Brakefield, L.K., 2008, Physical and Numerical Modeling of Buoyant Groundwater Plumes, M.S. Thesis, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. http://hdl.handle.net/10415/1038
Linzy Foster
Linzy is a civil engineer in the Texas Water Science Center. Her research interests include groundwater modeling and the application of uncertainty quantification to models.
Biography
Linzy Foster is a Civil Engineer (Hydrologist) with the USGS in Austin Texas. She joined the Texas Water Science Center in 2012. She previously worked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the Florida Water Science Center from 2007-2012. Her research interests include groundwater and contaminant-transport modeling, saltwater intrusion modeling, application of uncertainty quantification techniques to models, and python code development.
Education
M.S. in Civil Engineering, focus on Environmental Engineering, Auburn University, 2008
B.A. in Mathematics, Maryville College, 2000
Employment
2005-2007 Graduate Assistant, Auburn University
2007-2012 U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Water Science Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2012-active U.S. Geological Survey, Texas Water Science Center, Austin, Texas
Science and Products
Date published: July 17, 2018
Status: Active Estimating Potential Effects on Streamflow from Nearby Wells in the Lower San Antonio River Basin
The USGS Texas Water Science Center (TXWSC) developed a groundwater-flow model to estimate the potential for streamflow depletion in the Lower San Antonio River based on changes in groundwater pumping in the watershed. Results from the project can be used by the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) to better understand aquifer interactions with the river and potential groundwater pumping effects...
Contacts: Linzy Foster
Date published: May 29, 2018
Status: Active Edwards Aquifer Groundwater Model Uncertainty Analysis
USGS Texas Water Science Center (TXWSC) is undertaking a 1.5-year study to assess parameter and predictive uncertainty in the Edwards Aquifer Authority MODFLOW Model using both linear and non-linear techniques. The Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) uses two models simulating the periods from 2001 to 2015 (verification model) and the drought of record of 1947-1958 (drought of record model).
Contacts: Linzy Foster, Michael N Fienen
Date published: May 29, 2018
Status: Active Coastal Lowlands Regional Groundwater Availability Study
USGS is undertaking a 5-year study to assess groundwater availability for the aquifers proximal to the Gulf of Mexico from the Texas-Mexico border through the panhandle of Florida, known as the Coastal Lowlands Aquifer System (CLAS). This study is one of several within the Regional Groundwater Availability Studies of the ...
Date published: May 1, 2018
Status: Active Water Budget Science in Texas
A water budget is an accounting of hydrologic components of the water cycle, transfers between the components, and their relative contributions within a water system. Water budgets help define how much water is available, how much water is used, where the water comes from, and at what rate water is replenished or consumed. In its simplest form, a water budget defines the amount of water...
Attribution: Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
Date published: April 26, 2018
Status: Active Modeling Science in Texas
Models provide the capability to simulate scenarios of possible future conditions and management options to help water-resource professionals with planning decisions. Groundwater models are commonly used to evaluate changes to the water budget of an aquifer resulting from land-use changes, water withdrawals, and climate, and how these changes affect streamflow, lake levels, water quality, and...
Contacts: Oklahoma-Texas Information, Linzy Foster
Attribution: Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
Date published: April 19, 2018
Status: Active Edwards Aquifer Studies in Texas
The Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas is one of the most productive aquifers in the Nation and is the primary source of water for the rapidly growing San Antonio area. Springs issuing from the Edwards aquifer provide habitat for several threatened and endangered species, serve as locations for recreational activities, and supply downstream users.
The USGS Texas Water Science Center...
Attribution: Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
Year Published: 2021
Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater characterization in selected alluvial basins in the upper Rio Grande basin, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, United States, and Chihuahua, Mexico, 1980 to 2015
Increasing demand for the limited water resources of the United States continues to put pressure on resource management agencies to balance the competing needs of ecosystem health with municipal, agricultural, and other uses. To meet these needs, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a multiyear study to evaluate water resources in the upper Rio...
Houston, Natalie A.; Thomas, Jonathan V.; Foster, Linzy K.; Pedraza, Diana E.; Welborn, Toby L.Attribution: Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Oklahoma Water Science Center, Water Resources, Region 6: Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf
View Citation
Houston, N.A., Thomas, J.V., Foster, L.K., Pedraza, D.E., and Welborn, T.L., 2021, Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater characterization in selected alluvial basins in the upper Rio Grande basin, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, United States, and Chihuahua, Mexico, 1980 to 2015: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5035, 71 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215035.
Year Published: 2021
Risk-based decision-support groundwater modeling for the lower San Antonio River Basin, Texas, USA
A numerical surface-water/groundwater model was developed for the lower San Antonio River Basin to evaluate the responses of low base flows and groundwater levels within the basin under conditions of reduced recharge and increased groundwater withdrawals. Batch data assimilation through history matching used a simulation of historical conditions (...
Foster, Linzy K.; White, Jeremy T.; Leaf, Andrew T.; Houston, Natalie A.; Teague, Aarin
Year Published: 2021
Extending the capture map concept to estimate discrete and risk-based streamflow depletion potential
A popular and contemporary use of numerical groundwater models is to estimate the discrete relation between groundwater extraction and surface-water/groundwater exchange. Previously, the concept of a “capture map” has been put forward as a means to effectively summarize this relation for decision-making consumption. While capture maps have enjoyed...
White, Jeremy T.; Foster, Linzy K.; Fienen, Michael N.
Year Published: 2020
Towards reproducible environmental modeling for decision support: A worked example
A fully worked example of decision-support-scale uncertainty quantification (UQ) and parameter estimation (PE) is presented. The analyses are implemented for an existing groundwater flow model of the Edwards aquifer, Texas, USA, and are completed in a script-based workflow that strives to be transparent and reproducible. High-dimensional PE is...
White, Jeremy T.; Foster, Linzy K.; Fienen, Michael N.; Knowling, Matthew J.; Hemmings, Brioch; Winterle, James R.
Year Published: 2016
New insights into the Edwards Aquifer—Brackish-water simulation, drought, and the role of uncertainty analysis
The Edwards aquifer is an important water resource in south-central Texas, providing water for residents, businesses, and ecosystems. The aquifer is a highly complex karst system characterized by areas of rapid groundwater flow, faulted and fractured Cretaceous-age rocks, and multiple water-quality zones. Karst aquifer systems include soluble...
Foster, Linzy K.; White, Jeremy T.Attribution: Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Water Resources, Region 6: Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf
View Citation
Foster, L.K., and White, J.T., 2016, New insights into the Edwards aquifer—Brackish-water simulation, drought, and the role of uncertainty analysis: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2016–3002, 6 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20163002.
Year Published: 2015
Updated numerical model with uncertainty assessment of 1950-56 drought conditions on brackish-water movement within the Edwards aquifer, San Antonio, Texas
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, began a study to assess the brackish-water movement within the Edwards aquifer (more specifically the potential for brackish-water encroachment into wells near the interface between the freshwater and brackish-water transition zones, referred to in this report...
Brakefield, Linzy K.; White, Jeremy T.; Houston, Natalie A.; Thomas, Jonathan V.Attribution: Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Water Resources, Region 6: Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf
View Citation
Brakefield, L.K., White, J.T., Houston, N.A., and Thomas, J.V., 2015, Updated numerical model with uncertainty assessment of 1950–56 drought conditions on brackish-water movement within the Edwards aquifer, San Antonio, Texas: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5081, 54 p., http://dx.doi.gov/10.3133/sir20155081.
Year Published: 2013
Estimation of capture zones and drawdown at the Northwest and West Well Fields, Miami-Dade County, Florida, using an unconstrained Monte Carlo analysis: recent (2004) and proposed conditions
Travel-time capture zones and drawdown for two production well fields, used for drinking-water supply in Miami-Dade County, southeastern Florida, were delineated by the U.S Geological Survey using an unconstrained Monte Carlo analysis. The well fields, designed to supply a combined total of approximately 250 million gallons of water per day, pump...
Brakefield, Linzy K.; Hughes, Joseph D.; Langevin, Christian D.; Chartier, KevinAttribution: Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Water Resources, Region 6: Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf
View Citation
Estimation of capture zones and drawdown at the Northwest and West Well Fields, Miami-Dade County, Florida, using an unconstrained Monte Carlo analysis: recent (2004) and proposed conditions; 2013; OFR; 2013-1086; Brakefield, Linzy; Hughes, Joseph D.; Langevin, Christian D.; Chartier, Kevin
Year Published: 2010
Effect of hypersaline cooling canals on aquifer salinization
The combined effect of salinity and temperature on density-driven convection was evaluated in this study for a large (28 km2) cooling canal system (CCS) at a thermoelectric power plant in south Florida, USA. A two-dimensional cross-section model was used to evaluate the effects of hydraulic heterogeneities, cooling canal salinity, heat...
Hughes, Joseph D.; Langevin, Christian D.; Brakefield-Goswami, Linzy