Geology Undergraduate Student and Professor Team Up to Research Climate Change in South Carolina

Geology Professor Vijay Vulava and College of Charleston Geology Major Lydia Nickolas earned a summer SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Funding) for their project entitled "Using Water Isotopes and Dissolved Organic Matter to Delineate Groundwater-surface Water Interactions in Low-gradient Watersheds."

Southeastern coasts are among fastest growing communities in the United States. In Charleston area, urban land use has increased over 250% between 1973 and 1994 and is predicted to increase by another 200% by 2030. The resulting urbanization and demand for land has led to significant alteration of coastal watersheds and degradation of associated fresh and estuarine water body health. Compounding this problem are the many effects of climate change-related extreme weather patterns -- e.g., large floods caused by moderate storms -- that could have grave consequences for the ecology and people that live here. The overarching goal of our research program is to understand how climate change related precipitation in coastal environments affects the landscape. Over the past four years, we have established a watershed monitoring research site in the Francis Marion National Forest to study how rainfall is processed by watersheds and how streams form in the aftermath of a storm. We have also developed preliminary conceptual models of how rainwater is processed using chemical ion tracer techniques. These conceptual models will serve as a baseline from which to forecast the impact of urbanization and climate change on coastal watersheds. In this study, we propose to use stable isotopes of water and natural organic matter present to improve the conceptual model. These chemical analytes are expected to be transformed as rainwater is infiltrates soil and become part of the groundwater-surface water system. This information will help us develop a more rigorous model that could be applies in all coastal watersheds.

• Category

  Science & Technology