Penn, C. A., Wemple, B. C. and Campbell, J. L. (2012), Forest influences on snow accumulation and snowmelt at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA. Hydrol. Process., 26: 2524–2534. doi: 10.1002/hyp.9450
Colin A Penn
Biography
Education
M.S. Hydrology - May 2014
Colorado School of Mines Hydrologic Science and Engineering Graduate Program
B.S. Environmental Sciences: Water Resources Concentration, Minor Statistics - May 2009
Honors College Graduate
University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Projects
Rocky Mountain Regional Snowpack Chemistry Monitoring
Upper Rio Grande Basin Focus Area Study (National Water Census)
cpenn-usgs GitHub Repository (R programming & model input)
USGS Groundwater Watch - Colorado Active Water Level Network
Hydrologic Models
Science and Products
Date published: May 29, 2018
Status: Active Upper Rio Grande Basin Focus Area Study
USGS is undertaking a 3-year study of water use, availability, and change in the Upper Rio Grande Basin in one of several national “Focus Area Studies” in the Department of Interior’s WaterSMART initiative. The Upper Rio Grande study area runs 670 miles from its headwaters in Colorado through New Mexico and northern Mexico to Ft....
Contacts: Natalie Houston
Attribution: Texas Water Science Center
Date published: January 25, 2017
Status: Active Rocky Mountain Regional Snowpack Chemistry Monitoring Study
Snowpacks collect atmospheric deposition throughout the snowfall season and offer a unique opportunity to obtain a composite sample of the chemistry of most of the annual precipitation at high elevations [> 1,800 meters]. The purpose of the snowpack network is to determine annual concentrations and depositional amounts of selected nutrients and other constituents in snow resulting from...
Contacts: Graham Sexstone
Attribution: Colorado Water Science Center
Date published: August 20, 2004
Status: Completed Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB): Loch Vale Watershed
Loch Vale is an alpine/subalpine watershed in Rocky Mountain National Park where the U.S. Geological Survey has been conducting research since the 1980s. Our research has focused on the effects of climate change and atmospheric pollutants on water, soil, vegetation, and aquatic life. The alpine/subalpine ecosystem in Loch Vale is sensitive to changes in climate and air pollution. Our long-term...
Contacts: David W Clow, M. Alisa Mast
Attribution: Colorado Water Science Center
Year Published: 2019
Estimation of base flow by optimal hydrograph separation for the conterminous United States and implications for national-extent hydrologic models
Optimal hydrograph separation (OHS) uses a two-parameter recursive digital filter that applies specific conductance mass-balance constraints to estimate the base flow contribution to total streamflow at stream gages where discharge and specific conductance are measured. OHS was applied to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream gages across the...
Foks, Sydney; Raffensperger, Jeff P.; Penn, Colin A.; Driscoll, Jessica M.
Year Published: 2019
Groundwater-Level Elevations in the Denver Basin Bedrock Aquifers of Elbert County, Colorado, 2015–18
Public and domestic water supplies in Elbert County, Colorado, rely on groundwater withdrawals from five bedrock aquifers in the Denver Basin aquifer system (lower Dawson, upper Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, and Laramie-Fox Hills) to meet water demands. Increased pumping in response to regional population growth and development has led to declining...
Penn, Colin A.; Everett, Rhett R.Attribution: Colorado Water Science Center, Water Resources
View Citation
Penn, C.A., and Everett, R.R., 2019, Groundwater-level elevations in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Elbert County, Colorado, 2015–18: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019–5014, 50 p.,
https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195014.
Year Published: 2018
Snow sublimation in mountain environments and its sensitivity to forest disturbance and climate warming
Snow sublimation is an important component of the snow mass balance, but the spatial and temporal variability of this process is not well understood in mountain environments. This study combines a process‐based snow model (SnowModel) with eddy covariance (EC) measurements to investigate (1) the spatio‐temporal variability of simulated snow...
Sexstone, Graham A.; Clow, David W.; Fassnacht, Steven R.; Liston, Glen E.; Hiemstra, Christopher A.; Knowles, John F.; Penn, Colin A.View Citation
Sexstone, G. A., Clow, D. W., Fassnacht, S. R., Liston, G. E., Hiemstra, C. A., Knowles, J. F., & Penn, C. A. (2018). Snow sublimation in mountain environments and its sensitivity to forest disturbance and climate warming. Water Resources Research, 54,1191–1211. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR021172
Year Published: 2016
Numerical experiments to explain multiscale hydrological responses to mountain pine beetle tree mortality in a headwater watershed
The effects of mountain pine beetle (MPB)-induced tree mortality on a headwater hydrologic system were investigated using an integrated physical modeling framework with a high-resolution computational grid. Simulations of MPB-affected and unaffected conditions, each with identical atmospheric forcing for a normal water year, were compared at...
Penn, Colin A.; Bearup, Lindsay A.; Maxwell, Reed M.; Clow, David W.Attribution: Water, Colorado Water Science Center, Water Resources, Colorado, United States of America
View Citation
Penn, C. A., Bearup, L.A., Maxwell, R.M., and Clow, D.W., 2016, Numerical experiments to explain multiscale hydrological responses to mountain pine beetle tree mortality in a headwater watershed: Water Resources Research, v. 52, doi:10.1002/2015WR018300.
Year Published: 2016
Water-quality response to a high-elevation wildfire in the Colorado Front Range
Water quality of the Big Thompson River in the Front Range of Colorado was studied for 2 years following a high-elevation wildfire that started in October 2012 and burned 15% of the watershed. A combination of fixed-interval sampling and continuous water-quality monitors was used to examine the timing and magnitude of water-quality changes...
Mast, M. Alisa; Murphy, Sheila F.; Clow, David W.; Penn, Colin A.; Sexstone, Graham A.Attribution: Water, Colorado Water Science Center, Water Resources, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, Colorado, United States of America
View Citation
Mast, M.A., Murphy, S.F., Clow, D.W., Penn, C.A., and Sexstone, G.A. (2015) Water-quality response to a high-elevation wildfire in the Colorado Front Range:Hydrological Processes,DOI: 10.1002/hyp.10755