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POSTDOC RESEARCH

From Fall 2018 to Spring 2021, I conducted post-doctoral research with Dr. Laura Toran at Temple University, studying surface water quality and evaluating the effectiveness of stormwater management efforts around Philadelphia.


RESEARCH OVERVIEW

URBAN SEDIMENT POLLUTION

URBAN STREAM TEMPERATURES

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PhD RESEARCH

My PhD research combined field work, computer modeling, and lab work to explore methods to improve water supply and quality. This work ranged in scale from experimental plots to regional models and linked diverse datasets and techniques, including physical hydrology, computer modeling, geochemistry, and microbiology.

Click below to learn more!

 

PRIOR
WORK

For my undergraduate thesis, I studied the impact of a recent wildfire and historical mining on sediment and water chemistry in the Fourmile Creek Watershed, located in the front range of the Colorado Rockies. This project involved field collection of water and sediment samples, extensive analyses in the lab, and a GIS analysis of the wildfire and mining impacts within each affected sub-catchment.

URBAN STREAM WATER QUALITY

At Temple, my work focused on improving water quality in urban streams. I led and collaborated on many projects, including:

Evaluating how land cover, storms, and other factors impact stream temperature. To help measure stream temperature at several dozen locations in Sandy Run, Jenkintown Creek, Naylors Run, and Fulmor Creek, we enlisted a team of community scientists! LEARN MORE

Estimating the impact of different stormwater management scenarios on water quality in Wissahickon Creek. To do this, we developed a computer model of the region and using it to test different scenarios. LEARN MORE

Quantifying the impact of individual stormwater management projects on water quality. This involved collecting runoff samples on stormy days and measuring water quality in the lab.

Determining how drainage configuration in a stormwater detention basin affects water quality improvement. Using a combination of field sampling, computer modeling, and laboratory columns, we studied how much nitrogen is removed from stormwater in the subsurface under different drainage conditions.

Photo credit: L. Blanton

TEMPLE
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URBAN STREAM TEMPERATURES

What causes stream temperatures to be high in urban environments, and what can we do about it? We addressed these questions using Wissahickon Creek and Naylors Run as examples. 

This work was published in Hydrological Processes in January 2021. Community science volunteers are helping build on the findings from this initial study!

KEY FINDINGS

  • Wastewater treatment plants can both heat up and cool down urban streams—and their impact may persist more than 7.5 miles (12 km) downstream!

  • Vegetation along stream banks is more effective at reducing high temperatures than stormwater management in these watersheds.

  • Despite urbanization and impervious surfaces, runoff from 90% of summer storms did not contribute a pulse of heat to Wissahickon Creek.

STREAM TEMPERATURES
SEDIMENT MODELING

SEDIMENT IN URBAN STREAMS

This collaborative modeling project explores how expanding green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) could reduce sediment pollution in Wissahickon Creek in Philadelphia, PA.

This work was published in Journal of the American Water Resources Association in December 2020. 

KEY FINDINGS

  • Reducing sediment pollution by half requires building a LOT of GSI (enough to collect stormwater from ~30% of the Wissahickon Creek watershed)

  • Creating space for stormwater to infiltrate into the ground is more effective at reducing sediment pollution than temporarily storing stormwater

  • Sediment levels in urban stormwater are difficult to predict, and as a result, many models may underestimate sediment pollution in urban areas

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Photo credit: L. Toran

IMPROVING WATER QUALITY

IMPROVING WATER QUALITY

I led field experiments to link hydrology, geochemistry, and microbiology during rapid infiltration with implications for the removal of nitrate, a pervasive groundwater contaminant. I tested how a horizontal layer of woodchips impacted nitrate removal rates and microbial communities in the underlying soil.

This work was published in Water Research in July 2018.

KEY FINDINGS

  • Woodchips substantially enhance nitrate removal in underlying soil during rapid infiltration relative to un-amended native soil

  • Putative denitrifying microbes were enhanced in relative abundance after infiltration below woodchips

  • Managed recharge systems can be designed to improve both water supply and water quality!

STORMWATER COLLCTION FIELD SITE

STORMWATER COLLECTION FIELD SITE

I collected field data from a stormwater collection managed recharge project over a six-year period, including a severe drought. Data were used to evaluate the potential for this type of project to increase groundwater supply and to explore what factors control infiltration dynamics during managed recharge.

This work was published in Journal of Environmental Management in 2017. 

KEY FINDINGS

  • A substantial volume of runoff was collected to increase groundwater supply, including during a severe, state-wide drought

  • Runoff generation was sensitive to sub-daily storm intensity, duration, and frequency; yearly or daily data may not be sufficient to evaluate the potential for runoff collection

  • Infiltration rates varied in space and time according to many factors, including water level, sediment transport, vegetation growth, and storm intensity

  • Vegetation growth and animal burrows may provide/maintain fast infiltration pathways and could mitigate the impact of fine-grained sediment accumulation

REGIONAL RUNFF MODELNG

REGIONAL RUNOFF MODELING

I led a regional modeling project to explore how shifting climate and land use impact the distribution of stormwater runoff in the Pajaro Valley, central coastal California. Model results were used to find the most effective locations for projects that collect stormwater runoff to improve groundwater supply and quality.

This work was published in Water Resources Management in 2019.

KEY FINDINGS

  • Contemporary urban and agricultural development were associated with more than twice as much runoff , and significantly less diffuse recharge, compared  to pre-development land use

  • Interactions between simultaneous shifts in climate and land use may amplify the hydrologic response to either perturbation

  • There are many opportunities throughout the Pajaro Valley to collect excess runoff and substantially enhance recharge during both wet and dry climate conditions

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