Laramie Range Field Site
© Maneh Kotikian
Last updated: November 2015
Installing the electrodes
Photo Credit: Andy ParsekianInstalling soil moisture sensors
Austin Carey running rainfall
simulation tests at the Laramie
Range Site
Research
Water in the west is primarily sourced from snowmelt in mountains that occurs throughout the year providing freshwater for rivers and recharge for groundwater aquifers. The processes that water undergoes from the snowpack into a first order stream are crucial to investigate further because of the importance of this resource for society and ecosystems downstream. At my study site in the Laramie Range, located in southeast Wyoming, subsurface water flow often moves through the soil and fractured rock although its storage, residence time, and partitioning have not been well documented at the hillslope scale. Hydrogeophysics enables non-invasive measurements of water storage, residence time, and water partitioning in the unsaturated zone between the top soil and fractured bedrock and will provide a fresh perspective on hillslope hydrology and the movement of water through the subsurface. Time-lapse electric resistivity tomography (TL-ERT) provides the means necessary measure the electrical properties of the subsurface as they vary with moisture content on seasonal and annual time-scales. Water is the only material to change over the duration of the measurement, resulting in decreased resistivity.
Maneh Kotikian
© Maneh Kotikian
Last Updated: November 2015
Research
Water in the west is primarily sourced from snowmelt in mountains that occurs throughout the year providing freshwater for rivers and recharge for groundwater aquifers. The processes that water undergoes from the snowpack into a first order stream are crucial to investigate further because of the importance of this resource for society and ecosystems downstream. At my study site in the Laramie Range, located in southeast Wyoming, subsurface water flow often moves through the soil and fractured rock although its storage, residence time, and partitioning have not been well documented at the hillslope scale. Hydrogeophysics enables non-invasive measurements of water storage, residence time, and water partitioning in the unsaturated zone between the top soil and fractured bedrock and will provide a fresh perspective on hillslope hydrology and the movement of water through the subsurface. Time- lapse electric resistivity tomography (TL-ERT) provides the means necessary measure the electrical properties of the subsurface as they vary with moisture content on seasonal and annual time- scales. Water is the only material to change over the duration of the measurement, resulting in decreased resistivity.
Maneh Kotikian
Installing the electrodes
Photo Credit: Andy ParsekianInstalling soil moisture sensors
