Professors
Frank Magilligan
My teaching and research interests focus primarily on fluvial geomorphology and surface water hydrology. In particular, my research addresses stream channel and watershed response to environmental change – whether the change is generated by natural (e.g. climate change) or anthropogenic (e.g. agriculture, grazing, or logging) causes. For example, I have worked on the geomorphic impacts of catastrophic floods in the Upper Mississippi River as well as glacial outburst floods in Iceland. At a more local level, I have been analyzing the geomorphic impacts of Hurricane Irene that ravaged eastern Vermont in late summer 2011. Currently, I am focusing on the links between channel processes and riparian ecology, especially the role of flow regulation by dams on aquatic and floodplain ecology. This work was recently highlighted in a National Science Foundation online newsletter and PBS.
Carl Renshaw
I am a hydrologist with research interests in the response of rivers and streams to disturbance whether the disturbance is natural (e.g. large floods and climate change) or anthropogenic (e.g. dams, dam removal, and industrial and agricultural legacy contaminants). Much of my work with Frank Magilligan is motivated by the fact that extreme precipitation events are now 67% more common in New England than they were just 30 years ago. And New England has one of the highest densities of dams in the U.S. and is one of the leading regions of dam removal in the U.S. – with the number of dams removed year growing exponentially. Despite the growing number of extreme floods and dam removals, the science of river restoration lags behind its application.
Graduate Students
Evan Dethier
In my research, I focus on short-term changes in the form and character of rivers. I am interested in the effect of flooding on rivers on human timescales: what are the immediate impacts and how does the disturbance have a legacy in the system after several years have passed? These questions lead me to investigate the changing shape of rivers, the fate of the sediment that is transported or stored on their beds, and the rapid and/or steady erosion of the hillsides that are adjacent to them.
Rebecca Rossi
I’m interested in how hillslopes and rivers adjust to changes (climatic and anthropogenic) in flow and sediment. At Dartmouth, I have a unique opportunity to research how hillslopes and streams in New England are adjusting to increased rainfall events (e.g. Tropical Storm Irene) and dam removal. I use a combination of field and remote sensing methods, including my Master’s work on the development and error modeling of the ‘Structure-from-Motion’ photogrammetry method for cell-by-cell repeat topographic change. I’m interested in monitoring rivers through time and space with the appropriate data resolution for the geomorphic question or geomorphic signal of interest.
Jordan Fields
Jonathan Loos (EEES)
I study watersheds through the lens of coupled social-ecological systems. A scientific understanding of watershed processes in the Anthropocene must be coupled with an analysis of the governance, institutional, and economic conditions that drive human use – and potential restoration of – watershed resources. My research aims to understand how watershed science can be integrated with systems of human management to improve the condition of watershed resources, and to better support ecosystems and human communities.
Undergraduates
Shannon Sartain ’21
I’m from Long Island, NY and I am a member of the class of 2021 at Dartmouth. I joined the stream team my freshman year through the Women in Science Project, using Landsat imagery to research river mixing downstream of confluences. Since then, my research interests have expanded to those involving river responses to anthropogenic impacts. I’ve participated in two projects recently: one on artisanal-scale gold mining on tributaries to the Amazon River and another on changing flood patterns in North America. I enjoy helping with fieldwork in our group, and in my free time, I am usually outside with the Dartmouth Outing Club or in the ceramics studio.
Abby Wiseman ’22
I’m a ’22 from Williamstown, MA and I joined the stream team my freshman year monitoring sand deposits at the former dam site on the Charles Brown River through the Women in Science Project. My research interests have evolved to include flow modeling and studying how flows affect tracer rock movements. I also do a fair amount of fieldwork with Becca and Jordan, and in my free time, I am usually outside skiing or biking.