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 in November 2025 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!
MY RESEARCH
Broadly, my research sits at the intersection of hydrology, geology, and biogeochemistry. My research considers how geology and climate mediate water movement through landscapes and how various hydrologic pathways influence water availability and water chemistry.
Lithologic controls on the hydrology of headwater streams in central coastal California
Plain language summary:
Understanding the pathways that water takes through our landscapes before emerging as streamflow is critical for protecting and managing water resources. At the core of this study, we aimed to explore how variations in geology influence the pathways that water takes through a hillslope and how those pathways influence streamflow and water quality. Due to variations in rock type and the degree of weathering, we observed strong differences in streamflow dynamics in neighboring streams. Additionally, we found that streams with rapid changes in streamflow and shallower flow paths tend to export higher volumes of nutrients, which can cause downstream water quality issues, especially in sensitive aquatic settings, reservoirs, and coastal environments. Despite differences in streamflow and nutrient export, we did not observe strong differences in solute chemistry associated with rock weathering, which we plan to study further with additional hydrologic modelling. This work highlights how sublte difference in geology can drive strong difference in streamflow and nutrient export and improves our understanding of landscapes with high variability in rock types, soil, topography, and hydrology.
Related publications:
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.
Surface water persistence across ephemeral streams in central coastal California
Plain language summary:
Intermittent and ephemeral streams (aka non-perennial or temporary streams) are streams that only flow periodically. The categorization of a stream as either perennial (flow year-round), intermittent (seasonal flow), or ephemeral (precipitation-driven flow) determines many regulatory protections and ecological functions. Our work aimed to improve our ability to predict when and where streams will begin flowing and when and where landscapes can sustain streamflow across several years of drought. Our observattions suggests 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.
Export of carbon, nitrogen, and water from fire-effected headwater streams
Plain language summary:
In August 2020, the SCU wildfires impacted our study site at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve in Santa Clara County (along with nearly 400,000 surrounding acres). Fires are known to alter soil and vegetation which can alter hydrologic processes and water quality. Leveraging in-place hydrologic sensors, we examined the water quality in our wildfire impacted Oak savannah watersheds for several years following the fire. We observed distinct post-fire water quality in our two study watersheds likely due to differences in bedrock type and the routes water takes through the landscape. 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 dynamics.
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 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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