The research interests of the School of Natural Resources water faculty are diverse and represent many components and processes of the earth’s hydrologic cycle including: atmospheric moisture transport, surface and vadose zone hydrology, groundwater, limnology, wetlands, water chemistry, isotope hydrology, contaminant transport and remediation, environmental geophysical methods, remote sensing and mathematical modeling. Research includes both field and laboratory investigations in Nebraska and the world.

Students conduct a dye tracer test in the Popo Agie River near Lander, Wyoming to determine stream discharge and travel time.

Students conduct a dye tracer test in the Popo Agie River near Lander, Wyoming to determine stream discharge and travel time.

Students install groundwater monitoring wells as part of a hydrologic study within Nebraska's Rainwater Basin region.

Students install groundwater monitoring wells as part of a hydrologic study within Nebraska's Rainwater Basin region.

The School of Natural Resources is housed in the newly renovated Hardin Hall on UNL’s beautiful East Campus. The new building has excellent laboratory, office, and classroom facilities to support research, teaching and outreach regarding natural resources. Hydrologic Sciences students have access to a number of resources and facilities, including the Groundwater Chemistry Laboratory for inorganic water chemical and trace metal analysis, the Water Sciences Laboratory for pesticide, oxygenate and stable-isotope analysis, the Soil Environmental Chemistry and Xenobiotics Laboratory for organic contaminant, RDX and xenobiotics analyses. Students may use geophysical equipment for seismic, resistivity, and electromagnetic surveys, and borehole logging.

Our mathematical groundwater modeling capabilities include computer codes such as Visual MODFLOW, GMS, SUTRA, PHREEQC, and NETPATH and high-speed computational facilities. Through the Water Sciences Laboratory and the Conservation and Survey Division, students have access to Geoprobe® and soil probe trucks, water well and geologic test hole drilling equipment, and an extensive geologic core library. Students may also work with the Water Center, the Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (in Remote Sensing / GIS), and the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Field research opportunities are available at the Rogers Memorial Research Farm, Gudmundsen Sand Hills Laboratory and a number of instrumented research sites.

Faculty Point-of-Contact

If you are interested in the Hydrologic Science graduate specialization, please feel free to contact the following SNR faculty member:

Dr. F. Edwin (Ed) Harvey

Advising Faculty
Faculty Member John Lenters (right)

Students and their faculty advisor conduct research to measure atmospheric-surface water interactions using a small boat equipped with an array of climate sensors.

Example Courses

Students learn how to measure stream discharge using a flow meter and staff gage in a stream south near Lincoln, Nebraska.

Students learn how to measure stream discharge using a flow meter and staff gage in a stream south near Lincoln, Nebraska.
  • Chemistry of Natural Waters
  • Contaminant Hydrogeology
  • Environmental Geophysics
  • Environmental Isotope Hydrology
  • Hydrogeology
  • Hydrologic Modeling of Small Watersheds
  • Hydrology
  • Limnology
  • Soil Physics
  • Vadose Zone Hydrology
  • Water Law
  • Water Quality Strategy
  • Water Resources Seminar
  • Wetlands

Examples of Thesis and Dissertations

Chlorophyll-based Models for Remote Estimation of Crop Gross Primary Production: From in situ Measurements to Satellite Observations - Yi Peng
  • Dissertation Defense
  • 5/15/2012

Crop gross primary production (GPP) is the rate at which a cropland captures and stores carbon as biomass. The synoptic and accurate quantification of crop GPP is essential for studying carbon budgets in croplands and monitoring crop status. Remote sensing can be used as a powerful and expedient tool for assessing regional and global crop GPP. The objective of this study is to develop a quantitative technique to remotely estimate crop GPP with in situ measurements and satellite observations. A recently developed model, which relates crop GPP to a product of total crop chlorophyll content and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), was justified and applied for estimating GPP in maize-soybean croplands. The model was tested at close range with vegetation indices retrieved from in situ measured spectral reflectance and ground-observed incoming PAR, and it was able to provide accurate GPP estimates in maize and soybean under different irrigation practices, crop managements, field histories and climatic conditions. The model was also applied to satellite observations to estimate crop GPP, with vegetation indices retrieved from Landsat and MODIS 250 m data and calculated potential PAR values, which is incoming PAR under a condition of minimal atmospheric aerosol loading. The model using vegetation indices and potential PAR can accurately estimate crop GPP based entirely on remotely sensed data.

Quantifying Evapotranspiration and Water Table Interactions in Regions of Shallow Groundwater: Sensitivity to Soil Properties, Vegetation, and Climate Variability - Evren Soylu
  • Dissertation Defense
  • 5/27/2011

A growing world population requires increased agricultural production, which relies heavily on irrigation. Up to 90% of fresh water is used for producing food, and sustainable management of water resources requires understanding various components of the hydrologic cycle, including the impacts of human activities and climate on evapotranspiration (ET) and groundwater recharge. Many watersheds around the globe are suffering from declines in streamflow, including the Republican River basin in the central Great Plains. Decreased streamflow can be attributed to human activities – such as land cover change and groundwater consumption – as well as climate variability. In this study, we investigated the interactions between groundwater and ET in shallow water table environments of the central Great Plains region. ET is a major component of the water cycle, plays an important role in the land surface energy and water balance, and interacts strongly with groundwater in riparian zones. We examined the modeled sensitivity of ET to soil parameters and changes in groundwater depth (for a specific field site in the Republican River basin) by means of a hierarchy of land surface models with varying degrees of complexity. The impacts of interannual climate variability and land cover on ET were also investigated for the central Great Plains using a land surface hydrologic / ecosystem model known as Agro-IBIS (the "Integrated Biosphere Simulator"). Finally, a new and improved field method was developed to estimate ET from diurnal fluctuations in shallow groundwater. This technique is similar to the White method, but it uses a multi-day, moving Fourier window to provide more accurate estimates of ET, and it also includes a new formulation for specific yield that facilitates application of the methodology to variably saturated environments (e.g., wetlands with standing water).

Admission Requirements

A student presents the results of her research to look at plant water uptake at a national conference.

A student presents the results of her research to look at plant water uptake at a national conference.

Potential SNR graduate students in this specialization must meet the following requirements and provide the requested information:

  • A bachelor's degree in a related field that includes the following preparatory course work:
    • 2 semesters - Calculus (three semesters recommended)
    • 1 semester - Statistics
    • 2 semesters - General Physics
    • 1 semester - Computer Programing (Fortran recommended)
    • 2 semesters - General Chemistry
    • 1 semester - Earth Science, Physical Geology, Physical Geography, or equivalent
    • 1 semester - General Ecology, Life Science, Limnology or equivalent
  • GRE with minimum recommended scores of 1120 for Verbal and Quantitative copmbined and 4.0 for Analytical Writing.
  • TOEFL score of 550 paper-, 213 computer- or 79 web-based (applies only to international applicants for whom English is not the first language)
  • GPA of 3.0 (on a 4-point system)
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Statement of purpose

Program Requirements

Print a document containing complete program requirements.

A student collects a lake water sample for chemical and isotope analysis as part of a lake water quality and wetland health study along the Platte River near Ashland, Nebraska.

A student collects a lake water sample for chemical and isotope analysis as part of a lake water quality and wetland health study along the Platte River near Ashland, Nebraska.

There are wonderful career opportunities in many varied areas within the hydrologic sciences. Program graduates work for industry, federal, state and local agencies, consulting firms, environmental groups, and in academics. Job possibilities exist in hydrology, hydrogeology, watershed management, water policy and planning, aquatic ecology, water quality groundwater/surface-water modelling, and wetland restoration, for example.

Natural Resource
Sciences Program
Specializations