WyCEHG postdoc uses hydrogeophysics to understand aquifers

For Mine Dogan, a geophysical engineer and postdoctoral research scientist with the Wyoming Center for Environmental Hydrology andGeophysics (WyCEHG), math and physics are the gateway to understanding the universe.

          

“I believe there is nothing in the universe that we cannot understand and/or model using math and physics,” she says. “Mastering these two fields gives one not only the knowledge but also analytical thinking and problem solving skills.”

Mine installs a pressure transducer at
a field site in Mississippi

She explains, “I like the way these two fields can expand people's mind and provide new perspectives. Geophysics is not simply a tool that you can hit some buttons and get what you need. It is a field of science which requires knowing the theories, limitations, pros, and cons of each method.”

          

Dogan, who grew up in Turkey, developed her interest in math and physics at an early age and that interest led her down a path of varied research projects. She received her bachelors and masters of science degrees in geophysical engineering from Istanbul Technical University in Turkey, and her PhD in hydrogeophysics from Michigan State University.

She has worked as a geophysical engineer in coal mines in western Turkey, and contributed to research projects related to archaeogeophysics and earthquake engineering. Currently, her focus is on hydrogeophysics, particularly in regards to aquifers.

“As a geophysicist, I want to contribute to this growing field by introducing innovative approaches to collect and interpret the geophysical data needed to map the spatial and temporal changes in soil, aquifers, and surrounding material,” she says.

Mine (right) measures snow density at the
No Name watershed in the Snowy Mountains

Her recently published paper, “Predicting flow and transport in highly heterogeneous alluvial aquifers,” provides a solution to a long-standing challenge of modeling flow and transport in highly heterogeneous alluvial aquifers. She and her colleagues coupled novel characterization tools and stochastic methods to provide the solution, which they hope will make a big impact in understanding contaminants in aquifers and developing effective remediation schemes.

Cutting edge hydrological research like this exemplifies Dogan's long-term goals of “contributing to the deterministic aspects of hydrology by developing novel ways to collect, process, and interpret geophysical data.” She hopes that in doing so, she can “collaboratively provide solutions to hydrogeology-, groundwater remediation- and pollution-related problems.”

Collaboration with other scientists is a key reason she landed at the University of Wyoming nearly a year ago as a post-doctoral researcher with WyCEHG. She sought an interdisciplinary environment that would allow her the opportunity to collaborate with scientists across disciplines.

Not only does her passion for math and physics motivate her to push limits with her research, so does the potential future impacts of that research.

Says Dogan, “Being able to provide knowledge which will likely effect the lives of next generations is the mostimportant and satisfying aspect of my work.”

For more on Dogan's work, visit www.minedogan.com, and watch this short film http://vimeo.com/112085751.

By Manasseh Franklin

Rock drilling leads WyCEHG scientists to groundwater

Not far from the Blair-Wallis picnic area in Vedauwoo near Laramie,Wyoming, literal breakthroughs in science are underway. A drill rig standing several stories tall and manned by four men wearing hard hats is moving, slowly. The drill is cutting through granite and pulling out long cylindrical core samples that offer UW’s Wyoming Center for Environmental Hydrology and Geophysics (WyCEHG) researchers unlikely clues about ground water in Wyoming.

            
The drilling began on October 7^th and will continue until four boreholes extending to depths of 262 feet are dug in the Blair-Wallis area. Once these core samples are gathered, the drill crew will move to the Red Buttes area south of Laramie. Researchers hope the Red Buttes area cores will extend to over 900 feet.

Drilling began on October 7th at Blair-Wallis.
Photo Credit: Brady Flinchum

"Understanding groundwater in mountain regions is crucial so that we can estimate how much water will be available for use downstream," says Brady Flinchum, a geophysics graduate student and WyCEHG member at UW. But groundwater can be a tough thing to measure, particularly in the Laramie Range.

“As it turns out, the granite rock type in the Laramie Range makes it extra difficult to quantify groundwater because groundwater flow is concentrated into small fracture zones,” says Flinchum. Information gathered from these boreholes will allow WyCEHG geophysicists to “measure the properties that control the groundwater flow and storage in the subsurface and to determine the source of groundwater. We will be extracting water samples from different depths and using geochemistry to see if the water in the subsurface is the same as the rain water or stream water.”

According to Dr. Steve Holbrook, this project is a hugely important for WyCEHG. “A primary focus of our work is using geophysical imaging methods to infer subsurface material properties, including hydrological properties like porosity and fracturing. With the geophysical methods we can cover a lot of ground quickly, but to have confidence in our interpretations, we need to have some ground-truth data to calibrate our geophysical images against. 

"The drill holes currently being drilled in the Laramie Range will give us that ground truth and enable us to extrapolate known subsurface properties over the larger landscape."

Granite core offers clues into groundwater movement
Photo credit: Brady Flinchum

Holbrook has been working on getting the project in place for two years. He credits the support and cooperation of colleagues at the U.S. Forest Service in getting it off the ground.

Flinchum agrees with Holbrook on the significance of the drilling. “Scientists using geochemistry can learn about the source of the deep ground water from our samples, which is all part of the story of how water travels from the high mountains to the oceans.”

             




By Manasseh Franklin

Faces of SRAP: Matt Trujillo

The Summer Research Apprentice Program has officially come to a close, and this is our final SRAP student spotlight. Thanks for reading about these excellent students!

Matt Trujillo, a junior from Denver, Colorado enjoys math and science, and explains,

“I like math because it always has a problem and always has a solution,” he says. “And I like science because it is an actual application of mathematics, and it is amazing to understand how the universe works.”

Before coming to the University of Wyoming to participate in the SRAP program, Matt wanted to study engineering after high school.

“I’m not sure now though,” Matt says.  “Geophysics is actually super interesting, so I might want to pursue that.”

Matt learned many new things about geophysics as he spent his summer studying with Dr. Steve Holbrook in the Geology and Geophysics department.

“I’m studying Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR),”he says. “It’s a non-invasive way of finding water in the subsurface.”

Matt’s favorite part of his project has been conducting the research himself.

“I really like actually using the NMR in the field and interpreting my own data.” He says.

Conducting this kind of research is something that most high school students, and even many undergraduate students do not have the opportunity to experience.

“He’s getting to use this instrument in the field, and he’s getting to analyze the data himself, he’s seeing it,” says Dr. Holbrook. “He’s actually doing what a graduate student would do.”

Matt enjoys geophysics for many reasons, and hopes to learn more about the field.

“I like that it’s super hands-on. I also like all of the different technologies you can use. They’re just cool,” Matt says. “I want to learn more about geophysics and how it can be used and applied in the real world.”

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search “SRAP” in the archives.

By Robin Rasmussen

Faces of SRAP: Blandon Su, Emily Oaxaca, and Kim Barrios

The Summer Research Apprentice Program has officially come to a close, but we will still be featuring a few SRAP participants on our blog! Stay tuned!

Blandon Su, Emily Oaxaca and Kim Barrios have spent their time at SRAP studying in the Ecosystem Science and Management department with professors Ginger Paige and Scott Miller.

“They got an introduction into a whole bunch of field hydrology and geophysics the first week,” said Dr. Paige. “They were in the field a lot.”

Emily (left), Blandon (middle), and Kimberly Barrios (right)
conduct field research

After their time in the field, Blandon, Emily and Kim each came up with a different research project to complete.

Blandon, a junior from Chicago, Illinois chose to study a stream, saying “My project is investigating a stream at Blair-Wallis. It’s funny, because one day, there’s a lot of water in the stream, and the day after, it’s starting to lose water, so my project is really open-ended.”

Understanding how water gets to the stream, and where it goes when it leaves the stream is a question that has long puzzled scientists.

“The great part about Blandon’s project is that it’s one of those hydrologic conundrums where we have to look at multiple avenues of investigation to figure out what’s going on,” Dr. Paige explained. “One approach doesn’t necessarily give you the right answer, you have to do this multiple times and figure out the complexities of what’s going on within the system.”

Emily, a junior from Denver, Colorado is working on a project that includes her fellow SRAP participants.

“I’m going to interview my fellow SRAP students about their thoughts and opinions on climate change,” she says. “I want to learn if it depends on gender, or age, or other factors.”

Emily hopes to become a better researcher in her time at SRAP, and wants to understand how different factors can influence people’s perceptions.

“I want to learn how to ask the right questions,” she says. “I hope to learn how to get better at talking to people.”

Kim, a recent high school graduate from Rawlins, Wyoming chose to examine rainfall and soil moisture.

“I’m measuring soil moisture and rainfall,” she says. “I’m also comparing different types of rain gauges and moisture sensors, to see which ones are more appropriate for different uses.”

Kim’s research will help WyCEHG scientists better understand the capabilities and limitations of the equipment they use.

Kim has decided to attend the University of Wyoming in the fall to pursue a degree in Architectural Engineering. Both Blandon and Emily plan to attend college after they graduate from high school, although neither has decided what they would like to study.

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. For more information about the program, click here, or search “SRAP” in the archives.

By Robin Rasmussen
Photo courtesy of Dr. Ginger Paige

Faces of SRAP: Caroline

From: Tennessee

Much like other students her age, Caroline, a recent high school graduate, plans to attend college. But unlike other students, Caroline will have an added benefit when she attends the University of Tennessee in the fall – hands-on research experience.  

Dr. Andy Parsekian and Caroline

This summer, Caroline will be working with Dr. Andrew Parsekian, in the department of Geology and Geophysics, as part of the Summer Research Apprentice Program (SRAP).

“Caroline will be working on a hydrogeophysics project using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to study tree roots,” says Dr. Parsekian. “We’re building this experiment from the ground up.”

Caroline plans to study geology when she goes to college, and her interests make her well suited for the field.

“I’m specifically interested in planetary science,” she says. “My ideal career would be being a professor at the same time as being a research scientist.”

Caroline is excited to study hydrogeophysics this summer and looks forward to the challenges ahead.

“I’m most excited about getting my hands dirty and really getting into research,” she says. “I’ve never really done anything like this before.”

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search “SRAP” in the archives.

By Robin Rasmussen

Photo by Robert Waggener

University of Wyoming and Jackson State University Students Study Ecohydrogeophysics in Mississippi

Rain could not stop University of Wyoming and Jackson State University students from going into the field Wednesday. Although Mississippi isn’t known for cold temperatures in May, wet weather came in mid-week to chill and soak students working in an area called Buck Chute, north of Vicksburg and near the Yazoo River in Mississippi.  Despite the elements, the field work continued, and smiling faces still peeked through shrouded raincoat hoods as students used geophysics tools to better understand what lies beneath their feet in a lush green wetlands enclosed by an important levee system.

“I was very impressed by all our students,” said Dr. Ezat Heydari with a grin. Dr. Heydari is a professor in the Department of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, and Geoscience at Jackson State University, and an important partner to the Wyoming Center for Environmental Hydrology and Geophysics (WyCEHG) for the Ecohydrogeophysics Field Course and educational exchange between UW and JSU.

Professor Steve Holbrook instructs students placing
geophysics equipment in an area called
Buck Chute in Mississippi

The day before the rain, students learned how to use the seismic and resistivity equipment in a large yard on the Jackson State Campus in bright 80 degree weather. This equipment allows scientists to “see” what is underground and help answer important questions about the properties of the earth. Although the two days were different by way of conditions, students felt the exercise was very interesting and didn’t mind getting a little wet in the field.

“I really liked using the seismic equipment and then seeing the data in the computer lab later,” said Naomi, a senior at Jackson State.

This is the second year for the Ecohydrogeophysics Field Course. Last year, students from JSU came to Wyoming, and this year UW students left on May 10^th for Mississippi. The two week course is made up of Ecology, Hydrology, and Geophysics sessions and field experience.

By Elizabeth Nysson

Photo by Elizabeth Nysson