Projects

A brief summary of research highlights within the Logan River Observatory.

Current Projects

  • Bear River Basin Gaging Support. B.T. Neilson, J.S. Horsburgh (USU). UT Division of Water Rights, 2024-2029.
  • Advancing Utah Division of Water Rights' Operational Measurement Data Systems. J.S. Horsburgh (USU). Utah Division of Water Rights, 2024-2027.
  • Groundwater Assessment of Cache Valley: An Updated Evaluation of Groundwater Recharge, Yield, and Vulnerability in Cache Valley. Humphrey, T. Marston (Utah USGS Water Science Center), B.T. Neilson, D. Newell (USU), K. Solomon (University of Utah). Utah Division of Water Rights/Cache Water District/Cache County, 2024-2027.
  • Linking Long-Term Data from the Logan River Observatory to Changes in Snowpack to Inform Local Water Management and Conservation Planning. S. Hotaling, B.T. Neilson, K. Becker (USU). USU Extension Water Initiative Grants Program, 2024-2026.
  • Establishing a Functional Flows Framework for the GSL Basin. B. Lane, B.T. Neilson, S. Null, M. Baker (USU), J. Ostermiller (UT DWQ), P. Thompson (UT DWR). GSL Watershed Enhancement Trust, 2024-2025.
  • Monitoring and Quantification of Great Salt Lake Inflows from the Bear River. B.T. Neilson, B. Crookston (USU). US Fish and Wildlife Service via GSL-WET, 2024-2025.
  • CIROH: Advancing Snow Observation Systems to Improve Operational Streamflow Prediction Capabilities. C.A. Oroza, R. Johnson, D. Taylor (U of U), C. Skalka (U of Vt.), J.S. Horsburgh (USU). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2023–2026.
  • CIROH: Advancing Camera-Based Monitoring for Operational Hydrologic Applications. S. Young, J.S. Horsburgh (USU), E. Goharian (USC). United States Geological Survey, 2023–2026.
  • CIROH: Modernized Standards and Tools for Sharing and Integrating Real time Hydrologic Observations Data. J.S. Horsburgh (USU). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2022–2025.
  • Collaborative Research: Separating the Climate and Weather of River Channels: Characterizing Dynamics of Coarse-Grained River Channel Response to Perturbations Across Scales. C.B. Phillips (USU). National Science Foundation, 2022–2025.
  • Characterizing the Distribution of Intermittent Tributary Spawning by Populations of Native Samonids of the Intermountain West. Timothy Walsworth (USU). U.S. Forest Service, 2021-2025.
  • Collaborative Research: Quantifying Watershed Dynamics in Snow-Dominated Mountainous Karst Watersheds Using Hybrid Physically Based and Deep Learning Models. B.T. Neilson, D.L. Newell (USU). National Science Foundation, 2021–2025.
  • Determining the Mobility, Fate, and Ecological Consequences of Dust-Derived Constituents in Mountain Watersheds. J. Brahney. National Science Foundation, 2020–2025.

Past Projects

  • Preliminary Data Collection to Support the Groundwater Assessment of Cache Valley, B.T. Neilson (USU). Utah Division of Water Rights, 2023-2024.
  • Hydrochemical Tracer Sampling in Logan River to Inform Future Water Availability. B.T. Neilson, D.L. Newell, E. Rivers (USU), P. Brooks (U of U). USU Extension Water Initiative Grants Program, 2022–2024.
  • Microplastic Transport to the Great Salt Lake through the Logan and Bear River System. J. Brahney, P. Budy, B.T. Neilson (USU). State of Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, 2021–2022.
  • Quantifying Microplastic and Nanoplastic Deposition in the Bear River Mountains. J. Brahney. United States Department of Agriculture, 2021–2024.
  • Assessing the Sources, Transport, and Fate of Microplastic in the Logan River Watershed. K. Moor, J. Brahney, B.T. Neilson (USU). United States Geological Survey 104(b)/UWRL, 2021–2022.
  • Improving the Hydraulics of Urban Flooding. Z.B. Sharp (USU). USGS 104(b), 2020–2022.
  • Leveraging LIDAR and Citizen-Science for Low-Cost, High-Resolution Snow-Depth Estimation. C.A. Oroza (U of U), USGS 104(b). 2020-2021.
  • Obtaining Lidar Data to Support Research in the Logan River Watershed. T. Neilson, P. Strong (USU). USGS 104(b)/UWRL, 2020–2021.
  • Monitoring and Research for Water Quality and Stormwater Management in Logan City, UT. T. Neilson and J.S. Horsburgh (USU). Logan City, 2018–2024.
  • Mapping Didymosphenia in the Logan River Drainage. J. Brahney and B.T. Neilson. USGS 104(b)/UWRL, 2017-2019.
  • Impacts of Beaver Dams on Stream Hydrology, Temperature, and Geomorphology within Curtis Creek, Utah. B.T. Neilson (USU), Brand Hunts (UDFW), Brett Roper (USFS). USFS, 2016-20