Laura M Norman
Biography
Laura M. Norman is a Supervisory Research Physical Scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey, where she has worked since 1998. Her research combines remotely-sensed imagery and other geospatial data in complex hydrological, hydraulic, and LULC models to predict the fate & transport of non-point source pollutants and identify their sources, consider potential growth scenarios, and document impacts. The novel application of coupling established methods/models across scientific disciplines allows for a sophisticated synthesis of results that simulate and communicate risk, impacts of land-use and climate change, and proposed interventions. Given the added complexity to consider International cultural and political divisions in the binational Madrean Archipelago (Sky Island) Ecoregion study area, a hotspot of biodiversity and predicted climate change along the US-Mexico border, this research is being used to help establish best management practices in arid lands; characterize trade-offs between ecological, economic, and social values for land use decision support; and the establishment of a binational monitoring and tracking strategy for mitigation of flood risk.
PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION:
University of Arizona
Watershed Resources, Minor in Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis
PhD 2005
Pima Community College
Programming in Visual Basic
Cert. 2001
University of Arizona
Watershed Management, Advanced Resource Technology Option
M.S. 2000
Oregon State University
Forestry, Minor in Cultural Anthropology
B.S. 1994
APPOINTMENTS:
- January 1999 – December 2004: Research Assistant/ GIS Lab Instructor, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
- August 1998 – present: Research Physical Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Tucson, Ariz.
Principal Investigator:
- Aridland Water Harvesting Study, 2013-present, http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/science/aridlands/index.html
- Santa Cruz Watershed Ecosystem Portfolio Model (SCWEPM), 2010-2013, http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/science/ecoSevicesSCWatershed.html
- Western Region- Border Environmental Health Initiative (BEHI) 10/08 - 2012, http://borderhealth.cr.usgs.gov/IMS.html
- Predicting Environmental Consequences of Urban Development on the US-Mexico Border, 11/04 – 09/10, http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/science/us_mexicoBorder.html
- Geospatial Analysis of the Lower Colorado River, 6/04-09/07, http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/science/lowerColorado.html
- Colonias Monitoring Project, 09/02- 09/05, http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/science/colonias2.html
Student Mentor:
- Academic Affiliate, Adjunct status (Designated Campus Colleague), School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona (1997-Present)
- Lab Instructor & Teaching Assistant, GIS for Natural Resources (RNR 417/517). University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (08/00-12/04).
- NASA Space Grant Mentor (2010-2011).
- USGS Mendenhall Fellow (Post-Doc) mentor (FY12-13)
- Graduate Advisor to students (MS and PhD)
Science and Products
Tribal Land Vegetation and Watershed Modeling
San Carlos Apache Reservation covers 1.8 million acres in east-central Arizona, and has diverse ecosystems and vegetation types that support a natural resource-based economy.
Ciénega San Bernardino - Wetland Restoration
Desert marshes, or ciénega, are extremely biodiverse habitats imperiled by anthropogenic demands for water and changing climates. Given their widespread loss and increased recognition as important wildlife habitat, remarkably little is known about restoration techniques.
Patagonia - Gully Restoration
The Deep Dirt Farm Institute (DDFI), founded and directed by Kate Tirion, comprises 34 acres with deep agricultural soils, bisected by an ephemeral stream/wildlife corridor. The farm lies within a folded topography of hills, small sheltered valleys & broad meadow. A deep gully has diverted flows and needs repair...
Nogales, Sonora - Flood Control
Flooding in Ambos Nogales often exceeds the capacity of the channel and adjacent land areas, endangering people and property. Goals of RDS are to diminish impacts of flooding and sedimentation on wastewater infrastructure thereby reducing the incidence of sanitary sewer overflows. We are studying the Nogales Wash to prevent future flood disasters and RDS are being installed in tributaries. We...
Chiricahua Mountains - Reduction of Channel Gradients
Drainages in the Chiricahua Mountains are impacted by large rain events that cause gullying effects in the headwaters, overflow at road crossings, flooding of campgrounds, and overwhelming sediment loads at outlets (Chiricahua National Monument). Monsoon rains following recent fires cause severe flooding in most drainages and...
Babocomari - Managed Aquifer Recharge
We are working to investigate the most cost-efficient way to recharge the Sierra Vista sub-basin aquifer using rainwater harvesting in the tributaries of the San Pedro River using low-technology methods. Research is being conducted on the Babacomari Ranch, property of the Brophy family. The ...
Aridland Water Harvesting Study
Most of western North America has been severely grazed by cattle, causing grasslands to deteriorate and desert scrub expansion. Climate in arid and semi-arid regions is often typified by short, intense rainfall events which contribute to short-term flooding and erosion. Associated arroyo cutting occurs when ephemeral creek beds are carved into the floodplain when erratic overland flow occurs;...
A mosaic of land tenure and ownership creates challenges and opportunities for transboundary conservation in the US-Mexico borderlands
In the Madrean Sky Islands of western North America, a mixture of public and private land ownership and tenure creates a complex situation for collaborative efforts in conservation. In this case study, we describe the current ownership and management structures in the US-Mexico borderlands where social, political, and economic conditions create...
Villarreal, Miguel L.; Haire, Sandra L.; Juan Carlos Bravo; Norman, Laura M.
Spatial and temporal distribution of bacterial indicators and microbial-source tracking within Tumacácori National Historical Park and the upper Santa Cruz River, southern Arizona and northern Mexico, 2015–2016
Tumacácori National Historical Park (TUMA) in southern Arizona protects the culturally important Mission San José de Tumacácori, while also managing a part of the ecologically diverse riparian corridor of the Santa Cruz River. The quality of the water flowing through depends solely on upstream watershed activities, and among the water-quality...
Paretti, Nicholas V.; Kephart, Christopher M.; Porter, Thomas J.; Hermosillo, Edyth; Cederberg, Jay R.; Mayo, Justine P.; Gungle, Bruce W.; Coes, Alissa L.; Tucci, Rachel S.; Norman, Laura M. Modelling development of riparian ranchlands using ecosystem services at the Aravaipa Watershed, SE Arizona
This paper describes how subdivision and development of rangelands within a remote and celebrated semiarid watershed near the US-Mexico border might affect multiple ecohydrological services provided, such as recharge of the aquifer, water and sediment yield, water quality, flow rates and downstream cultural and natural resources. Specifically, we...
Norman, Laura; Villarreal, Miguel; Niraula, Rewati; Haberstich, Mark; Wilson, Natalie Modeling riparian restoration impacts on the hydrologic cycle at the Babacomari Ranch, SE Arizona, USA
This paper describes coupling field experiments with surface and groundwater modeling to investigate rangelands of SE Arizona, USA using erosion-control structures to augment shallow and deep aquifer recharge. We collected field data to describe the physical and hydrological properties before and after gabions (caged riprap) were installed in an...
Norman, Laura M.; Callegary, James B.; Lacher, Laurel; Wilson, Natalie R.; Fandel, Chloé; Forbes, Brandon T.; Swetnam, Tyson Remote sensing analysis of vegetation at the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona and surrounding area
Mapping of vegetation types is of great importance to the San Carlos Apache Tribe and their management of forestry and fire fuels. Various remote sensing techniques were applied to classify multitemporal Landsat 8 satellite data, vegetation index, and digital elevation model data. A multitiered unsupervised classification generated over 900...
Norman, Laura M.; Middleton, Barry R.; Wilson, Natalie R. Urban growth and landscape connectivity threats assessment at Saguaro National Park, Arizona, USA
Urban and exurban expansion results in habitat and biodiversity loss globally. We hypothesize that a coupled-model approach could connect urban planning for future cities with landscape ecology to consider wildland habitat connectivity. Our work combines urban growth simulations with models of wildlife corridors to examine how species will be...
Perkl, Ryan; Norman, Laura M.; Mitchell, David; Feller, Mark R.; Smith, Garrett; Wilson, Natalie R. Evaluating and monitoring forest fuel treatments using remote sensing applications in Arizona, U.S.A.
The practice of fire suppression across the western United States over the past century has led to dense forests, and when coupled with drought has contributed to an increase in large and destructive wildfires. Forest management efforts aimed at reducing flammable fuels through various fuel treatments can help to restore frequent fire regimes and...
Petrakis, Roy; Villarreal, Miguel L.; Wu, Zhuoting; Hetzler, Robert; Middleton, Barry R.; Norman, Laura M. Analysis of vegetation recovery surrounding a restored wetland using the normalized difference infrared index (NDII) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)
Watershed restoration efforts seek to rejuvenate vegetation, biological diversity, and land productivity at Cienega San Bernardino, an important wetland in southeastern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. Rock detention and earthen berm structures were built on the Cienega San Bernardino over the course of four decades, beginning in 1984 and...
Wilson, Natalie R.; Norman, Laura Quantifying geomorphic change at ephemeral stream restoration sites using a coupled-model approach
Rock-detention structures are used as restoration treatments to engineer ephemeral stream channels of southeast Arizona, USA, to reduce streamflow velocity, limit erosion, retain sediment, and promote surface-water infiltration. Structures are intended to aggrade incised stream channels, yet little quantified evidence of efficacy is available. The...
Norman, Laura M.; Sankey, Joel B.; Dean, David; Caster, Joshua J.; DeLong, Stephen B.; Henderson-DeLong, Whitney; Pelletier, Jon D. Multi-index time series monitoring of drought and fire effects on desert grasslands
The Western United States is expected to undergo both extended periods of drought and longer wildfire seasons under forecasted global climate change and it is important to understand how these disturbances will interact and affect recovery and composition of plant communities in the future. In this research paper we describe the temporal response...
Villarreal, Miguel L.; Norman, Laura M.; Buckley, Steven; Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; Coe, Michelle A. Comparison of remote sensing indices for monitoring of desert cienegas
This research considers the applicability of different vegetation indices at 30 m resolution for mapping and monitoring desert wetland (cienega) health and spatial extent through time at Cienega Creek in southeastern Arizona, USA. Multiple stressors including the risk of decadal-scale drought, the effects of current and predicted global...
Wilson, Natalie R.; Norman, Laura M.; Villarreal, Miguel L.; Gass, Leila; Tiller, Ron; Salywon, Andrew Model analysis of check dam impacts on long-term sediment and water budgets in southeast Arizona, USA
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of check dam infrastructure on soil and water conservation at the catchment scale using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). This paired watershed study includes a watershed treated with over 2000 check dams and a Control watershed which has none, in the West Turkey Creek watershed,...
Norman, Laura M.; Niraula, Rewati
WGSC Scientists tour a restoration project
Laura Norman's Aridland Water Harvesting Study helps lead a tour of a restoration and monitoring project at the Boy Scouts of America, Heard Scout Pueblo (HSP) in Phoenix, Arizona.
Laura Norman's watershed restoration presentation praised in local news!
There was a full house at Cady Hall on Saturday, Dec. 17 to hear USGS scientist Laura Norman, PhD, talk about our water, the liquid gold of the Patagonia watershed. Her presentation was sponsored by the Friends of Sonoita Creek (FOS).
USGS Scientist Researching 'Restoration Economy' in US-Mexico Borderlands
An article published in the Scientific American describes how conservationists along the poverty-stricken Arizona–Mexico are repairing habitat for more than 900 species of wild pollinators and boosting livelihoods.
USGS Scientist to Discuss Restoration Impacts at Hassayampa River Stakeholder Meeting
Laura Norman was asked to provide a presentation at the Hassayampa River Study meeting. Stakeholders in the 3,700 km² watershed are interested in the benefits of hydrologic modeling to assess if stormwater management practices would impact stormflows, sedimentation, and groundwater recharge.
Training Workshop for Emergency Flood Forecasting in the US-Mexico Borderlands
Laura Norman helped scientists from the USGS, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), and the University of Arizona (UA) to facilitate a software demonstration and training workshop for an Emergency Flood Warning System being created for the city of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.