research

Our group works on a variety of projects with a focus on physical hydrologic processes on the surface and in the subsurface of the earth. We integrate geophysical techniques, hydrologic measurements, and mathematical simulation and have looked at a wide range of processes from fracture flow to vadose zone infiltration, contaminant transport, groundwater-surface water exchange, and groundwater-evapotranspiration connections. Additionally, we have worked on a number of interdisciplinary projects, including linking water quality degradation and human behavior, imaging moisture dynamics and their link with ecosystems, exploring changes in infiltration after fire, and quantifying subsurface controls on water movement in the Arctic.

I admit students most years into the Hydrologic Science & Engineering Program. Application materials are due December 15 to be considered for funding; I will note that funding is preferentially given to Ph.D. students such that not all MS students can be funded, and it is always hard to predict when funding is available. In general, I do not have funded projects waiting for students–I usually recruit quickly when grant money becomes available. You can find more information on the program and admissions process here. 

Below, I outline current and past multi-year projects of significant size; numerous other smaller projects are not listed here for brevity. All projects here have students already working on them unless noted otherwise.

Currently Funded Projects

PFAS Exposure and Health Effects in El Paso County, Colorado

Laboratory Technician Support: Expanding Capabilities for Experimental Hydrogeophysics Research and Outreach

  • Sponsor: NSF Instrumentation and Facilities
  • Project Duration: 2018-2023
  • PI: Kamini Singha
  • Technician Supported: Jackie Randell (2018-present)

Emergent hydrological properties associated with multiple channel-spanning logjams

How do interactions of transport and stoichiometry maximize stream nutrient retention?

Previously Funded Research

Unraveling Controls of Anomalous Transport Through the Integration of Isotopic Tracers, Geophysical Data, and Numerical Modeling

Coupled reactive transport and floodplain modeling of nutrient cycling

From Roots to Rock—Linking Evapotranspiration and Groundwater Fluxes in the Critical Zone

  • Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
  • Project Duration: 2015-2018
  • PIs: Holly Barnard (CU-Boulder), Kamini Singha
  • Students Supported: Rachel Feist Mares (CSM M.S., 2015), Ryan Harmon (CSM Ph.D. student, 2015-present)
  • See a video about the Critical Zone Observatories here: 

Unlocking the Transient Storage Blackbox: Revealing the Role of Less-Mobile Porosity in Hyporheic Denitrification and Greenhouse Gas Production

Climatic Extremes, Mining, and Mycobacterium ulcerans: A Coupled Systems Perspective

Geoelectrical Measurement of Multiscale Mass Transfer Parameters

What are the seasonal controls on stream-riparian groundwater exchange during baseflow recession in headwater catchments?

CAREER: Mass Transport in Groundwater: an Integration of Research and Experiential Education

  • Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
  • Project Duration: 2008-2014
  • PI: Kamini Singha
  • Students Supported: Daniel Wheaton (PSU M.S., 2009), Rachel Urban (PSU M.S., 2013), James Bethune (CSM M.S., 2014), Ryan Swanson (CSM Ph.D., 2014), Sydney Wilson (CSM M.S., 2015)
  • Field Camp Participants 2009: Nathan Barber, Maurice Dukes, Erica Folio, Mitchell Johnson, Valentina Prado, Tamika Shannon, Ahmed Izzuddin Yusof, Nate Wysocki
  • Field Camp Participants 2010: Tramond Baisden, Cody Bomberger, Adella Dexter, Derrell Mathis, Britton Mosley, Danielle Norcini, Claudia Shuman, Stephanie Troutman, Adam Wlostowski
  • Field Camp Participants 2011: Stone Abdullah, Lindsey Anderson, Travis Darney, Fatimata Diop, Irena Gorski, Austin Green, Lindsay Kromel, Lizzie Starks, Thornton Wilson
  • Field Camp Participants 2012: Cameron Boggan, Molly Cain, Brandon Clark, Ryan Creitz, Mercedes Gainor, Ammanuiel Kebede, Raleigh Koeberle, Bryan Tan

Toward quantifying kinetics of biotic and abiotic metal reduction with electrical geophysical methods

Regolith and the Critical Zone of the Susquehanna River Basin: The Shale Experiment

Development of Field-Scale Petrophysical Relations for Understanding Flow and Transport Studies in Fractured Media with Electrical Resistivity Tomography

  • Sponsor: American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund
  • Project Duration: 2006-2008
  • PI: Kamini Singha
  • Student Supported: Daniel Wheaton (PSU M.S., 2009)