Honorable Mention: Touching Water

Photo by Skylar Hooler, graduate student Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

I am a researcher in the department of Geoscience focusing on hydrology. I am researching the movement of water between wetlands and canals and how canal management impacts wetland water loss . Wetlands are referred to as the Earth’s kidneys because they have the ability to transform and purify water. They also are home to an abundance of animals and rare wetland plant species. However, the slightest loss in water puts wetlands at risk for loss of function and shifts in plant communities. The image above is a well we install in the wetlands to reach the groundwater. With the wells I can retrieve water table levels, chemical parameters and water samples to track the movement of water and study interactions. Every once in a while I am met by alligators that call the wetland home!