WATERSHED HYDROLOGY
Lauren Giggy, Ph.D. Candidate,
University of California, Santa Cruz
BIO
I am a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the Watershed Hydrology Lab. Prior to UCSC, I completed a B.S. in Geology at Fort Lewis College. My research interests encompass physical hydrology, hydrogeology, biogeochemistry, wildfire, and ecohydrology. My projects tends to have a strong fieldwork component and have extensive experience managing instrumentation in dynamic river environments. I beleive in the importance of stakeholder engaged science, environmental justice, and producing science that supports the unique needs and interests of each community.
I am eager to chat about all things water - from micro-km and immediate-geologic time scales.
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In my free time, I skateboard, surf, ride bikes, and dabble in film photography. I'm always happy to chat about those too!
MY RESEARCH
When a raindrop falls from the sky, it can take many different routes through soil, rock, and groundwater before re-emerging in a river or stream. My research aims to understand how water moves through our landscapes, which is vital to predicting floods, droughts, and managing water quality in rivers, resevoirs, and oceans.
Lithologic controls on the hydrology of headwater streams in central coastal California
Plain language summary:
We find that the streams prone to rapid changes in streamflow (one minute it's dry, the next it's flooding) can exist right next to streams that maintain consistent steady streamflow. Streams with rapid changes in streamflow tend to export much higher volumes of nutrients, which can lead to harmfal algal blooms and other water quality issues. These streams co-exist right next door to each other due to variations in rock type and the degree of weathering. Despite these differences, certain aspects of the streamwater chemistry are suprisingly similar. Here we explore what mechanisms contribute to these similarities and differences with the goal of better understanding which physical attributes of a landscape are most helpful for predicting and managing streamflow across landscapes with high variability in rock types, soil, topography, and hydrology.
Surface water expression across ephemeral streams in central coastal California
Plain language summary:
Globally, greater than half of all streams do not have flowing water 100% of the year, many only flow after rainfall events or only during the rainy/snow melt seasons. We call these types of streams intermittent and ephemeral streams. This work aims to understand what weather patterns and physical traits of a watershed create conditions that support streamflow. Understanding where and when water will be present in streams is extremely important to water resources management and aquatic and riparian habitat in the present and in future climate scenarios.
Export of carbon, nitrogen, and water from fire-effected headwater streams
Plain language summary:
The 2020 wildfire season impacted our study site at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve along with nearly 400,000 surrounding acres. Leveraging in-place hydrologic sensors, we examined the impacts of the fire on water quality in our Oak woodland watersheds. Fires are known to alter soil and vegetation which can change the way water moves and is stored in landscapes. We observed distinct post-fire water quality in our two study catchments likely due to differences in bedrock type and hydrologic regimes. Additionally, we also observed ongoing water quality impacts in high intensity storm events over 400 days after the wildfire. These results highlight the role of hydrogeologic settings and weather patterns on post-fire water quality.
Geologic sources of salinity in the Dolores River watershed, SW Colorado
Plain language summary:
Southwestern Colorado has a very unique geologic history that causes modern issues with high salinity in several major rivers. This work aimed to build on previous research in the region to pin point different geologic sources of salt along a reach of the Dolores River, a tributary to the Colorado River. Results provide insight to whether changes in anthropogenic water use or climate change could further impact salinity in Dolores River.
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