Presented by:
Lorraine E. Flint, Research Hydrologist
Alan L. Flint, Research Hydrologist
California’s recent drought has highlighted the vulnerable nature of our water supply and ecosystems and amplified the need to understand hydrologic processes under increasingly extreme conditions. In order to increase the sustainability of our water resources we need to diversify our approaches to managing water, including taking a watershed wide approach and characterizing all components of the water balance. One of the more difficult aspects of the water balance to characterize is groundwater recharge, much of which is not generated within the groundwater basin boundary in a watershed. We have undertaken the characterization of the entire water balance using a regional grid-based model in order to improve and validate estimates of recharge across the state. We will present model calibration efforts and example applications for climate adaptation and sustainability planning.
*Early Registration (May 4) is $75 for Members* and $100 for Non-Members*
*Registration after May 4 is $100 for Members* and $125 for Non-Members*
SPEAKER BIOS:
Dr. Lorraine E. Flint has a Ph.D. in Soil Physics from Oregon State University and has been with the USGS since 1986. She has been involved in regional-scale recharge studies throughout the southwest, basin-scale rainfall-runoff and sediment transport modeling, and reach-scale floodplain sedimentation studies and hydrodynamic modeling. More recently she has been involved in investigating the influence of climate change on snow processes and water availability in the western U.S. Her current research involves downscaling future climate projections to ecologically relevant scales (1-km to 30-m) and using that as input to derive hydrologic response for projects throughout the western US, for analyses of water availability, flow and transport, snowmelt processes, and ecosystem change.
Dr. Alan L. Flint has a Master’s degree in Forest Soils and a Ph.D. in Soil Physics from Oregon State University. He has been working as a research hydrologist for almost 30 years studying surface and subsurface hydrology, regional meteorology, climate change, and hydrologic modeling. His current research involves downscaling future climate projections to ecologically relevant scales (30-270 m) and uses them as input to a regional scale hydrologic model. The research provides precipitation, air temperature, soil moisture, potential and actual evapotranspiration, solar radiation, climatic soil water deficit, snow accumulation, snow melt, sublimation, recharge, and runoff. These analyses provide relevant understanding to the role that climate change plays in influencing hydrologic response for water supply, wildlife habitat, ecology, and agriculture.
MODERATOR BIO:
Steven Phillips is a Hydrologist with the USGS California Water Science Center for 32 years, Steven Phillips has focused primarily on groundwater basin characterization and development of simulation models to better understand these basins, and to help manage these integrated hydrologic systems. Most of his career has involved addressing issues related to irrigated agriculture, managed aquifer recharge, land subsidence, and associated water-supply and -quality issues in the San Joaquin and Antelope Valleys, California. Steve joined GRA in 1999 and held officer positions in the Sacramento Branch, including Branch President, and is currently the Vice President of GRA. He has also been the Editor of HydroVisions since 2007, and is a member of several GRA committees. Steve received a M.S. in Geology from San Jose State University.