Adam Mitton

Ph.D. Candidate
Groundwater Resources Research Group

Areas of interest

An Ecological Assessment of Aquifer-Stream Connectivity

Description: The goal of this study is to characterize the ecological importance of groundwater discharge to streams. The responses of aquatic insect communities to changes in instream habitat characteristics, such as velocity and temperature, are characterized over a range of streamflows. Measurements of groundwater levels, streamflows, streambed temperatures, and water fluxes across the streambed are used to assess the influence of flow between the groundwater and surface water systems on the observed instream habitat characteristics. These complex relationships are used to estimate the impacts of groundwater extraction on aquatic organisms.