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Michelle Walvoord

Michelle Walvoord is a Research Hydrologist in the Water Cycle Branch of the Earth System Processes Division of the Water Resources Mission Area.

Michelle's areas of expertise include permafrost hydrology, unsaturated zone and groundwater hydrology, and non-isothermal, multiphase flow and transport modeling. Her current research activities are aimed at better understanding environmental impacts on hydrologic systems undergoing change in cold regions. She serves as an Associate Editor for Water Resources Research and as a science steering member the Permafrost Action Team for NSF's SEARCH project. Michelle is an adjunct faculty member at Colorado School of Mines in the Geology and Geological Engineering Department. 

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Tech
  • M.S.  in Hydrology, New Mexico Tech
  • B.A.  in Geology, Hamilton College

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

  • 2017 - present: Research Hydrologist and Team Lead, USGS Earth System Processes Division, Denver, CO
  • 2004 - 2017: Research Hydrologist, USGS National Research Program, Denver, CO
  • 2002 - 2004: National Academy of Sciences Postdoctoral Research Associate, USGS National Research Program, Denver, CO 

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

  • Outstanding Woman in Science Award, Geological Society of America, 2005
  • Langmuir Award for Excellence in Research, New Mexico Tech, 2004

 

Science and Products

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Example of thawing landscapes and thermokarst at our field sites

Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)

ABoVE: Vulnerability of inland waters and the aquatic carbon cycle to changing permafrost and climate across boreal northwestern North America. Carbon released from thawing permafrost may fuel terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems or contribute to greenhouse gas emission, leading to a potential warming feedback and further thaw.
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Alaska Science Center
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Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)

ABoVE: Vulnerability of inland waters and the aquatic carbon cycle to changing permafrost and climate across boreal northwestern North America. Carbon released from thawing permafrost may fuel terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems or contribute to greenhouse gas emission, leading to a potential warming feedback and further thaw.
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USGS science for a changing world logo

Potential Impacts of Prospective Climate Change on Groundwater Recharge in the Western United States

Groundwater withdrawals in the western US are a critical component of the water resources strategy for the region. Climate change already may be substantially altering recharge into groundwater systems; however, the quantity and direction (increase or decrease) of changes are relatively unknown as most climate change assessments have focused on surface water systems. We propose to conduct a broad
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John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
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Potential Impacts of Prospective Climate Change on Groundwater Recharge in the Western United States

Groundwater withdrawals in the western US are a critical component of the water resources strategy for the region. Climate change already may be substantially altering recharge into groundwater systems; however, the quantity and direction (increase or decrease) of changes are relatively unknown as most climate change assessments have focused on surface water systems. We propose to conduct a broad
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Water Level, Temperature, and Discharge of Headwater Streams in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska, 2016 and 2017

This data set includes 15-minute interval data on stream temperature, stage, and discharge from low-order streams in the Yukon River Basin in interior Alaska, collected during the summer months. The depth of the water and temperature were determined using a combined pressure transducer and temperature sensor that was deployed through the summer months. Different sensors were used in each stream an
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Alaska Science Center

Geophysical and related field data from the West Fork of Dall Creek, AK 2017-2019

The West Fork of Dall Creek is located ~100km southwest of Coldfoot, AK along the Dalton Highway, south of the Brooks Range. The West Fork of Dall Creek is composed of unburned black spruce forest with a burn scar from the 2004 Dall City Fire. Multi-season, multi-method geophysical data were collected both within the burned and unburned areas. Geophysical techniques used include Nuculear Magnetic
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Water Resources
Filter Total Items: 57

Sea-level rise and warming mediate coastal groundwater discharge in the Arctic

Groundwater discharge is an important mechanism through which fresh water and associated solutes are delivered to the ocean. Permafrost environments have traditionally been considered hydrogeologically inactive, yet with accelerated climate change and permafrost thaw, groundwater flow paths are activating and opening subsurface connections to the coastal zone. While warming has the potential to in
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Water Resources

Heterogeneous patterns of aged organic carbon export driven by hydrologic flow paths, soil texture, fire, and thaw in discontinuous permafrost headwaters

Climate change is thawing and potentially mobilizing vast quantities of organic carbon (OC) previously stored for millennia in permafrost soils of northern circumpolar landscapes. Climate-driven increases in fire and thermokarst may play a key role in OC mobilization by thawing permafrost and promoting transport of OC. Yet, the extent of OC mobilization and mechanisms controlling terrestrial-aquat
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Water Resources, Alaska Science Center

Complex vulnerabilities of the water and aquatic carbon cycles to permafrost thaw

The spatial distribution and depth of permafrost are changing in response to warming and landscape disturbance across northern Arctic and boreal regions. This alters the infiltration, flow, surface and subsurface distribution, and hydrologic connectivity of inland waters. Such changes in the water cycle consequently alter the source, transport, and biogeochemical cycling of aquatic carbon (C), its
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Water Resources

Saltwater intrusion intensifies coastal permafrost thaw

Surface effects of sea-level rise (SLR) in permafrost regions are obvious where increasingly iceless seas erode and inundate coastlines. SLR also drives saltwater intrusion, but subsurface impacts on permafrost-bound coastlines are unseen and unclear due to limited field data and the absence of models that include salinity-dependent groundwater flow with solute exclusion and freeze-thaw dynamics.
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Water Resources

Rapid-response unsaturated zone hydrology: Small-scale data, small-scale theory, big problems

The unsaturated zone (UZ) extends across the Earth’s terrestrial surface and is central to many problems related to land and water resource management. Flow of water through the UZ is typically thought to be slow and diffusive, such that it could attenuate fluxes and dampen variability between atmospheric inputs and underlying aquifer systems. This would reduce water resource vulnerability to cont
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Natural Hazards, Water Resources, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Invited perspective: What lies beneath a changing Arctic?

As permafrost thaws in the Arctic, new subsurface pathways open for the transport of groundwater, energy, and solutes. We identify different ways that these subsurface changes are driving observed surface consequences, including the potential for increased contaminant transport, modification to water resources, and enhanced rates of infrastructure (e.g. buildings and roads) damage. Further, as per
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Water Resources

USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with university, Federal, Tribal, and independent partners, conducts fundamental research on the distribution, vulnerability, and importance of permafrost in arctic and boreal ecosystems. Scientists, land managers, and policy makers use USGS data to help make decisions for development, wildlife habitat, and other needs. Native villages and cities
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Natural Hazards, Water Resources, Climate Research and Development Program, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Earth Resources Observation and Science Center, Land Change Science Program, Volcano Hazards, Volcano Science Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Permafrost hydrogeology

Groundwater processes are often overlooked in permafrost environments, but subsurface storage and routing can strongly influence water and biogeochemical cycling in northern catchments. Groundwater flow in permafrost regions is controlled by the temporal and spatial distribution of frozen ground, causing the hydrogeologic framework to be temperature-dependent. Most flow occurs in geologic units ab
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Water Resources

Wildfire-initiated talik development exceeds current thaw projections: Observations and models from Alaska's continuous permafrost zone

As the Arctic warms and wildfire occurrence increases, talik formation in permafrost regions is projected to expand and affect the cycling of water and carbon. Yet, few unified field and modeling studies have examined this process in detail, particularly in areas of continuous permafrost. We address this gap by presenting multimethod, multiseasonal geophysical measurements of permafrost and liquid
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Water Resources

Landscape matters: Predicting the biogeochemical effects of permafrost thaw on aquatic networks with a state factor approach

Permafrost thaw has been widely observed to alter the biogeochemistry of recipient aquatic ecosystems. However, research from various regions has shown considerable variation in effect. In this paper, we propose a state factor approach to predict the release and transport of materials from permafrost through aquatic networks. Inspired by Hans Jenny's seminal description of soil‐forming factors, an
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Water Resources

Integrating hydrology and biogeochemistry across frozen landscapes

Research has traditionally focused on atmospheric release of carbon from thawing permafrost, yet overlooked waterborne release pathways likely contribute significantly, especially in a warming Arctic. To address this knowledge gap and better constrain the fate of carbon in the North, we recommend inter-disciplinary efforts bridging physical, chemical and computational research.
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Water Resources

Soil physical, hydraulic, and thermal properties in interior Alaska, USA: Implications for hydrologic response to thawing permafrost conditions

Boreal forest regions are a focal point for investigations of coupled water and biogeochemical fluxes in response to wildfire disturbances, climate warming, and permafrost thaw. Soil hydraulic, physical, and thermal property measurements for mineral soils in permafrost regions are limited, despite substantial influences on cryohydrogeologic model results. This work expands mineral soil property qu
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Water Resources

Pre-USGS Publications

Walvoord, M.A., 2002, A Unifying Conceptual Model to Describe Water, Vapor, and Solute Transport in Deep Arid Vadose Zones, Ph.D. thesis, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, 297 p.
Hartsough P.C., S.W. Tyler, J. Sterling, M.A. Walvoord, 2001, A 14.6 kyr record of nitrogen flux from desert soil profiles as inferred from vadose zone pore waters, Geophysical Research Letters, 28, 15, 2955 - 2958.
Walvoord, M., P. Pegram, F. Phillips, M. Person, T. Kieft, J. Fredrickson, J. McKinley, J. Swenson, 1999, Groundwater flow and geochemistry in the southeastern San Juan Basin: Implications for microbial transport and activity, Water Resources Research, 35, 1409 – 1425.
Walvoord, M., 1998, Characterization of Groundwater Flow in the Southeastern San Juan Basin: Implications for Microbial Origins in the Deep Subsurface Near Cerro Negro, New Mexico, MS thesis, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM, 142 p.

Science and Products