USGS scientist John Fulton measures streamflow on Middle Fork Ranch Creek, Colorado using instream, conventional methods. USGS radar equipment is also shown recording non-contact river discharge.
Graham Sexstone
I am a Research Hydrologist in the USGS Colorado Water Science Center and Affiliate Faculty member of the Department of Geosciences at Colorado State University.
I investigate snow and hydrological processes in mountainous environments of the United States that are critically important for understanding water resources and availability for the nation. My current research uses a combination of field-based measurements, remote sensing observations, and physically based modeling over a range of spatial scales to better understand the spatial and temporal variability of snow water resources and how changes in snow processes are linked with changes to water availability, water budgets, and water quality. I received my PhD in Watershed Science from Colorado State University in 2016 and studied the importance of snow sublimation to seasonal snowpack variability. A list of my Science and Products are provided below and can also be viewed on my Google Scholar page.
Science and Products
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 atmospheric...
Estimating the Future Effects of Forest Disturbance on Snow Water Resources in a Changing Environment
In the Western U.S., approximately 65% of the water supply comes from forested regions with most of the water that feeds local rivers coming from snowmelt that originates in mountain forests. The Rio Grande headwaters (I.e. the primary water generating region of the Rio Grande river) is experiencing large changes to the landscape primarily from forest fires and bark beetle infestations. Already, 8
Linking water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles in seasonally snow-covered catchments under changing land resource conditions
Changes in snowpack accumulation, distribution, and melt in high-elevation catchments are likely to have important impacts on water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles, which are tightly coupled through exchanges of energy and biogeochemical compounds between atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. Our research helps to better understand how changes in climate will affect water availability...
Snowpack Sublimation - Measurements and Modeling in the Colorado River Basin
Snow is an essential resource in the western United States (U.S.), providing water for drinking, irrigation, industry, energy production, and ecosystems across much of the region. In the mountains of the western U.S., most precipitation falls as snow, which accumulates in seasonal snowpacks that serve as a large natural reservoir. Snowpack sublimation, which is analogous to evaporation from land...
USGS scientist measures streamflow on Middle Fork Ranch Creek, CO
USGS scientist John Fulton measures streamflow on Middle Fork Ranch Creek, Colorado using instream, conventional methods. USGS radar equipment is also shown recording non-contact river discharge.
Science and Products
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 atmospheric...
Estimating the Future Effects of Forest Disturbance on Snow Water Resources in a Changing Environment
In the Western U.S., approximately 65% of the water supply comes from forested regions with most of the water that feeds local rivers coming from snowmelt that originates in mountain forests. The Rio Grande headwaters (I.e. the primary water generating region of the Rio Grande river) is experiencing large changes to the landscape primarily from forest fires and bark beetle infestations. Already, 8
Linking water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles in seasonally snow-covered catchments under changing land resource conditions
Changes in snowpack accumulation, distribution, and melt in high-elevation catchments are likely to have important impacts on water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles, which are tightly coupled through exchanges of energy and biogeochemical compounds between atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. Our research helps to better understand how changes in climate will affect water availability...
Snowpack Sublimation - Measurements and Modeling in the Colorado River Basin
Snow is an essential resource in the western United States (U.S.), providing water for drinking, irrigation, industry, energy production, and ecosystems across much of the region. In the mountains of the western U.S., most precipitation falls as snow, which accumulates in seasonal snowpacks that serve as a large natural reservoir. Snowpack sublimation, which is analogous to evaporation from land...
USGS scientist measures streamflow on Middle Fork Ranch Creek, CO
USGS scientist John Fulton measures streamflow on Middle Fork Ranch Creek, Colorado using instream, conventional methods. USGS radar equipment is also shown recording non-contact river discharge.
USGS scientist John Fulton measures streamflow on Middle Fork Ranch Creek, Colorado using instream, conventional methods. USGS radar equipment is also shown recording non-contact river discharge.