Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2020UT304B

Obtaining Lidar Data to Support Research in the Logan River Watershed

Institute: Utah
Year Established: 2020 Start Date: 2020-03-01 End Date: 2021-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $20,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $58,957

Principal Investigators: Bethany Neilson

Project Summary: Snow recharged karst aquifers are the primary source of municipal and agricultural water supply in many mountainous areas including Northern Utah. Projected variability in climate may result in shifting patterns of snow and rain, thus creating uncertainty in water resources sustainability. Effective water resources management and planning needs to be informed by an assessment of climate change implications for karst mountain watersheds, and there is a clear need for better data to support predictive tools. Here we will complete a LIDAR flight over the mountainous portion of the Logan River watershed. This dataset provides detailed topography information that is complementary to other research focused on the development and testing of predictive hydrologic tools.