Bethany Neilson
Water
Professor

Contact Information
Office Location: UWRL 303, ENGR 223Phone: 435-797-7369 or 435-797-2772
Email: bethany.neilson@usu.edu
Additional Information:
Educational Background
Biography
I am a Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and I have a dual appointment with the Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL). I am currently serving as the CEE Water Division Head and the director of the Logan River Observatory.
Teaching Interests
My teaching has focused on heat and mass transport and as well as general hydrology. I have taught the undergraduate heat and mass transport class (CEE 3670 Transport Phenomena) that focuses on fundamentals and a more applied graduate level Surface Water Quality Modeling class (CEE 6740) that implements these fundamentals in the context of surface water quality models. I also teach the undergraduate Engineering Hydrology class (CEE 3430) that focuses on hydrologic fundamentals while trying to help students understand how these concepts tie back to water, heat, and mass movement in local watersheds.
Research Interests
My research is primarily focused on the collection of data sets fundamental to numerical modeling and identification of dominant heat and mass fate and transport mechanisms. Much of my research has focused on quantifying groundwater/surface water interactions and the associated influences on instream water quality and temperature regimes. These efforts have spanned desert rivers, arctic river systems, low gradient agricultural rivers, high gradient mountain streams, and highly regulated river reaches. More recent research efforts have expanded to landscape processes and connections to riverine environments. Current research includes understanding the role of groundwater/surface water exchanges on instream temperatures and carbon fluxes in areas of continuous permafrost; instream temperature, nutrient, and habitat responses to the development of beaver dam complexes; groundwater/surface water exchange influences on heat and nutrient transport in highly regulated river reaches; and temperature controls in regulated canyon-bound rivers. However, a key focus of my current research is understanding the complexities of mountain hydrology in the context of the Logan River watershed. Due to the large amount of data collected as part of the Logan River Observatory (https://lro.usu.edu), there are a variety of ongoing research projects in the area. In the karst, mountainous portion of the watershed, projects include understanding groundwater exchanges and influences on longitudinal solute trends, investigating methods for quantifying snow depth variability by combining bare-earth and snow-on LiDAR data, and combining processed-based snow modeling and machine learning models to predict baseflow variability. In the valley portion of the watershed, efforts include quantification and classification of lateral inflows from urban and agricultural portions of the watershed and temperature responses to various riparian and water management scenarios. Additional efforts include quantification of micro-plastic transport from pristine portions of the watershed to urban centers.
Awards
USU Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Student Mentor of the Year Award, 2017
Utah State University Civil and Environmental Engineering
USU College of Engineering Undergraduate Student Mentor of the Year Award, 2017
Utah State University College of Engineering
USU Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Mentor of the Year Award, 2016
Utah State University Civil and Environmental Engineering
USU College of Engineering Graduate Student Mentor of the Year Award, 2016
Utah State University College of Engineering
IGN International Academy Fellowship, 2014
University of Copenhagen
USU Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Mentor of the Year Award, 2014
Utah State University Civil and Environmental Engineering
USU College of Engineering Graduate Student Mentor of the Year Award, 2014
Utah State University College of Engineering
USU Civil and Environmental Engineering Researcher of the Year Award 2012, 2013
Utah State University Civil and Environmental Engineering
2007 UCOWR Ph.D Dissertation Award Natural Sciences and Engineering , 2007
UCOWR
Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Fellowship, 2006
Outstanding Student Paper, 2005
AGU Fall Conference
USU Graduate Research Assistantship, 2001
USU
- King, T.V, Neilson, B.T, (2017). Our Arctic Nation: Utah: Our Arctic Nation. U.S. State Department, A U.S. Arctic Council Chairmanship Initiative *
- Neilson, B.T, Stevens, D.K, Horsburgh, J.S, (2005). TMDL development approaches: Total Maximum Daily Load: Approaches and Challenges. PenWell Corporation
- Neilson, B.T, Kinerson, R., (2003). The Role of Models” and portion of “Tools for Developing and Implementing Watershed Plans and TMDLs": Water Quality Monitoring for Watershed Planning and TMDLs. YSI Incorporated
Publications | Book Chapters
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Tyson, C., Longyang, Q., Neilson, B.T, Zeng, R., Xu, T., (2023). Effects of Meteorological Forcing Uncertainty on High-Resolution Snow Modeling and Streamflow Prediction in a Mountainous Karst Watershed. Journal of Hydrology, 619:129304, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129304
- Murray, D., Neilson, B.T, Brahney, J., (2023). Beaver pond geomorphology influences pond nitrogen retention and denitrification. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, 128:e2022JG007199, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007199
- Leach, J.A, Kelleher, C., Kurylyk, B.L, Moore, R.D, Neilson, B.T, (2023). A primer on stream temperature processes. WIRES Watere1643, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1643
- Lukens, E., Neilson, B.T, Williams, K.H, Brahney, J., (2022). Evaluation of Hydrograph Separation Techniques with Uncertain End-member Composition. Hydrologic Processes, 36:9, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14693
- Mihalevich, B.A, Neilson, B.T, Buahin, C.A, (2022). Evaluation of the ERA5-Land reanalysis dataset for process-based river temperature modeling over data sparse and topographically complex regions. Water Resources Research, 58:e2021WR031294, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR031294
- Bruckerhoff, L.A, Wheeler, K., Dibble, K.L, Mihalevich, B., Neilson, B.T, Wang, J., Yackulic, C.B, Schmidt, J.C, (2022). Water Storage Decisions and Consumptive Use Constrain Ecosystem Management under Severe Sustained Drought. Journal of American Water Resources Association, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.13020
- Leach, J.A, Moore, R.D, Laudon, H., Buahin, C.A, Neilson, B.T, (2022). Do headwater lakes moderate downstream temperature response to forest harvesting? Illustrating opportunities and obstacles associate with virtual experiments. Hydrologic Processes, 36:6, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14593
- Xu, T., Longyang, Q., Tyson, C., Zeng, R., Neilson, B.T, (2022). Hybrid Physically Based and Deep Learning Modeling of a Snow Dominated, Mountainous, Karst Watershed. Water Resources Research, 58:e2021WR030993, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR030993
- Ferencz, S., Cardenas, M.B, Neilson, B.T, (2021). Aerobic respiration in riparian exchange zones of regulated river corridors. Hydrologic Processes, 35:11, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14386
- Rasmussen, M., Dutta, S., Neilson, B.T, Crookston, B.M, (2021). CFD Model of the Density-driven Bidirectional Flows through the West Crack Breach in the Great Salt Lake Causeway. Water by MPDI, 13(17):2423, doi: 10.3390/w13172423
- Alger, S.M, Lane, B., Neilson, B.T, (2021). Combined influences of irrigation diversions and associated subsurface return flows on river temperature in a semi-arid region. Hydrologic Processes, 35:8, e14283. doi: DOI: 10.1002/hyp.14283
- Neilson, B.T, Tennant, H., Strong, P.A, Horsburgh, J.S, (2021). Detailed streamflow data for understanding hydrologic responses in the Logan River Observatory. Hydrologic Processes, 35:8, e14268. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14268
- Leach, J., Neilson, B.T, Buahin, C., Moore, R.D, Laudon, H., (2021). Lake outflow and hillslope lateral inflows dictate thermal regimes of forested streams draining small lakes. Water Resources Research, 57:e2020WR028136, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR028136
- Ferencz, S.B, Munoz, S., Neilson, B.T, Cardenas, M.B, (2021). Riverbed Temperature and Heat Transport in a Hydropeaked River. Water Resources Research, 57:e2021WR029609, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR029609
- Tennant, H., Neilson, B.T, Miller, M.P, Xu, T., (2021). Ungaged inflow and loss patterns in urban and agricultural sub-reaches of the Logan River Observatory. Hydrologic Processes, 35:e14097, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14097
- Murray, D., Neilson, B.T, Brahney, J., (2021). Source or Sink? Quantifying beaver pond influence on non-point source pollutant transport in the the Intermountain West. Journal of Environmental Management, 285, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112127
- Mihalevich, B.A, Neilson, B.T, Buahin, C.A, Yackulic, C.B, Schmidt, J.C, (2020). Water temperature controls for regulated canyon-bound rivers. Water Resources Research, 56:12, e2020WR027566. doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027566
- O'Connor, M.T, Cardenas, M.B, Ferencz, S.B, Wu, Y., Neilson, B.T, Chen, J., Kling, G.W, (2020). Empirical models for predicting controls on water and heat flow in permafrost soils. Geophysical Research Letters, 47:e2020GL087646, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087646
- Majerova, M., Neilson, B.T, Roper, B., (2020). Beaver dam influences on streamflow hydraulic properties and thermal regimes. Science of the Total Environment, 718:134863, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134853
- King, T.V, Neilson, B.T, Overbeck, L.D, Kane, D.L, (2020). A distributed analysis of lateral inflows in an Alaskan Arctic watershed underlain by continuous permafrost. Hydrological Processes, 633– 648. doi: 10.1002/hyp.13611
- O'Connor, M.T, Cardenas, M.B, Neilson, B.T, Nicholaides, K.D, Kling, G.W, (2019). Active layer groundwater flow: The interrelated effects of stratigraphy, thaw, and topography. Water Resources Research, 55, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024636
- Dzara, J., Neilson, B.T, Null, S., (2019). Quantifying thermal refugia connectivity by combining temperature modeling, distributed temperature sensing, and thermal infrared imaging. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 23, 2965-2982. doi: 10.5194/hess-23-2965-2019
- Tarboton, D.G, Richards, C., McKee, M., Torres-Rua, A., Neilson, B.T, Tullis, B.P, Rosenberg, D.E, Stevens, D.K, Horsburgh, J.S, McLean, J.E, Johnson, M.C, Dupont, R.R, (2019). The Utah Water Research Laboratory: Empowering Water and Environmental Research in Utah and Around the World. Water Resources Impact, American Water Resources Association, 21:5, 13-15. *
- Ferencz, S.B, Cardenas, M.B, Neilson, B.T, (2019). Analysis of the effects of dam release properties and ambient groundwater flow on surface water-groundwater exchange over a 100 km-long reach. Water Resources Research, 55:11, 8526–8546. doi: https://doi. org/10.1029/2019WR025210
- Li, A., Aubeneau, A.F, King, T.V, Cory, R.M, Neilson, B.T, Kling, G.W, Bolster, D., Packman, A.I, (2019). Effects of vertical hydrodynamic mixing on photomineralization of dissolved organic carbon in arctic surface waters . Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 21, 748-760. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C8EM00455B
- Buahin, C.A, Horsburgh, J.S, Neilson, B.T, (2019). Parallel multi-objective calibration of a component-based river temperature model. Environmental Modelling & Software, doi: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.02.012
- King, T.V, Neilson, B.T, (2019). Quantifying Reach‐Average Effects of Hyporheic Exchange on Arctic River Temperatures in an Area of Continuous Permafrost. Water Resources Research, doi: 10.1029/2018WR023463
- Neilson, B.T, Tennant, H., Stout, T.L, Miller, M., Gabor, R.S, Jammel, Y., Millington, M., Gelderloos, A., Bowen, G.J, Brooks, P.D, (2018). Stream‐centric methods for determining groundwater contributions in karst mountain watersheds. Water Resources Research 54, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR022664
- Neilson, B.T, Cardenas, M.B, O'Connor, M.T, Rasmussen, M.T, King, T.V, Kling, G.W, (2018). Groundwater flow and exchange across the land surface explain carbon export patterns in continuous permafrost watersheds. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL078140
- Muller, S., Jessen, S., Duque, C., Sebok, E., Neilson, B.T, Engesgaard, P., (2018). Assessing seasonal flow dynamics at a lagoon saltwater-freshwater interface using a dual tracer approach. Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies, 17, 24-35. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2018.03.005
- Watson, J.A, Cardenas, M.B, Ferencz, S.B, Knappett, P.S, Neilson, B.T, (2018). The effects of floods on the temperature of riparian groundwater. Hydrological Processes, 32:9, 1267–1281. doi: 10.1002/hyp.11504
- King, T.V, Neilson, B.T, Rasmussen, M.T, (2018). Estimating Discharge in Low-Order Rivers With High-Resolution Aerial Imagery. Water Resources Research, 54, 863–878. doi: doi:10.1002/2017WR021868
- Shuai, P., Cardenas, M.B, Knappett, P.S, Bennett, P.C, Neilson, B.T, (2017). Denitrification in the banks of fluctuating rivers: The effects of river stage amplitude, sediment hydraulic conductivity and dispersivity, and ambient groundwater flow. Water Resources Research, 53:9, 7951--7967.
- Gabor, R.S, Hall, S.J, Jammel, Y., Barnes, M.L, Stout, T.L, Tennant, H., Millington, M., Gelderloos, A., Eiriksson, D., Neilson, B.T, Bowen, G.J, Brooks, P.D, (2017). Persistent urban impacts on surface water quality mediated by stormwater recharge. Environmental Science and Technology, 51:17, 9477–9487. doi: DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b00271
- Niswonger, R., Naranjo, R., Smith, D., Constantz, J., Allander, K., Rosenberry, D., Neilson, B.T, Rosen, M., Stonestrom, D., (2017). Nutrient Processes at the Steam-Lake Interface for a Channelized vs. Unmodified Stream Mouth: Implications for Cultural-Climatic Eutrophication in a Sub-Alpine Setting. Water Resources Research, 53, 237-256. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR019538
- Stout, T.L, Majerova, M., Neilson, B.T, (2017). Impacts of beaver dams on channel hydraulics and substrate characteristics in a mountain stream. Ecohydrology, 10:1, doi: doi: 10.1002/eco.1767
- King, T.V, Neilson, B.T, Overbeck, L.D, Kane, D.L, (2016). Water temperature controls in low arctic rivers. Water Resources Research, 52, 4358-4376. doi: doi:10.1002/2015WR017965
- Constantz, J., Naranjo, R., Allander, K., Neilson, B.T, Niswonger, R., Rosenberry, D., Smith, D., Zamora, C., Stonestrom, D., (2016). Groundwater exchanges near a channelized versus unmodified stream mouth discharging to a subalpine lake. Water Resources Research, 52, 2157-2177. doi: doi:10.1002/2015WR017013
- Schmadel, N.M, Neilson, B.T, Heavilin, J.E, Worman, A., (2016). Isolating parameter sensitivity in reach scale transient storage modeling. Advances in Water Resources, 89, 24-31. doi: doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2015.12.020
- Schmadel, N.M, Neilson, B.T, Heavilin, J.E, (2015). Spatial considerations of stream hydraulics in reach scale temperature modeling. Water Resources Research, 51, 5566-5581. doi: doi:10.1002/2015WR016931
- Cory, R.M, Harrold, K.H, Neilson, B.T, Kling, G.W, (2015). Controls on dissolved organic matter (DOM) degradation in a headwater stream: the influence of photochemical and hydrological conditions in determining light-limitation or substrate-limitation of photo-degradation. EGU Biogeosciences, 12, 6669-6685. doi: doi:10.5194/bg-12-6669-2015
- Majerova, M., Neilson, B.T, Schmadel, N.M, Snow, C.J, Wheaton, J.M, (2015). Impacts of beaver dams on hydrologic and temperature regimes in a mountain stream. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences19, 1-16. doi: doi:10.5194/hess-19-1-2015
- Schmadel, N.M, Neilson, B.T, Kasahara, T., (2014). Deducing the spatial variability of exchange within a longitudinal channel water balance.. Hydrological Processes, 28:7, 3088-3103. doi: doi:10.1002/hyp.9854
- Hobson, A.J, Neilson, B.T, von Stackelberg, N., Shupryt, M., Ostermiller, J., Pelletier, G., Chapra, S.C, (2014). Development of minimalistic data collection strategy for QUAL2Kw. Journal of Water Resources Management and Planning, doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000488, 04014096
- Cardenas, B., Doering, M., Rivas, D.S, Galdeano, C., Neilson, B.T, Robinson, C.T, (2014). Analysis of the temperature dynamics of a proglacial river using time-lapse thermal imaging and energy balance modeling. Journal of Hydrology, 519:Part B, 1963-1973. doi: doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.09.079
- Bowerman, T., Neilson, B.T, Budy, P., (2014). Effects of fine sediment, hyporheic flow, and spawning site selection on survival and development of bull trout embryos. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Species, 71:7, 1059-1071. doi: doi:10.1139/cjfas-2013-0372
- von Stackelberg, N.O, Neilson, B.T, (2014). A Collaborative Approach to Calibration of a Riverine Water Quality Model. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 140:3, 393-405. doi: doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000332
- Epstein, D., Neilson, B.T, Goodman, K., Stevens, D.K, Wurtsbaugh, W.A, (2013). A modeling approach for assessing the effect of multiple lakes in sequence on nutrient transport.. Aquatic Sciences, 75:2, 199-212. doi: DOI 10.1007/s00027-012-0267-2
- Alminagorta, O., Tesfatsion, B., Rosenberg, D.E, Neilson, B.T, (2013). Simple Optimization Method to Determine Best Management Practices to Reduce Phosphorus Loading in Echo Reservoir, Utah. ASCE-Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 139:1, 122-125. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000224
- Heavilin, J.E, Neilson, B.T, (2012). An analytical solution to main channel heat transport with surface heat flux. Advances in Water Resources, 47, 67-75. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2012.06.006
- Worman, A., Riml, J., Schmadel, N.M, Neilson, B.T, Bottacin-Busolin, A., Heavilin, J.E, (2012). Spectral scaling of heat fluxes in streambed sediments. Geophysical Research Letters, 39:L23402, doi: doi:10.1029/2012GL053922
- Merck, M.F, Neilson, B.T, (2012). Modelling in-pool temperature variability in a beaded arctic streamd Arctic Stream.. Hydrological Processes, 26, 3921–3933. doi: DOI: 10.1002/hyp.8419
- Merck, M.F, Neilson, B.T, Cory, R., Kling, G.W, (2012). Variability of Instream and Riparian Storage and Flow in a Beaded Arctic Stream. Hydrological Processes, 26, 2938-2950. doi: DOI:10.1002/hyp.8323
- Heavilin, J.E, Neilson, B.T, (2012). Approximation of inverse Laplace transform solution to heat transport in a stream system. Water Resources Research, 48:9, doi: dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012WR012329
- Bingham, Q.G, Neilson, B.T, Neale, C.M, Cardenas, M.B, (2012). Application of high-resolution, remotely sensed data for transient storage parameter estimation. Water Resources Research, 48:8, 15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR011594
- Bandaragoda, C., Neilson, B.T, (2011). Increasing Parameter Certainty and Data Utility Through Multi-Objective Calibration of a Spatially Distributed Temperature and Solute Model. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussion, 7, 1547-1561. doi: 10.5194/hess-15-1547-2011
- Neilson, B.T, Chapra, S.C, Stevens, D.K, Bandarogoda, C., (2010). Two-zone Transient Storage Zone Modeling Using Temperature and Solute Data with Multi-Objective Calibration: Part 1 –Temperature. Water Resources Research , 46, W12521. doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008756
- Neilson, B.T, Stevens, D.K, Chapra, S.C, Bandaragoda, C., (2010). Two-zone Transient Storage Zone Modeling Using Temperature and Solute Data with Multi-Objective Calibration: Part 2 – Temperature and Solute. Water Resources Research, 46, W12520. doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008759
- Neilson, B.T, Hatch, C.E, Ban, H., Tyler, S.W, (2010). Solar Radiative Heating of Fiber Optic Cables Used to Monitor Temperatures in Water. Water Resources Research, 46, 1-17. doi: 10.1029/2009WR008354
- Schmadel, N.M, Neilson, B.T, Stevens, D.K, (2010). Approaches to estimate uncertainty in longitudinal channel water balances. Journal of Hydrology, 394, 357-369. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.09.011
- Neilson, B.T, Stevens, D.K, Chapra, S.C, Bandaragoda, C., (2009). Data Collection Methodology for Dynamic Temperature Model Testing and Corroboration: Hydrological Processes . , 23, 2902-2914.
- Ames, D.P, Neilson, B.T, Stevens, D.K, Lall, U.L, (2005). Using Bayesian networks to model watershed management decisions: an East Canyon Creek case study. Hydroinformatics , 7:4, 267-282.
- Neilson, B.T, Chapra, S.C, (2003). Integration of Water Quality Monitoring and Modeling for TMDL Development. Water Resources Impact, 5:1, 9-11.
- Neilson, B.T, Stevens, D.K, (2002). Issues related to the success of the TMDL program. Water Resources Update122, 55-61.
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | MultiMedia
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Technical Reports
Research Reports
- Neilson, B.T, Hobson, A.J, von Stackelberg, N., Ostermiller, J., (2012). Using Qual2K Modeling to Support Nutrient Criteria Development and Wasteload Analyses in Utah.
- Neilson, B.T, Hobson, A.J, (2010). Effects of Turbidity on Solar Radiation Reflection and Attenuation: Final Project Report.
Other Reports
- Neilson, B.T, Horsburgh, J.S, Stevens, D.K, Matassa, M.R, Brogdon, J.N, Spackman, A., (2004). Comparison of Complex Watershed Models’ Predictive Capabilities: EPRI’s Watershed Analysis Risk Management Framework (WARMF) vs. USEPA’s Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS/WinHSPF). Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State University
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Other
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
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Meet Tyler King
Presidential Doctorate Research Fellow