All Courses

  • Quantifying Groundwater and Stream Interactions

    This module will explore field and numerical modeling techniques to quantify the movement of water between groundwater and streams. Students will be exposed to the current literature on groundwater stream interactions and get hands on experience with real world data sets. Techniques will include differential stream gaging, seepage meters, solute tracers, temperature tracers, and nested piezometers. Issues of scale, logistical difficulty, and method uncertainty will be addressed. Numerical modeling will focus on quantifying flux, flowpaths and residence time within the context of groundwater stream interactions. At the conclusion of this module students will be able to identify and implement the best methods at their specific field application. Prerequisites: Graduate level course in hydrology or hydrogeology.

  • Hydrologic Modeling for Hypothesis Generation and Scenario Development: Tools in R

    Eco-hydrology is the study of interactions among climate, hydrology and ecological productivity and biogeochemical cycling. One of the main tools used in eco-hydrology is computer based simulation modeling. These models combine data and theory to understand how plants and water interact and how decisions that people make alter water resources and plant and ecosystem health. This section will provide a brief overview of hydrologic and eco-hydrologic models and their applications. We will then examine, using in a class exercise, how ecohydrologic models can be used for testing hypothesis. We will consider both existing hydrologic models and simple model developed - on the fly - as approaches to quantify the implications of multiple controls on eco-hydrologic processes. The course will cover both designing a new model and selecting, calibrating and evaluating existing models. This is a skills based course and we will use R (a data analysis and programming environment) and student will undertake a model application project. Prerequisites: Upper-division undergraduate or graduate course in earth system science or hydrology. The course will use R. Instructor will provide links to tutorials that provide an introduction to R. Students who are unfamiliar with R should complete these prior to the module. Examples of topics students are expected to have familiarity with: • http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/academics/documents/ESM202-KellerandMelack.pdf • http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/academics/documents/ESM203-DozierandDunne.pdf

  • Coastal Hydrogeology and Land-Sea Water Exchange

    This module explores the physical processes of variable-density groundwater flow in coastal aquifers, submarine groundwater discharge, and mechanisms of seawater circulation. Processes considered will span spatial and temporal scales associated with waves, tides, seasons, and glacial cycles. Advancement of understanding through theory, numerical modeling, laboratory experimentation, and field measurements will be discussed. Implications and strategies for management of seawater intrusion and excess nutrient loading to nearshore aquatic ecosystems will be addressed. Parallels to groundwater-surface water exchange in rivers and lakes as well as inland variable-density problems such as brine migration will also be considered. Prerequisites: Course in introductory hydrogeology or groundwater hydrology.

  • Global Change, Crop Production, and Impacts on Hydrology

    This module explores the influence of crop production and global change on fluxes of water across the surface and through the subsurface. The course will span the interdisciplinary nexus of food, energy, and water through a compilation of current generation primary literature, related lecture topics, and relevant data analyses. Students will be introduced to concepts ranging from global climate change to climate impact assessments, and to methodologies including remote sensing, climate model downscaling, and process-based landscape hydrologic modeling.

  • Advances in Drone-based Remote Sensing for Hydrologic Applications

    This module focuses on the integration of remote sensing data into groundwater/surface water exchange, specifically addressing recent advances in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, to obtain high resolution, repeat imagery. We will begin the course with an overview of remote sensing capabilities and their integration in UAS platforms. We will then explore topographic analysis from photogrammetry and the development of high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) to compliment in-stream and groundwater measurements. The module will next focus on infrared sensing, both near-IR for vegetation density and stress, as well as repeated thermal IR for both stream and land surface temperature. Students will have access to photogrammetry and other remote sensing software as well as a suite of data sets. Prerequisites: Courses in basic differential equations, physics, and chemistry.

  • Ecohydrology of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems

    Ecohydrologic research investigates the effects of hydrological processes on the distribution, structure, and function of ecosystems, and the effects of biotic processes on elements of the water cycle. Groundwater dependent ecosystems are ecosystems that have their species composition and natural ecologic processes determined by groundwater processes. In this class, we discuss and quantify ecohydrologic processes in groundwater dependent ecosystems. We will develop techniques to exploit the signal contained within diurnal watertable fluctuations to quantify the groundwater component of ET. We will explore a variety of approaches for quantitatively describing how groundwater controls vegetation composition. We will integrate the understanding we develop about the ecohydrologic functioning of groundwater dependent ecosystems to simulate coupled hydrologic and ecologic processes for prediction of vegetation patterning. Prerequisites: Course in hydrogeology or groundwater. Familiarity with, or willingness to learn to use basic Matlab functions with quick start tutorial from instructor.

  • Coastal Hydrogeology and Land-Sea Water Exchange

    This module explores the physical processes of variable-density groundwater flow in coastal aquifers, seawater intrusion, and coastal groundwater-surface water interactions. Processes considered will span spatial and temporal scales associated with waves, tides, seasons, and glacial cycles. Advancement of understanding through theory, numerical modeling, laboratory experimentation, and field measurements will be discussed. Implications and strategies for management of seawater intrusion and excess nutrient loading to nearshore aquatic ecosystems will be addressed. Parallels to groundwater-surface water exchange in rivers and lakes as well as inland variable-density problems such as brine migration will also be considered. Prerequisites: Course in introductory hydrogeology or groundwater hydrology.

  • Educational Resources for Online Learning

    This site was created to facilitate community among Hydrologic Science Professors transitioning to online learning for the semester. Please use this as a forum to ask and answer questions, share resources, and connect with others. Help us foster a supportive community of teachers and learners.