
Welcome to Water Resources!
The materials for this course were developed by three professors, two at Penn State (Dr. Michael Arthur and Dr. Damien Saffer) and one at Utah State (Dr. Patrick Belmont). Dr. Maureen Feineman and Dr. Erin DiMaggio teach the course yearly.
Pennsylvania State University-University Park | |
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Dr. Michael Arthur![]() |
Michael Arthur is a sedimentary geologist/geochemist with an interest in climate and paleoclimate and water/rock interactions. He is a Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University, where he has worked since 1990, and is Co-Director of the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research at Penn State. He received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees at the University of California, Riverside, and a PhD from Princeton University. He has previously worked with the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of South Carolina, and the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the Geological Society of America. Among other awards, he has received the Francis P. Shepard Medal in Marine Geology from the Society of Sedimentary Geology and the Lawrence L. Sloss Medal from the Geological Society of America. |
Dr. Demian Saffer |
Much of my research lies at the exciting crossroads between geohydrology, active tectonics, fault mechanics, and structural geology. My group’s research focuses on quantifying the relationships between fluid flow, mechanics and deformation, solute transport, and heat transport in a range of geologic settings. Specifically, my group's work centers on two basic themes: (1) understanding factors that control the distribution and magnitude of fluid pressure, particularly at active plate boundaries, and (2) constraining the flow pathways and fluid budgets in these dynamic hydrologic and tectonic settings. |
Dr. Erin DiMaggio |
Erin DiMaggio is a sedimentary geologist and volcanologist in the Department of Geosciences at Penn State University. Her research is focused on extensional sedimentary basins and tephrochronology. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, and Masters and PhD from Arizona State University. Before joining the faculty at Penn State in 2014 she taught at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She has taught classes in sedimentary geology, and field geology, as well as freshman seminars. She conducts research primarily in Africa but has also worked on geomorphology and tectonics-related projects in Spain and Mexico. Erin is part of an interdisciplinary team made up of geologists, archaeologists, and paleoanthropologists that work together to solve important questions about human evolution in Africa. Erin’s main research is focused on studying 2 to 3 million year old sedimentary rocks and volcanic ash layers in Ethiopia to learn about past depositional environments, rift tectonics, and volcanic systems. |
Dr. Maureen Feineman |
I am interested in understanding the processes that take place beneath the Earth’s surface in the lower crust and upper mantle. My primary tool is geochemistry. I use a combination of analytical geochemistry, experimental petrology, and numerical modeling to understand subsurface processes. A main focus of my research has to do with fluid-rock interaction at subduction zones, including metamorphic reactions in the downgoing slab, interaction of slab-derived materials with the mantle wedge, and volcanic processes occurring immediately prior to and during eruptions at volcanic arcs. |
Utah State University |
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Dr. Patrick Belmont |
Patrick Belmont is an Assistant Professor in the Watershed Sciences Department at Utah State University. His research combines hydrology and geomorphology with general interests in landscape evolution and sediment dynamics of modern river systems. He works in a wide variety of landscapes, from the upper Midwest, to the Pacific Northwest, southern Utah and Death Valley. Some of the over-arching questions of his research program include: How do climate, geologic history, and human activities in a landscape influence river hydrology and sediment dynamics? What are the mathematical laws that govern the erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment and how do those processes function at the watershed scale? How do landscapes and ecosystems co-evolve? What are the primary drivers and feedback mechanisms that determine the dynamics of life and it's landscape? Patrick teaches several courses at USU, including Small Watershed Hydrology, Fundamentals of Watershed Science, and Sediment Transport in Stream Assessment and Design. Prior to coming to USU in 2009, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Minnesota working with the National Center for Earth Surface Dynamics in the Department of Civil Engineering. Research during his post-doc identified a profound shift in sources of fine sediment in the upper Mississippi River Basin. Specifically, fifty years ago the majority of the sediment was derived from agricultural fields. More recently, the amount of sediment has not changed, but the source has shifted to near-channel erosion of streambanks and bluffs, which dramatically changes the conservation, policy and management strategies needed to reduce sediment loading. Prior to Minnesota, Patrick completed his PhD (geomorphology) and MS (aquatic ecology) in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Lehigh University and his BS in Molecular Biology at Texas Christian University. In his shrinking pot of spare time, Patrick explores/skis the mountains near Logan, Utah where he lives with his wife and daughter, and with diminishing frequency and ability, runs and plays golf. |