PROJECTS
- River-groundwater interactions and water quality in floodplains
- Nutrients in small agricultural streams
- Logjams and river-groundwater interactions
- Groundwater resources in Tanzania
A word about surface water-groundwater interaction
The shallow sediment beneath rivers, lakes, and oceans is an important aquatic habitat where surface water and groundwater mix. Waves and currents cause surface water to downwell into the sediment and travel along short flow paths before returning to the surface. This mixing process influences ecological communities as well as the quality of surface water and groundwater. For example, lakebed sediments can improve surface water quality by filtering pathogens from surface water. Yet, lakebed sediments can also release nutrients that deteriorate surface water quality. The exchange of surface water and groundwater therefore impacts the ecological health of aquatic systems.
I seek to understand physical processes that promote surface water-groundwater exchange and its effects on water quality. One of my primary research tools is computer modeling, but I also spend time in the laboratory and field observing the processes that I model.