Hydrology & Water Resources Management

Hydrology is a branch of geoscience concerned with the origin, distribution, movement, and properties of waters of the earth. This includes fluid flow and transport of contaminants in the subsurface environment. Past and present research focuses on a broad spectrum of hydrologic problems. These range from quantifying snow distribution and melt, rainfall and infiltration processes, floods, droughts, terminal lake responses, soil erosion, and groundwater/surface water exchanges. Additionally, modeling tools have been developed and/or applied to investigate stream water quality, groundwater contamination characterization and remediation, and complete watershed responses. Water Resources Engineering draws on principles from hydrology, fluid mechanics, hydraulics, environmental engineering, economics, ecology, political science, and other disciplines in the design and operation of projects and nonstructural methods for water resources planning and management. Research in this area focuses on simulation and optimization modeling and hydroinformatics to improve the planning, design, and operation of water systems over different spatial scales (e.g., individual users or transboundary river basins).

Hydrology & Water Resources Emphasis Information

Laboratory Resources

Logan River Observatory

Researchers at the UWRL and USU have developed and deployed an ecohydrologic observatory in the Logan River Watershed to study water as it transitions from high elevation snow accumulation and melt, through the mountainous and forested areas of the watershed, and down to the urban population center of Cache Valley. The LRO network of monitoring sites measures aspects of climate, hydrology, and water quality along this mountain-to-urban gradient using state-of-the-art sensors at aquatic and terrestrial sites for real-time monitoring of common meteorological variables, snow accumulation and melt, soil moisture, surface water flow, and surface water quality.

LRO Data is used for research projects, classroom and public education, as well as policy discussions and decisions. 

Logan River Observatory

 

Faculty