MWS

The Murphy Watershed Science Lab

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RESEARCH TOpics

Post-WILDFIRE
​Hydro-Geomorphology

With climate change driving increasingly extreme wildfire activity in western North America, it is critical we better understand how landscapes will respond after fire, as well as the risks that post-fire erosion and flooding may pose to lives, infrastructure, and natural resources.
Our group is focused on researching the geomorphic and hydrologic responses in recently burned areas through a combination of field monitoring, statistical analysis, and computer modeling.

Currently, we are developing a novel modeling framework (Wildfire Erosion & Sedimentation Toolkit, or WEST) designed to improve watershed-scale predictions of post-fire impacts and to quantify the potential vulnerability of downstream resource, such as water supply reservoirs and aquatic habitat. Coordinating with a large stakeholder group of representatives from wildfire and natural resource agencies, a key objective of this work is to develop tools that can help inform the management of forests, water resources, and fisheries in the face of climate change and increasing fire risks.
Collaborators: Patrick Belmont, Jon Czuba, Larissa Yocom, Belize Lane

Funders: National Science Foundation, Joint Fire Science Program, NSERC

Publications:

Post-WILDFIRE impacts

With climate change driving increasingly extreme wildfire activity in western North America, it is critical that we better understand how landscapes will respond after fire, as well as the risks that post-fire erosion and flooding may pose to lives, infrastructure, and natural resources.
Our group is focused on researching the geomorphic and hydrologic responses in recently burned areas through a combination of field monitoring, statistical analysis, and computer modeling.

Currently, we are developing a novel modeling framework (the Wildfire Erosion & Sedimentation Toolkit, or WEST) that is designed to improve watershed-scale predictions of post-fire impacts and downstream resource vulnerabilities, such as to water supply reservoirs and aquatic habitat. Coordinating with a large stakeholder group of representatives from wildfire and natural resource agencies, a key objective of this work is to develop tools that can help inform the management of forests, water resources, and fisheries in the face of climate change and increasing fire risks.

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