	GIS
Behzad Vahedi Torghabeh	Karimzadeh	PhD	UC Santa Barbara	GIS
Jessica Voveris	Serreze	MA	Univ of Oklahoma	Climatology

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