Related Publications:
Microcosm Studies
Solute transport through heterogeneous environments is often poorly understood because of inadequate definition of aquifer stresses and boundary conditions. One approach to address these concerns is to transport a large, minimally disturbed, highly heterogeneous aquifer mesocosm to a controlled laboratory setting. This approach will bridge the gap between small-scale laboratory studies and large-scale field studies.
Modeling Watershed Scale Groundwater Flow and Geochemistry
Ground water chemistry is reflective of time-weighted averages of anthropogenic inputs originating from spatial and temporal patterns of land use. We developed an approach to examine potential relationships between land use-derived solutes and baseflow surface water quality using regional ground water and solute transport models linked to GIS. Our first test of this approach estimated chloride concentrations in surface water due to road salt transport through ground water in Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay watershed.
Further development of watershed-scale groundwater flow and transport models has been undertaken to examine the impacts of various land uses on nitrate concentrations. In Michigan, streams are predominantly groundwater-fed for much of the year. Therefore, understanding groundwater nitrate concentrations and fluxes is vital to understanding stream water quality. The figure on the left shows a preliminary simulation of total N concentrations in Cedar Creek, a small subwatershed of the Muskegon River in central lower Michigan. Continue reading “Modeling Watershed Scale Groundwater Flow and Geochemistry”
Field Scale Bioremediation Design and Reactive Transport
Ground-water contamination with volatile organic compounds is a significant national and international problem. Waters containing these contaminants are typically pumped from contaminated aquifers and treated by air stripping or sorption onto activated carbon. These methods are costly, do not destroy the contaminants, may require pumping and disposal of large water volumes, and do not effectively remove contaminants sorbed to the aquifer material.Accordingly, there has been a great deal of interest in alternative treatment strategies, such as enhanced in-situ remediation. Our research group in collaboration with the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Center for Microbial Ecology designed and installed a cost-effective biocurtain that is currently being used to remove carbon tetrachloride from an aquifer in Schoolcraft, Michigan. Novel aspects of the design are the use of closely-spaced wells to recirculate solutes through a biocurtain, well screens spanning the vertical extent of contamination, and a semi-passive mode of operation, with only six hours of low-level pumping per week.
Continue reading “Field Scale Bioremediation Design and Reactive Transport”
Interactions Between Hydrologic, Microbial, and Geochemical Processes
A fundamental issue in aquifer biogeochemistry is the means by which solute transport geochemical processes, and microbiological activity combine to produce spatial and temporal variations in redox zonation. Our Hydrogeology and Hydrogeochemistry groups are examining the temporal variability of TEAP conditions in shallow groundwater contaminated with waste fuel and chlorinated solvents. Continue reading “Interactions Between Hydrologic, Microbial, and Geochemical Processes”
Estimating Aquifer Properties from Geophysical and Tracer Data
New methods of estimating aquifer properties are needed to improve our understanding of the factors that influence the transport and fate of groundwater contaminants, and to better design remediation systems. Geophysical methods have long been applied to characterize oil reservoirs, while their application to characterize aquifers is much more recent. Our research group is developing a novel set of approaches that combine diverse hydrologic and geophysical data sources to estimate flow and transport properties with the highest resolution possible.
Related Publications:
Continue reading “Estimating Aquifer Properties from Geophysical and Tracer Data”
Matt Spansky
Matt’s bio.
Lon Cooper
Personal History
At the age of 15, I watched the Cuyahoga River burn from my back yard. From that point on, I knew I wanted to be in the environmental field. After thirty years of professional experience and management in the environmental field, I elected to return to school and work on my doctorate so that I could bring real world experiences into the classroom.
Research Interests
As a consultant, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the impact of contaminated groundwater on various surface water bodies. In many cases, the impacts were not as anticipated. Surface water quality should be directly linked to both the sources of contaminants and the water body’s capacity to interact with and adjust to changing environmental (hydrologic and geochemical) conditions. Unfortunately, the dynamics of surface and ground-water interactions are very complex and not well understood.
My research focuses on local-scale hydrology at a point bar system located on a tributary of the Muskegon River, where I am examining the relationships among groundwater, surface water, porosity, soil moisture, and hydraulic conductivity. To determine these local relationships, I developed a network of 20 monitoring wells, 2 stream gauging stations, four soil moisture stations and a weather station to collect the appropriate hydrologic data for my dissertation.
Education
M.Engineer, Geologic Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, 1983.
B.S., Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1975.
Publications
Bove, J. and L. M Cooper, 1990. “An Introduction to Geosynthetics: Fundamentals, Applications, and Design,” Short Course, 33rd Annual Meeting, Association of Engineering Geologists, Pittsburgh, PA.
Cooper, L. M. and R. Hosfeld, 1986. “Investigation and Remediation of a Pond Contaminated by Diesel Fuel,” 7th National Conference on Management of Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites, HMCRI, Washington, D.C.
Cooke, S. D.; Cooper, L. M and C. W Byrer, 1984. “A Site Characterization and Environmental Monitoring Approach for UCG Research and Development in Bituminous Coals,” 10th Annual UCG Symposium, DOE.
Howard, J. F., Komar, C. A. and L. M. Cooper, Editors, 1984. “Workshop on Remote Sensing/ Lineament Applications for Energy Extraction,” U.S. Department of Energy DOE/METC/84-9, Morgantown, WV
Cooper, L. M., 1983, “Applications of Geophysics to Hydrogeologic Studies in Routt and Jackson Counties, Colorado,” Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, prepared as an open-file report for the U.S. Geological Survey, Lakewood, Colorado. (Master’s Thesis)
Abstracts
Cooper, L. M., 2007, “Remediation of a “Free-Product” Contaminant Plume at a Leaking UST Site using In-Situ Bio-Remediation and SVE,” American Institute of Professional Geologists, Lansing, Michigan.
Cooper, L. M., 2004. “Dancing with Brownfields: The Zephyr Oil Story,” Association of Engineering Geologists Annual Meeting, Dearborn, Michigan.
Cooper, L. M., 1998. “Remediation of a Chlorinated Solvent Plume,” Association of Engineering Geologists Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington.
Cooper, L. M., 1996. “Quality Control and Quality Assurance in Environmental Consulting,” Association of Engineering Geologists Annual Meeting, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Complete CV
Chris May
I first started my career as geologist knowing that I wanted to major in either environmental geology or hydrogeology in my eighth grade year of middle school at my home town, Spring Lake, MI. I went on through high school never changing what I wanted to be all the way through high school and college by which I eventually graduated from Central Michigan University with a B.S. with a major in Environmental Geology and another major in Environmental Science.
In the fall of 2005 I applied to Michigan State University after being in contact with Dr. Hyndman (my current advisor). I was impressed on how close the research group here was and how closely everyone worked together. There seemed to be an abundance of research topics that I could have worked with ranging from hydrology to near surface geophysics. Two years later I am completing my thesis on Land use effects on sediment and nutrient transport. I have also had the chance to present my research from other projects I have done while at MSU at the American Geophysical Union (held in San Francisco) for three consecutive years and once at GSA in Salt Lake City.
My experience while working in this lab as a hydrologist and Environmental Geophysicist has befitted my career. The skill sets, knowledge, and working synergy that I have come to enjoy have been my number one reason I would recommend this lab to anyone. The unique combinations of modeling capabilities, hydrology related field work, near-surface geophysical methods, and the critical thinking skills that one can develop as a Master’s or PhD will provide a valuable skill set to any company, research group, or institution/agency.
I am currently interviewing for jobs out in the Seattle, Atlanta, and Denver areas. After graduating with my M.S., I hope to work a few years in the consulting industry and then go back for my PhD.
Anthony Kendall
Research Interests
My research has focused on regional-scale landscape hydrology, examining the terrestrial hydrologic cycle and its relationship to climate, vegetation and biogeochemical cycles. I c0-developed the Landscape Hydrology Model (LHM), an integrated modeling tool to study large-scale, fine-resolution hydrologic processes using modest computational tools. Partly due to the challenge of providing fine-resolution inputs at regional scales, and because of the importance of the questions at those scales I have become involved in all aspects of “big data” discovery, processing, and analysis. This includes using machine learning algorithms to yield insights into environmental phenomena and to better prepare inputs for process-based models. I am also (as my photo suggests) actively involved in field data collection, and view this as a critical and foundational aspect of hydrologic sciences.
I have spent most of my research career as part of large, interdisciplinary research teams, working at all levels from undergraduate to Co-PI. Along the way I developed a deep appreciation of the value of interdisciplinary research, and a recognition that most of society’s great questions lie not within the walls of a discipline, but at their intersections. In the last few years I and other members of the Hydrogeology Lab have built strong collaborations with climate scientists, ecologists, agronomists, socio-behavioral scientists, economists, and engineers. These collaborative relationships are driving forward the next generation of research here at MSU and around the world.
Education
- PhD 2009, Michigan State University, Environmental Geosciences
Thesis: Predicting the Impacts of Land Use and Climate Change on Regional-Scale Hydrologic Fluxes
Advisor: Dr. David W. Hyndman - BS 2004, Michigan State University, Mechanical Engineering
- BS 2004, Michigan State University, Astronomy/Astrophysics
Recent Publications
- Deines J.M., Kendall A.D., Hyndman D.W. (2017), Annual irrigation dynamics in the US Northern High Plains derived from Landsat satellite data, Geophysical Research Letters. Early View Available, DOI: 10.1002/2017GL074071
- Hyndman, D.W., T.Xu, J.M. Deines, G. Cao, R. Nagelkirk, A. Vina, W. McConnell, B. Basso, A.D. Kendall, S. Li, L. Luo, F. Lupi, J.A. Winkler, W. Yang, C. Zheng, and J. Liu, (2017), Quantifying changes in water use and groundwater availability in a megacity using novel integrated systems modeling. Geophysical Research Letters. Early View Available, DOI: 10.1002/2017GL074429
- Cotterman, K.A., Kendall, A.D., Basso, B., and D.W. Hyndman, (2017), Groundwater Depletion and Climate Change: Crop Production Declines over the Ogallala Aquifer, Climatic Change: accepted, DOI: 10.1007/s10584-017-1947-7
- Luscz, E.C., Kendall, A.D., and D.W. Hyndman, (2017), A spatially explicit statistical model to quantify nutrient sources, pathways, and delivery at the regional scale, Biogeochemistry: 133(1), 37-57, DOI: 10.1007/s10533-017-0305-1
- Martin, S.L., Hayes, D.B., Kendall, A.D., and D.W. Hyndman, (2017), The land-use legacy effect: Towards a mechanistic understanding of time-lagged water quality responses to land use/cover, Science of the Total Environment 579: 1794-1803, DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.158
Complete CV
Dushmantha Jayawickreme
Dush’s Bio