Future of Aquatic Flows: Towards a Synthesis of Changing Hydrology Under Increasing Climate Change and Disturbance Pressures

Understanding the paths by which water flows through the landscape is critical for providing fresh water for human use, maintaining ecosystem function, and better predicting how disturbances such as fire or drought may impact water quantity and water quality. Yet projected changes in climate, disturbances, and land use , are likely to alter hydrologic flow paths, and .natural resource managers increasingly require information about projected changes in water flow paths to plan for the future. 

To meet this need, researchers will conduct a synthesis of changing hydrologic processes in the North Central region, and communicate the identified management options and opportunities to natural resource managers in federal and state agencies. Through this project, a postdoctoral fellow will evaluate:  

1) how water flow paths and water quality vary with land-use and disturbance regimes;  

2)how shifts in the timing and magnitude of snow and rain inputs alter low flows and stream permanence; and 

3) how forest management techniques, such as forest thinning, can mitigate the sensitivity of forests and streamflow to droughts  

The results of this project can help natural resource managers better understand the future of aquatic flows in the North Central region and will also contribute to a national-scale synthesis on the future of aquatic flows across the United States.