Undergraduate Researcher return to map return to student search
Hometown:
Pocatello,
ID
US
(Bannock County)
School:
Idaho State University
Undergraduate student
Geology
Funded by EPSCoR Award:
ICREWS | OIA-2242769
Research Location(s):
Gibson Jack Watershed
COUNTIES: Bannock
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT(S): District 8
Research Statement:
I aim to understand how drought affects plant-water connections through analyzing streamflow, groundwater, and sapflow data across three drought years. In hopes of identifying rock materials that may mitigate drought effects, the study was compared with a previous study conducted in the same watershed, at the same elevation, near a perennial spring, on the same plant, and in different parent materials. We also want to see if groundwater dynamics and hydrologic connectivity across perennial to non-perennial streams reaches in the Gibson Jack Watershed in Idaho are influenced by drought. There is also the goal of determining the severity of the 2026 drought year through accumulated precipitation and snow water equivalent data.
Research Impact:
Understanding the hydrological, vegetation, and rock material dynamics during an extreme snow drought in the Gibson Jack Watershed provides insight into conditions experienced throughout the headwaters in the majority of Idaho this winter. Results from the case study can be transferred to other locations throughout the western US. These areas in particular influence agricultural water availability and hydropower production. Downstream areas that rely on support from water supplies face risks during droughts. The comparison of 2026 to two previous drought years shows possible expected trends of climate change in Idaho.