Author Archives: Laura Toran

Dr. Jim Berglund and I produced a virtual field trip together this summer.  We interviewed well-known karst hydrologist Dr. Will White and combined the interview with drone footage of Jim’s PhD dissertation site to produce the 5 minute youtube video.  … Continue reading →

Dr. Sarah Beganskas and I are launching a Citizen Science Data Portal for our stream temperature monitoring project.  This portal allows our volunteers (and you) to see all of the data we are collecting and compare sites. Sarah has also … Continue reading →

Our team (MS student Kyle Collins, PhD candidate Gina Pope, Dr. Jon Nyquist and myself) installed a solar powered resistivity monitoring line at a stormwater basin in Upper Moreland Township.  One of the largest basins in the region, with a … Continue reading →

I found a new technique to install loggers and sample inside stormwater pipes.  I found a pipe seam wide enough to hold a meter stick, then attached the sensors to the meter stick.  It has held in place for several … Continue reading →

We were able to get out and survey our first stormwater basin using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to look at sediment distribution.  The GPR acted like a plow through the cattails in the basin.   We will compare the GPR data … Continue reading →

My graduate students and postdoc are slowly resuming field work to keep our loggers functioning and collect data while socially distancing.  We have forayed into the suburban watersheds and soon will have access to our Philadelphia stormwater basins.  It is … Continue reading →

My article on Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction was highlighted in the new edition of Encyclopedia of Water.  Free download! https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/book/10.1002/9781119300762/homepage/samplecontent.html?campaign=dartwol|5257352606  

Like everyone else, I am teaching online now.  It is a 3-computer production as you can see from my setup: When I am not teaching or zooming into meetings, I am trying to keep an eye on our field equipment … Continue reading →

This month was full of meetings … but the field season is not far away.  On the last day in January (too late for blog), I met with area hydrogeologists at Rutgers University to talk about textbook author John Cherry’s … Continue reading →

I started teaching a 1 credit drone course this semester to introduce students to the joys of unmanned flights  I have 3o undergrads and 10 grad students in the class. The course gives me an excuse to keep in touch … Continue reading →