The Minnesota Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation
Pat Nevison
College and major
Short biography
In 2007 I received my A.S. from Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids, MN. Next semester will be my last as an undergraduate, after which I hope to continue my education at the U of M. With my degree I hope to help provide the quality and quantity of water necessary for the needs of our civilization. Groundwater depletion is one of my main concerns. I hope to find new methods of recharging our precious aquifers, as well as assisting the creation of analytic element models that can be extended to large enough areas to assess the results.
Research and collaborators
I am proud to be accepted as a North Star Scholar, and feel privileged have been exposed to the opportunity to perform research under Dr. Anne Lightbody of the University of Minnesota. We have the opportunity to address the hyporheic exchange as a function of stream water elevation at the Outdoor Stream Lab at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory. In particular, we will characterize piezometric head and subsurface flow rates during periods of high and low stream flow. Groundwater depletion is becoming a national concern. Recharge of aquifers is affected by stream water flow, which is changing due to climate change and water withdrawals. Water quality is a function of subsurface residence time and a better understanding of this flux will be useful in future predictions, as well as the development of enhanced models.