I am interested in groundwater/surface water interactions creating biogeochemical hotspots, or in other words, areas of unique chemical conditions that facilitate certain ecological functions. These ecological functions may reduce nutrient overloads, toxic metals, and promote ecological sustainability.

B.S. 2010, Geology, Edinboro University

My project uses ground penetrating radar as a geophysics approach to understand the controls of groundwater storage in high elevation meadows, specifically those in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA. This project also uses numerical modeling to quantify and interpret the availability and vulnerability of groundwater storage under scenarios that change different meadow aquifer properties.

B.A. 2011, Geophysics, SUNY Geneseo

B.S. 2012, Geology, University of Florida

B.S. 2012, Geology &Geophysics, University of Hawaii at Manoa

My project focuses on running multiple realistic High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing development scenarios in New York using historical well records in Pennsylvania. These scenarios would then be used to quantify the impact on water resources in Broome and Tioga Counties, NY over time using a transient numerical model.  

I am currently working on a project to further analyze the sensitivity of groundwater to surface water flow (vertical flux) estimates as calculated from temperature time series data.   To perform this analysis I am using numerical models created with COMSOL Multiphysics and comparing the output with the vertical flux estimates they generate using an analytical solution processed with MATLAB.

Environmental Engineer, Undergrad,

University at Buffalo

REU Student Sumer 2011

Over the summer I worked with Chris as a part of the ERIE REU program on using a distributed temperature sensing (DTS) system to measure heat transport in the subsurface as it relates to groundwater/surface water interactions.   My project involved creating a simulation sand aquifer in a barrel in which the DTS was buried, and testing it under different temperature conditions and collecting the DTS temperatures.  I then used COMSOL Multiphysics and MATLAB to model the thermal profile I should see in the barrel and compared it with the observed DTS data.  I found out that the DTS gave accurate readings, but was unable to match the model because my experimental data was collected with transient boundary conditions, which does not fit into the model.  I hope to do further work where I can rerun my tests with constant boundary conditions and see if that improves the correlation between the measured data and the model.  Outside of academia I am a member of the school’s ultimate frisbee team, like to jam out to my girl Ke$ha, and like long walks on the beach (seriously like a couple of miles).

Environmental Engineering

Marquette University

REU Student Sumer 2012

In this study a ground penetrating radar (GPR) system was used in streams to investigate changes in sediment type that affect the interactions between groundwater and surface water within the hyporheic zone. The GPR system was used in order to attempt to circumvent the limitations of mapping subsurface heterogeneity from surface exposures and core data in cobble bed streams. A Sensors and Software pulse EKKO Pro GPR unit was used with frequencies ranging from 100 MHz to 500 MHz to image stream bed sediments.  GPR surveys were conducted in 3 streams within the Cattaraugus Creek watershed in western New York. 

M.S. 2012, Geology, University at Buffalo

Thesis Title: DETERMINING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER EXCHANGE USING HEAT AS A TRACER

EMPLOYED: Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Butte, MT

Geology and Secondary Education: Earth and Space Science

California University of Pennsylvania

REU Student Sumer 2011

The REU this summer was a great learning experience. I worked with Chris Lowry and Jonathan Malzone on a project dealing with the identification of biogeochemical hotspots in western New York streams. I learned new field and laboratory methods in an unfamiliar environment which will help me in future research opportunities. The field methods training in the beginning of the program introduced me to many types of field equipment that I could use for my research or in the future. My research entailed field work in Cattaraugus Creek and Elton Creek, though my research poster focused on Elton Creek. We installed wells and took groundwater and surface samples to test for nitrates. In the lab, we used a chemical method to test the water samples and determined their nitrate concentrations. We also measured the head in the wells using a manometer I built in the lab. We were able to identify groundwater-stream mixing zones, which promote hyporheic activity. Comparing the data to benthic invertebrate counts supported those findings. I enjoyed being able to participate in a program like this, and really valued the experience.

M.A. 2012, Geology, University at Buffalo

Project Title: LINKING WETLAND VEGETATION AND GROUNDWATER LEVELS IN WESTERN NEW YORK

EMPLOYED: Applus+ RTD, Buffalo, NY

B.A. 2010, Fine Art, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

B.S. in Progress, Environmental Geoscience, University at Buffalo

B.S 2011, Geology, The College of Saint Rose

M.S. 2013, Geology, University at Buffalo

Project Title: THE EFFECTS OF BEAVER DAMMING ON GROUNDWATER FLOW THROUGH A WETLAND, BEAVER MEADOWS, NY

EMPLOYED: McLane Environmental, Princeton, NJ

B.S. 2011, Geology, Beloit College

M.S. 2013, Geology, University at Buffalo

Project Title: QUANTIFYING FINE SCALE DISCHARGE TO SURFACE WATER USING THE AMPLITUDE SHIFT METHOD WITH DISTRIBUTED TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS

EMPLOYED: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

B.A. 2010, Geological Sciences, SUNY Geneseo

M.S. 2013, Geology, University at Buffalo

Thesis Title: MODELING THE REGIONAL GROUNDWATER FLOW IN PROOME AND TIOGA COUNTIES, NY UNDER HIGH-VOLUME WATER EXTRACTION SCENARIOS DRIVE BY POTENTIAL NATURAL GAS DEVELOPMENT OF THE MARCELLUS SHALE

EMPLOYED: Stantec, Rochester, NY