HYDROLOGY - GEOLOGY - BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
Lauren Giggy, PhD
BIO
I am a hydrologist and geologist, with expertise in watershed processes, water quality, impacts of wildfire and drought, and groundwater storage and movement.
I've been privileged to work across a range of environmental science spaces, including academic research and teaching roles, government agencies, non-profit groups, and environmental consulting. These experiences have instilled a commitment to stakeholder-engaged research and production of science products that supports the unique needs and interests of each community.
I am currently working with the ECOSHEDS Lab at the University of New Hampshire as a remote postdoctoral researcher focused on watershed hydrology and water-quality dynamics. My home office is in San Luis Obispo County, California, and am eager to support hydrologic monitoring, research, conservation, and restoration efforts locally on the Central Coast of California as well. Please feel free to reach out if my expertise and interests are relevant to your mission.
In my free time, I skateboard, surf, ride bikes, and dabble in film photography. I'm always happy to chat about those too!
PROJECTS
Broadly, my research considers how geology and climate mediate water movement through landscapes and how the various hydrologic pathways that water can take through our landscapes influence water availability and water chemistry.
High, dry, and on fire: Streamflow drivers and water quality in headwater streams located in central coastal California
Project aims and ongoing work:
1) Improve our ability to predict where landscapes can/cannot sustain streamflow across several years of drought. 2) Improve our understanding of the links between watershed structural controls and meteorological controls on post-wildfire water quality, major ion stream chemistry, and surface water persistence. 3) Examine relationships between surface water ages and water chemistry (ongoing work led by UCSC PhD student Samantha Motz)
Project results:
1) Our observations suggest that during prolonged drought, streams can shift between supporting seasonal flow to only flowing during periods of high-intensity rainfall, which has important implications for water resources management, aquatic and riparian habitat, ecological interactions, and stream protection under current environmental regulations.
2) Streams with distinct streamflow have water sourced from unique subsurface stores due to differences in the critical zone structure, which drives distinct nutrient export behavior, especially following wildfire. Despite these differences in streamflow and nutrients, major ion water chemistry behaves similarly across sites. This work highlights the importance of understanding catchment geology for predicting streamflow and water quality.
Related work products:
Publication: Giggy, L., Price. A., Zimmer, M. (2026). Changes in Dominant Streamflow Drivers as Network-Scale Flow Regime Shifts from Intermittent to Ephemeral Across a Multi-Year Drought. Hydrological Processes 40 (2): e70413. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70413.
Publication: Giggy, L., Barton, R., Wagner, S., & Zimmer, M. (2025). Distinct streamflow and nutrient export dynamics in wildfire‐impacted nonperennial streams in central coastal California. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 130, e2024JG008553. https://doi.org/10. 1029/2024JG008553
Publication: Giggy, L., & Zimmer, M. (2025). The role of lithology on concentration‐discharge relationships and carbon export in two adjacent headwater catchments. Water Resources Research, 61,e2024WR037086.
Photo source: Jose Carlos Fajardo/MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images
QuEST: Quantifying Ecosystem exports across Space and Time
Project aims and ongoing work:
1) Cross-site synthesis study aimed at identifying the sub-catchments within 5 larger watersheds that are most sensitive to climatic and land-use changes (ongoing)
2) Provide tailored insights and products to water and land managers in the Tahoe Basin region of Nevada, the Santa Fe River region of New Mexico, the Upper Piedmont region of Alabama, the Ozark Plataea region of Arkansas, and the Great Bay region of New Hampshire (ongoing)
