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10th Annual
Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium
Water in Motion: The Role of an Irreplaceable
Resource
nd​
rd​
April 2​
& 3​
, 2015
University Memorial Center
University of Colorado Boulder
The Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program at CU-Boulder
Promoting the quantitative study of water in the environment including its role
in geologic and biogeochemical processes, ecosystem functions, and global
elemental cycling
http://hydrosciences.colorado.edu
Contents:
2
3
6
7
8
General Information
Symposium Schedule
Poster Session
Sponsors
Keynote Speakers
General Information
Welcome
The Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program at the University of Colorado Boulder welcomes you
to the Tenth Annual Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium. Thank you for joining us in
showcasing the diversity of ongoing hydrologic research at and around the University of
Colorado. Keynote speakers Dr. Jay Famiglietti, Dr. Sally Thompson, and Dr. Andrew Fahlund will
address issues at the forefront of hydrology. Talks and posters from students and invited faculty
include projects on measuring and modeling snowpack and soil moisture dynamics, surface
water and groundwater flow and depletion, biogeochemical processes, hydrologic engineering,
and the politics that have shaped our past and dictate the future of hydrology. Join us as we
celebrate hydrologic research.
Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program
The University of Colorado Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program focuses on quantitative
studies of water in the environment. This interdisciplinary program is an interdepartmental
endeavor, with participating departments that include Civil, Environmental, and Architectural
Engineering, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies, Geography, and
Geological Sciences. In addition, the program has active partnerships with the Center for
Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES), Atmospheric and
oceanic sciences (ATOC), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES),
the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), United States Geological Survey (USGS),
National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other research units associated with
the University of Colorado Boulder.
The Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program is intended for currently enrolled and prospective
graduate students in science and engineering. The program is designed to encourage students
with a variety of undergraduate backgrounds to enter the field. Enrolled students become
members of the broader University of Colorado Boulder Geophysical Sciences Program, which
has two specialization options: Solid-Earth Geophysics and Hydrologic Sciences. More
information can be found on the Hydrologic Sciences Program’s website at
http://hydroscience.colorado.edu.
2 – CU-Boulder: Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium 2015
Abstracts
Full-text abstracts are available online at:
http://hydrosciences.colorado.edu/symposium/abstract_view.php
Symposium Schedule
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Time
Presenter
8:30 - 9:00
Title
Coffee & Muffins/Registration
9:00 - 9:15
Diane
McKnight
Welcome Address
9:15 - 9:30
Jeffrey
Rosen
Developing And Deploying A Dynamically Updated Source Water
Assessment And Response Tool
9:30 - 9:45
Eric Small
Monitoring The Terrestrial Water Cycle With Reflected GPS
Signals
9:45 - 10:00
Ben Livneh
Establishing Proximal Causes Of Soil Moisture Deficits
Accompanying Great Plains Drought Development
10:00 - 10:15 Eryan Dai
L-band Soil Moisture Mapping using UAS for Validation of SMAP
10:15 - 10:30
15 Minute Coffee Break
10:30 - 10:45 Theodore
Barnhart
Sensitivity Of Hydrologic Partitioning To Snowpack Dynamics
10:45 - 11:00 Dominik
Schneider
Establishing Transferable Sub-Pixel Relationships For Estimating
Snow Depth From Remotely-Sensed Snow Covered Area And A
DEM
11:00 - 12:00 Jay
Famiglietti
Keynote address:​
How The West Was Lost
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch/Poster Session (pizza and drinks provided)
1:00 - 1:15
Karl Rittger
Determining Snow And Ice Melt Contributions Using MODIS And
A Temperature Index Melt Model In The Hunza River Basin
1:15 - 1:30
Elizabeth
Houle
Inter-Model Diagnostics For Two Snow Models Across Multiple
Western U.S. Locations And Implications For Management
3 – CU-Boulder: Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium 2015
1:30 - 1:45
Garret
McKay
The Effect Of Temperature On The Quantum Yield Of
Photochemical Hydroxyl Radical Production From Dissolved
Organic Matter
1:45 - 2:00
Aleah
Sommers
Inside The Ice: Insights From Thermo-Mechanically Coupled
Modeling Of High-Elevation Regions Of The Greenland Ice Sheet
2:00 - 3:00
Sally
Thompson
Keynote address: ​
Streams, Soils, Strategies And (Stressed Out?)
Survivors - Ecohydrology In Seasonally Dry Climates
3:00 - 3:15
15 Minute Break
3:15 - 3:30
Roseanna
Neupauer
Effects Of Time-Varying Streambed Hydraulic Properties On
Stream Depletion
3:30 - 3:45
Ellen Wohl
The Brief, Tumultuous Life Of Logjams In Rocky Mountain
National Park
3:45 - 4:00
Alia Khan
Biogeochemical Cycling Of Black Carbon In The Taylor Valley Of
The McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
4:00 - 4:15
Scott
Summers
U.S. EPA STAR National Center For Innovation In Small Drinking
Water Systems
4:15 - 4:30
Cameron
Bracken
A Spatial Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling Approach For
Precipitation Extremes
4:30 - 4:45
Arista
Hickman
Water Resource Engineering In Colorado: Evolution Of A Complex
South Platte Operations And Planning Model
Friday, April 3, 2015
Time
Presenter
9:00 - 9:30
Title
Coffee & Muffins/Registration
9:30 – 9:45
Hannah
Miller
Water/Rock Reactions In Oman Hyperalkaline Aquifers And
Implications For Microbial Habitability
9:45 - 10:00
Amy
Piscopo
Optimization Of Active Spreading Strategies To Remediate
Contaminated Groundwater During In Situ Chemical Oxidation
10:00 - 10:15 Jessica
Ebert
Evolution Of Dissolved Organic Matter Under A Perennially Ice
Covered Lake, Antarctica
10:15 - 10:30
15 Minute Coffee Break
4 – CU-Boulder: Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium 2015
10:30 - 11:30 Andrew
Fahlund
Keynote address:​
Why Isn't Water Considered Valuable?
11:30 - 11:45 Jorge
Figueroa
Water For A Brave New World: Commonsense Solutions For The
Front Range Of Colorado
11:45 - 12:00 Todd
Doherty
New Approaches For Protecting The Water-Dependent Natural
Environment In Boulder Valley
12:00 - 1:15
Lunch, Panel Discussion, and Break
1:15 - 1:30
Kelsey Cody Explaining Variability In Performance And Collective Action In
Self-Governed Irrigation Systems Under Climate Change: The
Case Of The San Luis Valley Of Colorado
1:30 - 1:45
Lauren
Tomkinson
The Center For Water, Earth Science And Technology (CWEST)
1:45 - 2:00
Kathleen
Miller
An Approach For Assessing The Drought-Resilience Of Colorado’s
Transbasin Water Diversions
2:00 - 2:15
Abigail
Watson
Incorporating Deeply Uncertain Factors Into The Many Objective
Search Process: Improving Adaptation To Environmental Change
2:15 - 2:30
15 Minute Break
2:30 - 2:45
Student Awards and Closing
5 – CU-Boulder: Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium 2015
Poster Session
Thursday, April 2, 2015, 12:00 - 1:00
#
Presenter
Title
1.
Sarah Evans
Characterization Of Groundwater Storage In The Heihe
Headwater Watershed, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China
2.
Mehran Ghandehari
Density-Based Stream Network Extraction From Digital
Elevation Models
3.
Alice Hill
Characterizing The Role And Controls Of Snowmelt In Alpine
Groundwater Recharge
4.
Josh Jones
Examination Of Storm Cycles In A Rocky Mountain Subalpine
Snowpack Using Δ18O Analysis And Seasonal Snow Pit Data
5.
Simón Mostafa
Photochemical Inactivation Of ​
E. Faecalis​
In The Presence Of
Organic Matter
6.
Mark Raleigh
Which Forcing Data Errors Matter Most When Modeling
Seasonal Snowpack?
7.
Carleigh Samson
Modeling the Impact of Climate Change on TOC Threshold
Exceedances for Meeting DBP Regulations
8.
Peter Shellito
Soil Hydraulic Properties Modeled From Meter To Kilometer
Scales Based On In Situ And SMOS Soil Moisture Data
9.
Bill Szafranski
Simulation Of Daily Flow Data Using A Stochastic
Nonparametric Model (K-Nearest Neighbor)
10.
Matthew
Weingarten
High-Rate Injection Is Associated With The Increase In U.S.
Mid-Continent Seismicity
11.
Alāna Wilson
Age And Origin Of Waters: What Hydrogen And Oxygen Isotopes
In A Glacierized Catchment Can Tell Us
12.
Qinghuan Zhang
Hydrologic Simulations In Two Subcatchments Of The Boulder
Creek Watershed
6 – CU-Boulder: Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium 2015
SPONSORS
Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering ∙Geography ∙Geological Sciences ∙
Environmental Studies ∙Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research ∙CU Graduate School
MANY THANKS TO
The planning committee: Alice Hill, Kelsey Dailey, Taylor Winchell, Nora Catolico, Mandi Hohner,
Caitlin Glover, Peter Shellito, and Kaelin Cawley
Faculty Advisors: John Pitlick and Diane McKnight
STUDENT PRIZES DONATED BY
7 – CU-Boulder: Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium 2015
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Jay Famiglietti — University of California, Irvine and NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratory
Jay Famiglietti is a hydrologist, a professor of Earth System
Science and of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the
University of California, Irvine, and the Senior Water
Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the
California Institute of Technology. He was appointed by
California Governor Jerry Brown to the Santa Ana Regional
Water Quality Control Board, and he was the Founding
Director of the UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling (UCCHM)
at UC Irvine. Before joining UCI in 2001, Jay was on the
faculty of the Geological Sciences Department at the
University of Texas at Austin, where he helped launch the
program in climate and the UT Environmental Science
Institute.
Jay and his team have been researching and communicating about water and climate change — in
academics, in business, in government and to the general public — for over 25 years. He
appeared as a featured expert in the water documentary Last Call at the Oasis and in CBS News
60 Minutes. Jay is a frequent speaker, an avid writer and a regular contributor to National
Geographic Water Currents and to Huffington Post. His research is often featured in the
international news media, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Economist,
CNN/Fareed Zakaria GPS and network television news. Jay is a regular guest on National Public
Radio, BBC Radio and other public radio shows. He is currently working on his first book on the
disappearance of groundwater resources the world over.
Dr. Sally Thompson — University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Thompson is assistant professor of surface hydrology at UC
Berkeley. She originally trained as an environmental engineer at the
University of Western Australia, and worked for several years as an
environmental engineering consultant. Dr. Thompson undertook her
doctoral work in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke
University as a General Sir John Monash Fellow, and worked as a
research specialist at Duke and Purdue Universities prior to her
appointment at UC Berkeley. She was awarded the 2013 American
Geophysical Union Early Career Award in hydrology.
8 – CU-Boulder: Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium 2015
Mr. Andrew Fahlund — Deputy Director, California Water Foundation
Mr. Fahlund serves as the Deputy Director of the
California Water Foundation, a collaboration of
the West’s leading philanthropists, dedicated to
advancing a sustainable future for the farms,
cities, and environment of California. In this
capacity he leads a team of 10, providing grants
to leaders in the water field and engaging
directly to reform policy, demonstrate
innovations, and build the field. Previously, Mr.
Fahlund served as Executive Director of Stanford
University’s Water in the West program. Water
in the West seeks to improve freshwater policy
and practice throughout the American West by engaging in interdisciplinary research and
convening diverse stakeholders in collaborative dialogue. Prior to joining Water in the West,
Andrew served as Senior Vice President for Conservation with the advocacy group American
Rivers. Leading a staff of 50, his department was responsible for developing, advocating, and
implementing innovative policy and science tools to protect and restore healthy rivers and the
communities that depend upon them. Mr. Fahlund’s principle focus was reforming policies and
practices affecting the ability of human and natural communities to adapt and prepare for a
changing climate. Toward this end, he and his staff published two volumes, “Natural Security”
which profiles communities that have embraced promising practices and “Weathering Change,”
which outlines ten areas for reform of federal policy.
Mr. Fahlund also directed American Rivers’ fieldwork and national policy efforts to modify the
operation of dams and remove those that no longer make sense. He chaired the Hydropower
Reform Coalition and served on the board of the Low Impact Hydropower Institute. Mr. Fahlund
has also focused on federal water resource management and governance with a specific emphasis
on interstate compacts and water disputes. He has served on several governmental advisory
groups, testified before the United States Senate and House of Representatives as well as
numerous federal agencies, and participated in various policy forums and negotiations
addressing water policy in the United States.
Mr. Fahlund received his M.S. in Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan, School
of Natural Resources and Environment with honors. He previously worked as a water
conservation advocate in Colorado, a field archaeologist in the Pacific Northwest, and an
instructor in human ecology and field archaeology at Colorado College. When he is not at work,
he can often be found paddling or fly-fishing, or exploring various environs with his wife Jill, son
Zach and dog Olive.
9 – CU-Boulder: Hydrologic Sciences Research Symposium 2015