Bio


Steven M. Gorelick is the Cyrus F. Tolman Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Stanford University (on the faculty since 1988) and a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. He directs the Global Freshwater Initiative with past and active projects in India, Mexico, Vietnam, Jordan, and the US. Dr. Gorelick has published extensively in the areas of groundwater management, water security, water resources vulnerability in developing regions, optimal remediation design, hydrogeophysics, ecohydrology, groundwater solute transport processes, and global oil supply and demand. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Academic Appointments


Administrative Appointments


  • Cyrus F. Tolman Professorship, Stanford University (2005 - Present)
  • Professor, Stanford University (1996 - Present)
  • Associate Professor, Stanford University (1988 - 1995)
  • Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment (2010 - 2022)
  • Hydrologist, US Geological Survey (1981 - 1988)
  • Visiting Scientist, CSIRO, Brisbane, Australia (Spring and Summer) (2023 - 2023)
  • Visiting Scientist, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) (Spring and Summer) (2021 - 2022)
  • Visiting Professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich (Spring) (2019 - 2019)
  • Visiting Professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich (Spring) (2013 - 2013)
  • Visiting Professor, Centre for Ecohydrology, UWA, Perth, AU (Spring) (2012 - 2012)
  • Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge, Dept. of Zoology (Spring-Summer) (2007 - 2007)
  • Visiting Professor, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Eco Engineering Lab, Switzerland (Spring-Summer) (2006 - 2006)
  • Visiting Professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich (Spring) (2005 - 2005)
  • Visiting Scholar, Harvard University, Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences (Winter) (1997 - 1997)

Honors & Awards


  • Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Science, Technology and Innovation, Fulbright Foundation - Australia-America Program, CSIRO, Brisbane, Australia (2022-23)
  • Alexander von Humboldt Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2020-22)
  • Elected Member, US National Academy of Engineering (2012)
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2016)
  • Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2005)
  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union (1990)
  • Fellow, Geological Society of America (1988)
  • The Excellence in Teaching Award, School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University (2018)
  • Best Article of the Year, Padowski and Gorelick (2014), Environmental Research Letters, awarded (2015)
  • Fulbright Senior Scholar, Fulbright Australian-American Program (2008-2009)
  • James B. Macelwane Medal, American Geophysical Union (1990)
  • Editor's Choice Award, Srinivasan et al. (2012), American Geophysical Union, Water Resources Research, awarded (2013)
  • M. King Hubbert Science Award, National Ground Water Association (2004)
  • Fulbright Senior Scholar, Fulbright Australian-American Program (1997-1998)
  • O.E. Meinzer Award, Geological Society of America (1994)
  • Presidential Young Investigator Award, The White House and the National Science Foundation (1989)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Visiting Committee, MIT, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, (2015 - Present)
  • Advisory Board, Sustainable Horizons (2022 - Present)
  • Editorial Board, Optimization and Engineering Journal (1999 - Present)
  • Chair, Advisory Committee,, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Univ, of Science & Tech., Shenzhen, China (2019 - 2023)
  • Advisory Board, Middle East Water Forum (2019 - Present)
  • Invited Lecture, Australian National University (ANU), Fenner School of Environment & Society, Canberra, Australia (2023 - 2023)
  • Invited Lecture, CSIRO, Water Security, Canberra, Australia (2023 - 2023)
  • Invited Lecture, Flinders University NCGRT (National Centre for Groundwater Research & Training) Adelaide, Australia (2023 - 2023)
  • Invited Lecture, CSIRO, Land and Water, Adelaide, Australia (2023 - 2023)
  • Invited Lecture, CSIRO Water Security Seminar, Brisbane in-person and online, Australia (2023 - 2023)
  • Invited Lecture, Invited Lecture, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany (2022 - 2022)
  • Invited Lecture, Institut für Physische Geographie, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt, Germany. (2022 - 2022)
  • Invited Lecture (virtual), Development Lecture Series, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (OEFSE), Vienna, Austria (2021 - 2021)
  • Invited Plenary Lecture (virtual), 3rd International Forum on Water Security and Sustainability, Nanjing, China (2021 - 2021)
  • Invited Lecture (virtual), Disruptive Technologies for Improved Groundwater Management, Mashreq Water Knowledge Series, Lebanon (2021 - 2021)
  • Invited Lectures, World Bank, India; ETH-Zurich, Inst. of Sci, Tech. and Policy; EPFL, Lausanne, Envi. Eng. Seminar (2019 - 2019)
  • Invited Lecture, Geoscience Australia Distinguished Lecturer, Canberra, Australia (2018 - 2018)
  • Advisory Committee, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Univ. of Science & Tech., Shenzhen, China (2015 - 2018)
  • Invited Lecture, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand (2018 - 2018)
  • Invited Lecture, New Zealand Ministry for the Environment, Wellington, NZ (2018 - 2018)
  • Chair, University Committee on Research, Stanford University (2015 - 2018)
  • Invited Speaker/Panelist, Panelist, Day Zero: Water, Climate Change, and Governance in MENA, University of Southern California (2018 - 2018)
  • Keynote Speaker, HydroEco 2017, Birmingham, UK (2017 - 2017)
  • Invited Expert, International Water Security Foresight Workshop, Rand Corporation (2015 - 2015)
  • Invited Speaker, American Geophysical Union Meeting, San Franciso (2016 - 2016)
  • Keynote Lecturer, GQ16 - Intl Conference on Groundwater Quality 2016, Shenzhen, China (2016 - 2016)
  • Invited Speaker, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK (2017 - 2017)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Groundwater Quality 2016 (GQ16), Shenzhen, China, International Association of Hydrologic Sciences (2015 - 2016)
  • Co-Convener, Water-Energy Nexus – Hydrologic Impacts and Implications of Energy Development, AGU, American Geophysical Union (2015 - 2015)
  • Invited Lecture, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany (2015 - 2015)
  • Invited Lecture, Stanford Global Health Research Convening (2015 - 2015)
  • Panelist, TM40, Thinking Matters, A Transition to Sustainability (2014 - 2016)
  • Chair, faculty candidate evaluation committee, Dept. of Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University (2014 - 2014)
  • Invited Lecture, CEE179S/279S, Issues in Environmental Engineering, Science and Sustainability (2014 - 2014)
  • Invited Lecture, Environmental Engineering Seminar Series, UC Berkeley (2014 - 2014)
  • Invited Lecturer, Woods Institute, Retreat, Santa Cruz, CA (2014 - 2014)
  • Reivew panel member, National Science Foundation, Hydrologic Sciences Program (2014 - 2014)
  • Water Panel Presentation, Global Freshwater Initiative, Woods Institute for the Environment (2014 - 2014)
  • Member, Stanford University Committee on Research, Stanford University (2013 - 2015)
  • Faculty candidate evaluator, Stanford in Government Fellowship program (2013 - 2014)
  • Member, faculty promotion committee, Dept. of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University (2013 - 2014)
  • Energy Resources Engineering, Faculty Promotion Committee, Stanford University (2013 - 2013)
  • Invited Lecturer, ETH Zurich, EPFL, Univ. of Paris VI, CA Independent Petroleum Assoc., and Chevron Fellows Meeting (2013 - 2013)
  • Invited Lecturer, ETH, Zurich and EAWAG, Dubendorf (2013 - 2013)
  • Keynote Lecturer, Vienna Catchment Science Symposium, on the theme of: Socio-hydrology – a new science of people and water (2013 - 2013)
  • Member, ESS/EESS Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2012 - Present)
  • Chair, EESS Senior Faculty Appointment Committee (joint appointment with Woods and Precourt Institutes), Stanford University (2012 - 2013)
  • Member, EESS Faculty Promotion and Tenure Committee, Stanford University (2012 - 2013)
  • Invited Lecturer, CSIRO Land and Water, Perth Australia (2012 - 2012)
  • Invited Lecturer, Distinguished Lecture Series, International Water Symposium, Geoscience Australia, Canberra (2012 - 2012)
  • Invited Lecturer, Earth Resources Engineering Section, National Academy of Engineering, Washington DC (2012 - 2012)
  • Invited Lecturer, Nanyang Technological University, Earth Observatory of Singapore (2012 - 2012)
  • Invited Lecturer, Flinders University, National Groundwater Centre (NCGRT), Adelaide, Australia (2012 - 2012)
  • Plenary Lecturer, 34th International Geologic Congress, Brisbane, Australia (2012 - 2012)
  • Member, AGU Hydrology Section, Water and Society Technical Committee (2011 - Present)
  • Co-Organizer, AGU Session, Water and Society. (2011 - 2011)
  • Co-Organizer, AGU Session, Assessing Global Soil Change, Impacts on Hydrological and Ecosystem Services. (2011 - 2011)
  • External Reviewer, Doctorate of Xiang Zhao Kong, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH, Zurich (2011 - 2011)
  • Invited Speaker, ESR, New Zealand (2011 - 2011)
  • Keynote Speaker, River Corridor Restoration Conference 2011, Ascona, Switzerland (2011 - 2011)
  • Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment (2010 - Present)
  • Member, Visiting Committee, Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College (2010 - 2010)
  • Director, Stanford Global Freshwater Initiative, Woods Institute/Stanford University (2009 - Present)
  • Chair, EESS Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2009 - 2011)
  • Featured presenter, Woods Advisory Board meeting and Woods Water Salon (2009 - 2010)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Committee,, HydroPredict 2010, Prague (2009 - 2010)
  • Invited Speaker, CSIRO Perth, University of Western Australia Perth, International Association of Hydrogeologists (Perth), Engineers of Western Australia, UC Merced, USGS (Menlo Park) (2009 - 2009)
  • Moderator, Uncommon Dialogue, Stanford Water Resources Sustainability Inittiative (2009 - 2009)
  • Member, Faculty Search Committee in Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University (2008 - 2009)
  • Invited Plenary Lecturer, Pioneers in Groundwater, 6th Annual Groundwater Hydrology, Quality, and Management Symposium, ASCE, World Environmental and Water Resources Congress (2008 - 2008)
  • Invited Speaker, Symposium on Water Resources Systems Analysis: The Contributions of William Yeh (2008 - 2008)
  • Invited Speaker, UC Davis Hydrologic Science Seminar (2008 - 2008)
  • Lecturer, Troubed Waters, School of Earth Sciences public lecture series, Stanford University (2008 - 2008)
  • Panelist, NSF Hydrologic Sciences, CUAHSI Review (2008 - 2008)
  • Chair, Admissions Committee, Dept. of Geological & Environmental Sciences and Dept. of Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University (2007 - 2008)
  • Member, Faculty Search Committee for a Computational Geoscientist, Stanford University (2007 - 2008)
  • Member, Faculty Search Committee for an Ecohydrologist, Stanford University (2007 - 2008)
  • Scientific Advisory Committee, HydroPredict '2008, Prague (2007 - 2008)
  • Invited Lecturer, Cambridge Conservation Forum, University of Cambridge, UK (2007 - 2007)
  • Invited Lecturer, University of Paris, Laboratory of Applied Geology (2007 - 2007)
  • Chair, Promotion Evaluation Committee, Stanford University (2006 - 2007)
  • Invited Lecturer, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Ecological Engineering Laboratory, Switzerland (2006 - 2006)
  • Affiliated faculty, E-IPER (formerly IPER), Stanford University (2005 - Present)
  • Faculty Advisory Panel, Center for Computational Earth and Environmental Science, Stanford University (2005 - 2010)
  • Chair, Admissions Committee, Dept. of Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University (2005 - 2007)
  • Stanford Representative, Consortium of Universities for Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences (2005 - 2007)
  • Invited Lecturer, University of Barcelona, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), and Swiss National Research Center for Water Pollution Control (EAWAG) (2005 - 2005)
  • Paloeclimate Faculty Pre-search Committee, Stanford University (2005 - 2005)
  • SES Center for Computation, Planning Committee, Stanford University (2005 - 2005)
  • Member, Earth Sciences Council, School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University (2004 - Present)
  • Graduate Faculty, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa (2004 - 2005)
  • Invited Speaker, UC Davis Distinguished Speaker Series (2004 - 2004)
  • Invited Speaker and Panel Member, Finite Element Modeling and Modflow Conference, Carlsbad, Czech Republic (2004 - 2004)
  • Member, SES Computer Resources Review Committee, Stanford University (2004 - 2004)
  • Member, SES Student Space and Funding Review Committee, Stanford University (2004 - 2004)
  • Member, CUAHSI California Hydrologic Observatory Working Group (2003 - 2005)
  • Member, Faculty Search Committee, Dept. of Geophysics, Stanford University (2003 - 2005)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Finite Element Modeling and Modflow Conference, Carlsbad, Czech Republic (2003 - 2004)
  • Invited Lecturer,, US Geological Survey Water Resources Division Seminar Series (2003 - 2003)
  • Member, CUAHSI, Audit Committee an Legal Affairs Charter Mission Review Group (2003 - 2003)
  • Advisor, Evaluation of Demand Uncertainty in Optimal Groundwater Management in Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay Water (2002 - Present)
  • Member, Hydrology Section AGU Fellows Committee (2002 - 2004)
  • Invited Lecturer, Water Resources Division Seminar Series, US Geological Survey (2002 - 2002)
  • Member, CUAHSI Executive Director Search Committee (2002 - 2002)
  • Advisor, Regional Aquifer Model Development, Texas Water Development Board (Duke/Intera) (2001 - 2004)
  • Advisory Committee, UPS Foundation Grant Program (2001 - 2004)
  • Representative to and Member of the Board of Directors, Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (2001 - 2004)
  • Member, Admissions Committee, Dept. of Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University (2001 - 2003)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, ModelCare 2002, Prague (2001 - 2002)
  • Editorial Board, Transport in Porous Media (TiPM) (2000 - 2004)
  • Member, Hydrogeology Program Planning Group, Ocean Drilling Program/Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOIDES) for Deep Earth Sampling (2000 - 2002)
  • Invited Lecturer, The Johns Hopkins University (2000 - 2000)
  • Member, Faculty Search Committee, Dept. of Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University (2000 - 2000)
  • Associate Editor, Hydrogeology Journal (1999 - 2002)
  • Scientific Advisory Committee, International Conference on Future Groundwater Resources at Risk, Lisbon, Portugal (1999 - 2001)
  • Member, National Research Council Committee on Grand Challenges in Environmental Sciences Research (1999 - 2000)
  • Member, Expert Panel, Review of Minimum Flows and Water Levels, Southwest Florida Water Management District (1999 - 2000)
  • External Academic Juror,, Technical University of Denmark (1999 - 1999)
  • Chair, Review Panel for Hanford Sitewide Groundwater Model, PNNL/DOE (1998 - 2000)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Groundwater 2000, Copenhagen (1998 - 2000)
  • Member, Macelwane Medal Selection Committee, AGU (1998 - 1999)
  • External Examiner, Ph.D. Committee, Technical University of Denmark 1998 External Juror, Ph.D. Jury, University of Paris, France (1998 - 1998)
  • Invited Speaker, Groundwater Research Centre, Technical University of Denmark (1998 - 1998)
  • Chair, Admissions Committee, Dept. of Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University (1997 - 2000)
  • Scientific Advisory Committee, Model Calibration and Reliability Conference, Zurich, Switzerland. (1997 - 1999)
  • Chair, GSA Meinzer Award Committee (1997 - 1998)
  • Instructor, Aquifer Heterogeneity and Optimal Capture of Contaminants, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (w/ J.L. Wilson and L. Townley) (1997 - 1997)
  • Invited Speaker, MIT, Harvard University, University of Paris, USGS (Reston) CSIRO (Perth), CSIRO (Canberra), CSIRO (Adelaide), University of Western Australia, Institute of Engineers (Melbourne), Intl. Association of Hydrogeologists (Sydney) (1997 - 1997)
  • Invited Speaker and Panelist, International Conference on Groundwater Quality Protection: Technology and Management of NAPL Problems, Taiwan (1997 - 1997)
  • Keynote Speaker, MODSIM '97, Hobart, Tasmania (1997 - 1997)
  • Visiting Professor, University of Western Australia (1997 - 1997)
  • Visiting Scholar, Harvard University, Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences (1997 - 1997)
  • Visiting Scientist, CSIRO, Perth, Australia (1997 - 1997)
  • Member, California Environmental Protection Agency Risk Assessment Advisory Committee, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Science Advisory Board (1995 - 1997)
  • Member, GSA Meinzer Award Committee, Stanford University (1995 - 1997)
  • Scientific Program Committee, AHS Scientific Assembly, Rabat, Morocco (1995 - 1997)
  • Member, Geology Corner Space Committee, Stanford University (1994 - 1996)
  • Member, Conceptual Model Uncertainty Group, Sandia National Labs, WIPP Performance Assessment Panel (1993 - 1998)
  • Member, Admissions Committee, Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University (1993 - 1997)
  • Member, Geostatistical Experts Group, Sandia Labs (1992 - 1997)
  • Director, Stanford Center for Aquifer Simulation (CAS), Stanford University (1991 - Present)
  • Member, US National Committee for IAHS (1991 - 1997)
  • Editorial Advisory Board, Associate Editor, Journal of Hydrology (1990 - 1996)
  • Member, Computer Committee, School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University (1989 - 2009)
  • Faculty, US EPA, Western Region Hazardous Substance Research Center, Stanford University and Oregon State University (1989 - 2001)
  • Member, Urban Studies Program Committee, Stanford University (1988 - 2005)

Professional Education


  • PhD, Stanford University, Hydrology (hydrogeology) (1981)
  • MS, Stanford University, Hydrology (hydrogeology) (1977)
  • BA, New College (1975)

Patents


  • Steven M. Gorelick. "United States Patent US Patent 7,080,775 Methods and systems for automatically determining and collecting a monetary contribution from an instrument", American Cancer Society, Jul 25, 2006
  • Steven M. Gorelick and Haim Gvirtzman. "United States Patent 5389267 An in-situ system for removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from groundwater", Leland Stanford Junior University, Feb 14, 1995
  • Steven M. Gorelick and Haim Gvirtzman. "United States Patent 5180503 In-situ vapor stripping for removing volatile organic compounds from groundwater Patent number", Leland Stanford Junior University, Jan 19, 1993

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


. Research : .

As a hydrogeologist and hydrologist, my research involves the study of water resources and water security with emphasis on freshwater. Using lab and field data, our aim is to develop an understanding of fundamental aspects of the transport of water and contaminants, and to investigate regional water resources systems. We have developed simulation-based planning tools to aid in sustainable agricultural and urban water management in the US, Mexico, India, and Jordan. With my colleagues, we have initiated the Global Freshwater Initiative, which studies water resources vulnerability problems throughout the world. During the past 15 years, our field investigations have focused on the interactions between groundwater and patterns of vegetation in studies of both meadow and salt-marsh ecohydrology. Scales of physical processes of interest extend from the domain of small pores to vast regional subsurface flow environments. Although driven by observations and data, we develop conceptual and quantitative models to rigorously understand physical processes, make predictions, and explore the impacts of new water management policies, such as taxes, quota, and markets. Such models enhance our understanding of groundwater flow behavior and provide the means to better manage water resources. .




. - Teaching :

. I teach courses for graduate and undergraduate students involving principles and methods used in physical and contaminant hydrogeology. In addition, I run a seminar series that exposes students to a variety of multidisciplinary topics involving hydrology. .





: - Professional Activities :


. 2021-2022 von Humboldt Fellow-Germany, 2022-23 Fulbright Fellow - Distinguished Chair in Science, Technology and Innovation, Australian-American Program, 2016 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2014 Best Paper in Environmental Research Letters in 2014 (Padowski and Gorelick, (2014), 2013 Editor's Choice Award, Water Resources Research for paper Srinivasan et al., (2012), Member, US National Academy of Engineering (2012), International Fellow, Institute for Environmental Science and Research (ESR) (2011), New Zealand, Fulbright Senior Scholar (2008-09); Chester C. Keisel Memorial Lecturer, University of Arizona (2008); Best Paper Award in Computers and Geosciences, International Association for Mathematical Geology (2006); fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2005); Stanford representative to the Consortium of Universities for Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences (2005-2008); M. King Hubbert Science Award, NGWA (2004); Ineson Distinguished Lecturer (1998); Fulbright Senior Scholar (1997); O.E. Meinzer Award, GSA (1994) James B. Macelwane medal, AGU (1990); Fellow, GSA (1988) and AGU (1990); Editorial Board, Optimization and Engineering Journal (1990-present); visiting professor, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Ecological Engineering Laboratory (2006); visiting professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, jointly at the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (2005); visiting scholar, University of Cambridge, Zoology (2007); visiting scientist, CSIRO, Perth, Australia (2009); Member AGU Water and Society Technical Committee (2011-present) visiting professor, University of Western Australia Centre for Ecohydrology (2012); visiting professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich (2013, 2019)

Projects


  • FUSE: Food-water-energy for Urban Sustainable Environments, Stanford University (5/1/2018 - Present)

    Innovative policies and governance forms are needed to address competition for scarce resources in stressed urban food-water-energy systems. The FUSE consortium adopts an innovative two-stage Living Lab approach in which stakeholders: 1) produce solutions for future urban-FWEs challenges, 2) engage in participatory model building, and 3) examine the merits of proposed solutions. Detailed system models will quantify connections and feedbacks among users, producers, distribution mechanisms, and resources. The FUSE approach will be applied to Amman, Jordan and Pune, India: growing metropolitan regions each containing approximately five million people, intermittent freshwater supplies, and significant competition with agriculture for water and energy.

    Our interdisciplinary team involves natural and social scientists from the United States, Germany, and Austria.

    Location

    Pune, India

    Collaborators

    • Bernd Klauer, Deputy Head , Dept. of Economics - UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
    • Karin Küblböck, Economist, ÖFSE - Austrian Foundation for Development Research, Vienna
    • Ines Omann, Economist, ÖFSE - Austrian Foundation for Development Research, Vienna
    • Yoshihide Wada, Leader of the Scientific Team, IIASA Water Programme, IASA – International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
    • Sigrun Kabisch, Head, Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology , UFZ Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research
    • Rosamond Naylor, William Wrigley Professor, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Professor, by courtesy, of Economics, Stanford University
  • Jordan Water Project : Integrated Analysis of Freshwater Resources Sustainability in Jordan, Stanford University (9/1/2013 - August 31, 2018)

    In arid regions throughout the world, water system security is at a tipping point due to a confluence of drivers that include severely limited water supplies, rapid population growth and demographic shifts, climate change and variability, transboundary competition for shared freshwater resources, and institutional dysfunction. The overarching challenge is to sustain the human-natural system in the presence of rapid environmental and socioeconomic change. This interdisciplinary effort is aimed at developing a new approach to evaluate policies to enhance sustainability of freshwater resource systems. Our research is focused on Jordan, which is one of the ten water poorest countries in the world.

    Intellectual Merit :
    Past policy evaluation modeling efforts to identify effective interventions in stressed water systems have been limited. Notably, such models have largely ignored institutional complexity in management decision-making with results divorced from reality. Our work will adopt a multi-agent modeling framework to allow for the incorporation of institutional complexity in evaluation of policy instruments aimed at improving water security in Jordan. The model will employ a modular approach, integrating biophysical modules that simulate natural and engineered phenomena (e.g., groundwater-surface water flow, reservoir storage, network routing, salt balance, and crop yield) with human modules that represent behavior at multiple scales of decision making. The human modules in turn will adopt a multi-agent simulation approach, defining agents as autonomous decision makers at the government, administrative, organizational, and user levels. Our ultimate goal is to construct a suite of policy intervention scenarios that will form the basis for analysis of freshwater sustainability.

    Broader Impacts :
    Scientific Impacts: Through application of the integrated multi-agent system modeling framework for policy analysis in Jordan, we will identify innovative policy solutions for a vulnerable water system that has exhausted traditional supply sources. This approach and the merit of policy interventions will have ramifications for the Middle East and other water stressed areas throughout the world. We will produce a body of literature on water security in vulnerable
    regions. Publications will span interdisciplinary interests and will evolve naturally from interactions of our research team through project task and integrated model development. Through its research, training, and networking, dissemination, outreach activities, the project will strengthen the human and institutional capacity of the water sector in Jordan. The scholarly work produced will advance fields ranging from water policy analysis to risk management to coupled natural and human systems modeling in a multi-agent analysis context.

    Location

    Amman, Jordan

    Collaborators

    • Erik Gawel, Professor, Leipzig University, Institute for Infrastructure and Resources Management
    • Bernd Klauer, Economist, UFZ - Helmholtz Institute for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
    • Samer Talozi, Professor, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
    • Amaruy Tilmant, Professor, Université Laval, Dept. of Civil and Water Engineering
    • Daanish Mustafa, Reader in Politics and Environment, Kings College, London
    • Julien Harou, Professor, University of Manchester, UK
  • Scenarios for Survival of a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Combining the Distribution of Semi-aquatic Mammal Populations with Ecohydrologic Analysis, Stanford University (10/1/2016 - 9/30/2019)

    The 6000 km2 Peace-Athabasca Delta (“Delta”) in northeastern Alberta, Canada, is a Ramsar Convention Wetland and UNESCO World Heritage Site (“in Danger” status pending) where hydropower development and climate change are creating ecological impacts through desiccation and reduction in Delta shoreline habitat. This EVP would focus on ecohydrologic changes and mitigation and adaptation options to advance the field using interdisciplinary technology by combining, for the first time, satellite remote sensing and hydrologic simulation with population genetics, demographic analysis and individual-based population modeling of Ondatra zibethicus (muskrat), an ecological indicator species native to the Delta. The project will build a conceptual and quantitative modeling framework linking climate change, upstream water demand, and hydrologic change in the floodplain to muskrat population dynamics with the objective of exploring the impacts of these stressors on this ecosystem. We explicitly account for cultural and humanistic influences and commit to effective communication with the regional subsistence community that depends on muskrat for food and income. Our modeling framework could serve as the basis for improved stewardship and sustainable development upstream of stressed freshwater deltaic, coastal and lake systems worldwide affected by climate change, providing a predictive tool to quantify population changes of animals relevant to regional subsistence food security and commercial trapping.

    Location

    Fort Chipowan, Canada

    Collaborators

    • Elizabeth Hadly, Paul S. and Billie Achilles Professor in Environmental Biology, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Geological Sciences, Stanford University
  • Linking Land Subsidence to Deep Arsenic Release in the Mekong Delta Aquifer System, Stanford University (7/1/2013 - 6/30/2017)

    Arsenic contamination of groundwater is of enormous consequence to more than 700 million people inhabiting Southeast Asia. We have obtained a comprehensive, unique, unanalyzed dataset consisting of >42,000 measurements from South Vietnam showing widespread contamination (>1000 sq km) in deep aquifers (>200m) of the Mekong Delta that are used extensively for water supply. Based on preliminary aquifer modeling and land subsidence estimates, we hypothesize a previously unrecognized deep arsenic source mechanism: water expelled from storage during clay compaction resulting from exploitation of surrounding deep aquifers. Hypotheses explored will be a) shallow arsenic is being transported to depths by deep pumping wells (which preliminarily appears unlikely), or b) deep clay layers have harbored dissolved arsenic constituents for millions of years (since Pliocene-Miocene times) and began expelling this arsenic-rich water once the deep aquifers were heavily pumped, or c) arsenic mobilizing solutes are expelled from the clay during compaction. The deep clay expulsion mechanism (b) or (c) is novel and important. Our effort would combine hydrogeologic, geochemical, and land deformation analyses based on satellite radar imagery (InSAR) to explore the relationship between deep arsenic contamination and aquifer – confining bed behavior. We also would analyze newly obtained shallow clay cores for pore water chemistry, mineralogy, and surface chemistry. A 3D groundwater flow/contaminant transport model, including compaction, delayed drainage, and land subsidence would be constructed based on existing geologic information, hydraulic property, head, and groundwater extraction data. This model would help understand historical arsenic contamination and future scenarios resulting from deep groundwater use and would contribute to geochemistry, hydrogeology, and water management.

    Broader Impacts. This new contamination mechanism may be fundamental to understanding arsenic occurrence in deep aquifer systems. In addition, our new conceptual model is applicable to other problem areas where clay compaction releases other dissolved contaminants or sources of dissolved carbon that can mobilize sequestered hazardous substances. Our investigation will have immediate implications for water resources development and human health in the arsenic affected basins of Southeast Asia where some regions of planned deep aquifer exploitation may unknowingly become exposed to deep-source arsenic. In terms of methods, our use of satellite radar (InSAR) to detect land deformation would, for the first time, serve as a reconnaissance tool to identify areas where clay compaction and consequent arsenic release may be occurring. The link between subsidence and arsenic release would be potentially transformative.

    Location

    Mekong Delta, Vietnam

    Collaborators

  • Water Rights Rental Market for Fish Habitat Protection in Colorado, Stanford University (9/24/2012 - Present)

    Western U.S. water law historically prioritized offstream development of water resources, neglecting ecosystems, Native American communities, and economic efficiency. Under the banner of environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable water management, doctoral student Philip Womble working with Professors Gorelick in Earth System Science and Professor Thompson in the Law School on research to address these shortcomings.

    Because water rights in the western U.S. historically only existed for diversionary uses, the entire flow of many rivers has been claimed for offstream uses. With ecosystems left out of the equation, major waterways routinely run dry, or virtually dry, during substantial portions of the year. Legal reforms, however, now allow non-consumptive water rights that protect water for ecosystems. Water marketing—transferring older, higher priority rights to environmental use—has emerged as a leading solution to restore water for ecosystems. From 2003-12, total expenditures on environmental water rights across the western U.S. exceeded $560 million, and environmental water marketing represented 40% of the total water volume traded. Agencies and organizations, however, still largely acquire environmental water rights opportunistically. While the water rights they buy often constitute individual conservation priorities, they are likely suboptimal collectively.
    Womble’s doctoral research develops new conservation planning tools and strategies to help agencies and organizations optimize ecological outcomes of environmental water rights acquisitions in the Upper Colorado River Basin. He is developing an integrated hydro-economic-legal computational modeling framework. The modeling framework optimizes ecological outcomes provided by portfolios of environmental water rights acquisitions (e.g., purchases, leases) attainable with realistic budget constraints based on daily hydrologic simulations over multiple decades.

    Location

    Colorado River, Colorado

    Collaborators

  • An integrated framework for analysis of water supply strategies in a developing city: Chennai, India., Stanford University (9/25/1990 - 1/15/2013)

    Research by E-IPER doctoral student, Veena Srinivasan, working with Professor Gorelick in Earth System Science and Professor Goulder in Economics, studied an approach to reduce vulnerability of freshwater supply in Chennai, India. During a year-long drought in 2003-2004, Chennai's piped supply system failed to deliver water to the 4.5 million people in the city. This study considered how Chennai could become less vulnerable by developing rooftop rainwater harvesting, and showed that such a system could be tremendously valuable. The project resulted in a series of publications the discuss various aspects of Dr. Srinivasan's doctoral work.

    Location

    Chennai, India

    Collaborators

2023-24 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • Unexpected growth of an illegal water market NATURE SUSTAINABILITY Klassert, C., Yoon, J., Sigel, K., Klauer, B., Talozi, S., Lachaut, T., Selby, P., Knox, S., Avisse, N., Tilmant, A., Harou, J. J., Mustafa, D., Medellin-Azuara, J., Bataineh, B., Zhang, H., Gawel, E., Gorelick, S. M. 2023
  • Muskrats as a bellwether of a drying delta. Communications biology Ward, E. M., Solari, K. A., Varudkar, A., Gorelick, S. M., Hadly, E. A. 2021; 4 (1): 750

    Abstract

    Wetlands worldwide are under threat from anthropogenic impacts. In large protected North American areas such as Yellowstone and Wood Buffalo National Parks, aquatic habitats are disappearing and wetland-dependent fauna are in decline1-3. Here we investigate population dynamics of an indicator species in Canada's Peace-Athabasca Delta ("the delta"), a World Heritage Site. Based on population surveys, habitat mapping and genetic data from 288 muskrats, we use agent-based modeling and genetic analyses to explain population expansion and decline of the semi-aquatic muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus). Simulations quantify a large population (~500,000 individuals) following flood-induced habitat gains, with decreased size (~10,000 individuals) during drying. Genetic analyses show extremely low long-term effective population size (Ne: 60-127), supporting a legacy of population bottlenecks. Our simulations indicate that the muskrat population in the delta is a metapopulation with individuals migrating preferentially along riparian pathways. Related individuals found over 40km apart imply dispersal distances far greater than their typical home range (130m). Rapid metapopulation recovery is achieved via riparian corridor migration and passive flood-transport of individuals. Source-sink dynamics show wetland loss impacts on the muskrat metapopulation's spatial extent. Dramatic landscape change is underway, devastating local fauna, including this generalist species even in a protected ecosystem.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s42003-021-02288-7

    View details for PubMedID 34168255

  • A coupled human-natural system analysis of freshwater security under climate and population change PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Yoon, J., Klassert, C., Selby, P., Lachaut, T., Knox, S., Avisse, N., Harou, J., Tilmant, A., Klauer, B., Mustafa, D., Sigel, K., Talozi, S., Gawel, E., Medellin-Azuara, J., Bataineh, B., Zhang, H., Gorelick, S. M. 2021; 118 (14)
  • Water-food-energy challenges in India: political economy of the sugar industry ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS Lee, J., Naylor, R. L., Figueroa, A., Gorelick, S. M. 2020; 15 (8)
  • Insights from watershed simulations around the world: Watershed service-based restoration does not significantly enhance streamflow Global Environmental Change Dennedy-Frank, J., Gorelick, S. M. 2019; 58
  • Indigenous communities, groundwater opportunities. Science (New York, N.Y.) Womble, P., Perrone, D., Jasechko, S., Nelson, R. L., Szeptycki, L. F., Anderson, R. T., Gorelick, S. M. 2018; 361 (6401): 453–55

    View details for PubMedID 30072527

  • Increasing drought in Jordan: Climate change and cascading Syrian land-use impacts on reducing transboundary flow. Science advances Rajsekhar, D. n., Gorelick, S. M. 2017; 3 (8): e1700581

    Abstract

    In countries where severe drought is an anticipated effect of climate change and in those that heavily depend on upstream nations for fresh water, the effect of drier conditions and consequent changes in the transboundary streamflow regime induced by anthropogenic interventions and disasters leads to uncertainty in regional water security. As a case in point, we analyze Jordan's surface water resources and agricultural water demand through 2100, considering the combined impacts of climate change and land-use change driven by the Syrian conflict. We use bias-corrected regional climate simulations as input to high-resolution hydrologic models to assess three drought types: meteorological (rainfall decrease), agricultural (soil moisture deficit), and hydrologic (streamflow decline) under future scenarios. The historical baseline period (1981-2010) is compared to the future (2011-2100), divided into three 30-year periods. Comparing the baseline period to 2070-2100, average temperature increases by 4.5°C, rainfall decreases by 30%, and multiple drought-type occurrences increase from ~8 in 30 years to ~25 in 30 years. There is a significant increase in the contemporaneous occurrence of multiple drought types along with an 80% increase in simultaneous warm and dry events. Watershed simulations of future transboundary Yarmouk-Jordan River flow from Syria show that Jordan would receive 51 to 75% less Yarmouk water compared to historical flow. Recovery of Syrian irrigated agriculture to pre-conflict conditions would produce twice the decline in transboundary flow as that due to climate change. In Jordan, the confluence of limited water supply, future drought, and transboundary hydrologic impacts of land use severely challenges achieving freshwater sustainability.

    View details for PubMedID 28875164

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5576883

  • Impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on land use and transboundary freshwater resources PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Mueller, M. F., Yoon, J., Gorelick, S. M., Avisse, N., Tilmant, A. 2016; 113 (52): 14932-14937

    Abstract

    Since 2013, hundreds of thousands of refugees have migrated southward to Jordan to escape the Syrian civil war that began in mid-2011. Evaluating impacts of conflict and migration on land use and transboundary water resources in an active war zone remains a challenge. However, spatial and statistical analyses of satellite imagery for the recent period of Syrian refugee mass migration provide evidence of rapid changes in land use, water use, and water management in the Yarmouk-Jordan river watershed shared by Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Conflict and consequent migration caused ∼50% decreases in both irrigated agriculture in Syria and retention of winter rainfall in Syrian dams, which gave rise to unexpected additional stream flow to downstream Jordan during the refugee migration period. Comparing premigration and postmigration periods, Syrian abandonment of irrigated agriculture accounts for half of the stream flow increase, with the other half attributable to recovery from a severe drought. Despite this increase, the Yarmouk River flow into Jordan is still substantially below the volume that was expected by Jordan under the 1953, 1987, and 2001 bilateral agreements with Syria.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1614342113

    View details for Web of Science ID 000391090800029

    View details for PubMedID 27930317

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5206523

  • Global change and the groundwater management challenge WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Gorelick, S. M., Zheng, C. 2015; 51 (5): 3031-3051
  • Assessment of human–natural system characteristics influencing global freshwater supply vulnerability Environmental Research Letters Padowski, J. C., Gorelick, S. M., Thompson, B. H., Rozelle, S., Fendorf, S. 2015; 10 (10)
  • Coupled impacts of sea-level rise and tidal marsh restoration on endangered California clapper rail BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION Zhang, H., Gorelick, S. M. 2014; 172: 89-100
  • Release of arsenic to deep groundwater in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, linked to pumping-induced land subsidence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Erban, L. E., Gorelick, S. M., Zebker, H. A., Fendorf, S. 2013; 110 (34): 13751-13756

    Abstract

    Deep aquifers in South and Southeast Asia are increasingly exploited as presumed sources of pathogen- and arsenic-free water, although little is known of the processes that may compromise their long-term viability. We analyze a large area (>1,000 km(2)) of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, in which arsenic is found pervasively in deep, Pliocene-Miocene-age aquifers, where nearly 900 wells at depths of 200-500 m are contaminated. There, intensive groundwater extraction is causing land subsidence of up to 3 cm/y as measured using satellite-based radar images from 2007 to 2010 and consistent with transient 3D aquifer simulations showing similar subsidence rates and total subsidence of up to 27 cm since 1988. We propose a previously unrecognized mechanism in which deep groundwater extraction is causing interbedded clays to compact and expel water containing dissolved arsenic or arsenic-mobilizing solutes (e.g., dissolved organic carbon and competing ions) to deep aquifers over decades. The implication for the broader Mekong Delta region, and potentially others like it across Asia, is that deep, untreated groundwater will not necessarily remain a safe source of drinking water.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1300503110

    View details for PubMedID 23918360

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3752228

  • Earthquake triggering and large-scale geologic storage of carbon dioxide PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Zoback, M. D., Gorelick, S. M. 2012; 109 (26): 10164-10168

    Abstract

    Despite its enormous cost, large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered a viable strategy for significantly reducing CO(2) emissions associated with coal-based electrical power generation and other industrial sources of CO(2) [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2005) IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eds Metz B, et al. (Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, UK); Szulczewski ML, et al. (2012) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109:5185-5189]. We argue here that there is a high probability that earthquakes will be triggered by injection of large volumes of CO(2) into the brittle rocks commonly found in continental interiors. Because even small- to moderate-sized earthquakes threaten the seal integrity of CO(2) repositories, in this context, large-scale CCS is a risky, and likely unsuccessful, strategy for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1202473109

    View details for Web of Science ID 000306291400023

    View details for PubMedID 22711814

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3387039

  • MULTIPLE-RATE MASS-TRANSFER FOR MODELING DIFFUSION AND SURFACE-REACTIONS IN MEDIA WITH PORE-SCALE HETEROGENEITY WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Haggerty, R., Gorelick, S. M. 1995; 31 (10): 2383-2400
  • PALEOCLIMATIC SIGNATURE IN TERRESTRIAL FLOOD DEPOSITS SCIENCE KOLTERMANN, C. E., Gorelick, S. M. 1992; 256 (5065): 1775-1782

    Abstract

    Large-scale process simulation was used to reconstruct the geologic evolution during the past 600,000 years of an alluvial fan in northern California. In order to reproduce the sedimentary record, the simulation accounted for the dynamics of river flooding, sedimentation, subsidence, land movement that resulted from faulting, and sea level changes. Paleoclimatic trends induced fluctuations in stream flows and dominated the development of the sedimentary deposits. The process simulation approach serves as a quantitative means to explore the genesis of sedimentary architecture and its link to past climatic conditions and fault motion.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1992JA43400025

    View details for PubMedID 17743032

  • Stakeholder Workshops Informing System Modeling-Analyzing the Urban Food-Water-Energy Nexus in Amman, Jordan SUSTAINABILITY Klauer, B., Kueblboeck, K., Omann, I., Karutz, R., Klassert, C., Zhu, Y., Zozmann, H., Smilovic, M., Talozi, S., Figueroa, A., Grohs, H., Heilemann, J., Gorelick, S. 2022; 14 (19)
  • Capturing Stakeholders' Challenges of the Food-Water-Energy Nexus-A Participatory Approach for Pune and the Bhima Basin, India SUSTAINABILITY Karutz, R., Omann, I., Gorelick, S. M., Klassert, C. A., Zozmann, H., Zhu, Y., Kabisch, S., Kindler, A., Figueroa, A., Wang, A., Kublbock, K., Grohs, H., Burek, P., Smilovic, M., Klauer, B. 2022; 14 (9)

    View details for DOI 10.3390/su14095323

    View details for Web of Science ID 000799283900001

  • Mapping Sugarcane in Central India with Smartphone Crowdsourcing REMOTE SENSING Lee, J., Wang, S., Figueroa, A., Strey, R., Lobell, D. B., Naylor, R. L., Gorelick, S. M. 2022; 14 (3)

    View details for DOI 10.3390/rs14030703

    View details for Web of Science ID 000760308600001

  • Increasing nutrient inputs risk a surge of nitrous oxide emissions from global mangrove ecosystems ONE EARTH Mao, F., Ullah, S., Gorelick, S. M., Hannah, D. M., Krause, S. 2021; 4 (5): 742-748
  • A coupled human-natural system analysis of freshwater security under climate and population change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Yoon, J., Klassert, C., Selby, P., Lachaut, T., Knox, S., Avisse, N., Harou, J., Tilmant, A., Klauer, B., Mustafa, D., Sigel, K., Talozi, S., Gawel, E., Medellin-Azuara, J., Bataineh, B., Zhang, H., Gorelick, S. M. 2021; 118 (14)

    Abstract

    Limited water availability, population growth, and climate change have resulted in freshwater crises in many countries. Jordan's situation is emblematic, compounded by conflict-induced population shocks. Integrating knowledge across hydrology, climatology, agriculture, political science, geography, and economics, we present the Jordan Water Model, a nationwide coupled human-natural-engineered systems model that is used to evaluate Jordan's freshwater security under climate and socioeconomic changes. The complex systems model simulates the trajectory of Jordan's water system, representing dynamic interactions between a hierarchy of actors and the natural and engineered water environment. A multiagent modeling approach enables the quantification of impacts at the level of thousands of representative agents across sectors, allowing for the evaluation of both systemwide and distributional outcomes translated into a suite of water-security metrics (vulnerability, equity, shortage duration, and economic well-being). Model results indicate severe, potentially destabilizing, declines in freshwater security. Per capita water availability decreases by approximately 50% by the end of the century. Without intervening measures, >90% of the low-income household population experiences critical insecurity by the end of the century, receiving <40 L per capita per day. Widening disparity in freshwater use, lengthening shortage durations, and declining economic welfare are prevalent across narratives. To gain a foothold on its freshwater future, Jordan must enact a sweeping portfolio of ambitious interventions that include large-scale desalinization and comprehensive water sector reform, with model results revealing exponential improvements in water security through the coordination of supply- and demand-side measures.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2020431118

    View details for PubMedID 33782123

  • Insights on expected streamflow response to land-cover restoration JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY Dennedy-Frank, P., Gorelick, S. M. 2020; 589
  • Distribution of small seasonal reservoirs in semi-arid regions and associated evaporative losses ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS Mady, B., Lehmann, P., Gorelick, S. M., Or, D. 2020; 2 (6)
  • Extracting Impervious Surface from Aerial Imagery Using Semi-Automatic Sampling and Spectral Stability REMOTE SENSING Zhang, H., Gorelick, S. M., Zimba, P. 2020; 12 (3)

    View details for DOI 10.3390/rs12030506

    View details for Web of Science ID 000515393800165

  • Controlling Arsenic Mobilization during Managed Aquifer Recharge: The Role of Sediment Heterogeneity. Environmental science & technology Fakhreddine, S. n., Prommer, H. n., Gorelick, S. M., Dadakis, J. n., Fendorf, S. n. 2020; 54 (14): 8728–38

    Abstract

    Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) enhances freshwater security and augments local groundwater supplies. However, geochemical and hydrological shifts during MAR can release toxic, geogenic contaminants from sediments to groundwater, threatening the viability of MAR as a water management strategy. Using reactive transport modeling coupled with aquifer analyses and measured water chemistry, we investigate the causal mechanisms of arsenic release during MAR via injection in the Orange County Groundwater Basin. Here, injection water is oxygenated, highly purified recycled water produced by advanced water treatment. Injection occurs via a well screened at several depth intervals ranging from 160-365 m, allowing recharge into multiple confined horizons (zones) of the aquifer system. However, these zones are characterized by varying degrees of prior oxidation due to historic, long-term infiltration from the overlying aquifer. The resulting sediment geochemical heterogeneity provides a critical control on the release (or retention) of arsenic. In zones with prior oxidation, As mobilization occurs via arsenate desorption from Fe-(hydr)oxides, primarily associated with shifts in pH; within zones that remain reduced prior to injection, As release is attributed to the oxidative dissolution of As-bearing pyrite. We find that As release can be attributed to various geochemical mechanisms within a single injection well owing to geochemical heterogeneity across the aquifer system.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.est.0c00794

    View details for PubMedID 32516527

  • Drying landscape and interannual herbivory-driven habitat degradation control semiaquatic mammal population dynamics ECOHYDROLOGY Ward, E. M., Wysong, K., Gorelick, S. M. 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1002/eco.2169

    View details for Web of Science ID 000495480700001

  • Broad approaches to cholera control in Asia: Water, sanitation and handwashing. Vaccine Luby, S. P., Davis, J., Brown, R. R., Gorelick, S. M., Wong, T. H. 2019

    Abstract

    Cholera has been eliminated as a public health problem in high-income countries that have implemented sanitation system separating the community's fecal waste from their drinking water and food supply. These expensive, highly-engineered systems, first developed in London over 150 years ago, have not reached low-income high-risk communities across Asia. Barriers to their implementation in communities at highest risk for cholera include the high capital and operating costs for this technological approach, limited capacity and perverse incentives of local governments, and a decreasing availability of water. Interim solutions including household level water treatment, constructing latrines and handwashing promotion have only marginally reduced the risk of cholera and other fecally transmitted diseases. Increased research to develop and policy flexibility to implement a new generation of solutions that are designed specifically to address the physical, financial and political constraints of low-income communities offers the best prospect for reducing the burden of cholera across Asia.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.07.084

    View details for PubMedID 31383486

  • Drying drives decline in muskrat population in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada Environmental Research Letters Ward, E. M., Gorelick, S. M. 2018; 13 (124026)

    View details for DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/aaf0ec

  • A remote sensing method for estimating regional reservoir area and evaporative loss JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY Zhang, H., Gorelick, S. M., Zimba, P. V., Zhang, X. 2017; 555: 213–27
  • How Jordan and Saudi Arabia are avoiding a tragedy of the commons over shared groundwater WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Mueller, M. F., Mueller-Itten, M. C., Gorelick, S. M. 2017; 53 (7): 5451–68
  • Relating salt marsh pore water geochemistry patterns to vegetation zones and hydrologic influences WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Moffett, K. B., Gorelick, S. M. 2016; 52 (3): 1729-1745
  • Relating salt marsh pore water geochemistry patterns to vegetation zones and hydrologic influences Water Resources Research Moffett, K. B., Gorelick, S. M. 2016; 52 (3): 1729-1745

    View details for DOI 10.1002/2015WR017406

  • A new temperature-vegetation Triangle Algorithm with Variable Edges (TAVE) for satellite-based actual evapotranspiration estimation Remote Sensing Zhang, H., Gorelick, S. M., Avisse, N., Tilmant, A., Rajsekhar, D., Yoon, J. 2016; 8 (9): 735

    View details for DOI 10.3390/rs8090735

  • Alternative stable states of tidal marsh vegetation and channel pattern complexity in the San Francisco Bay estuary Ecohydrology Moffett, K. B., Gorelick, S. M. 2016; 9 (8): 1639-1662

    View details for DOI 10.1002/eco.1755

  • Closing the irrigation deficit in Cambodia: Implications for transboundary impacts on groundwater and Mekong River flow Journal of Hydrology Erban, L. E., Gorelick, S. M. 2016; 545: 85-92
  • To prevent earthquake triggering, pressure changes due to CO2 injection need to be limited. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Zoback, M. D., Gorelick, S. M. 2015; 112 (33): E4510

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1508533112

    View details for PubMedID 26240342

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4547280

  • Declining rainfall and regional variability changes in Jordan WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Rahman, K., Gorelick, S. M., Dennedy-Frank, P. J., Yoon, J., Rajaratnam, B. 2015; 51 (5): 3828-3835
  • Groundwater and surface water Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences,, Gerald R. North (editor-in-chief), Ge, S., Gorelick, S. M. Academic Press. 2015; 2nd: 209–216
  • To prevent earthquake triggering, pressure changes due to CO2 injection need to be limited Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zoback, M. D., Gorelick, S. M. 2015

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1508533112

  • Global analysis of urban surface water supply vulnerability ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS Padowski, J. C., Gorelick, S. M. 2014; 9 (10)
  • Corrigendum: Global analysis of urban surface water supply vulnerability (2014 Environ. Res. Lett. 9 104004) ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS Padowski, J. C., Gorelick, S. M. 2014; 9 (10)
  • Groundwater extraction, land subsidence, and sea-level rise in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS Erban, L. E., Gorelick, S. M., Zebker, H. A. 2014; 9 (8)
  • Hydrological Controls on Methylmercury Distribution and Flux in a Tidal Marsh ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Zhang, H., Moffett, K. B., Windham-Myers, L., Gorelick, S. M. 2014; 48 (12): 6795-6804

    Abstract

    The San Francisco Estuary, California, contains mercury (Hg) contamination originating from historical regional gold and Hg mining operations. We measured hydrological and geochemical variables in a tidal marsh of the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve to determine the sources, location, and magnitude of hydrological fluxes of methylmercury (MeHg), a bioavailable Hg species of ecological and health concern. Based on measured concentrations and detailed finite-element simulation of coupled surface water and saturated-unsaturated groundwater flow, we found pore water MeHg was concentrated in unsaturated pockets that persisted over tidal cycles. These pockets, occurring over 16% of the marsh plain area, corresponded to the marsh root zone. Groundwater discharge (e.g., exfiltration) to the tidal channel represented a significant source of MeHg during low tide. We found that nonchannelized flow accounted for up to 20% of the MeHg flux to the estuary. The estimated net flux of filter-passing (0.45 μm) MeHg toward estuary was 10 ± 5 ng m(-2) day(-1) during a single 12-h tidal cycle, suggesting an annual MeHg load of 1.17 ± 0.58 kg when the estimated flux was applied to present tidal marshes and planned marsh restorations throughout the San Francisco Estuary.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/es500781g

    View details for Web of Science ID 000337646000034

    View details for PubMedID 24828335

  • Arsenic in the Multi-aquifer System of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: Analysis of Large-Scale Spatial Trends and Controlling Factors. Environmental science & technology Erban, L. E., Gorelick, S. M., Fendorf, S. 2014; 48 (11): 6081-6088

    Abstract

    Groundwater exploitation is rising in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, potentially exacerbating arsenic contamination from natural sources. We investigate trends and controls on contamination patterns throughout the Delta's multi-aquifer system as observed in a spatially exhaustive data set of arsenic measured in >40,000 wells, 10.5% of which exceed the WHO drinking water standard for arsenic (10 μg/L). We relate strong trends in the distribution of contamination among well samples to explanatory variables derived from 3D ancillary physicochemical data sets using logistic regression models. Parsimonious models describe much of the observed variability in arsenic occurrence, which differs considerably between subsets of wells tapping shallow versus deeper aquifer groups. In the shallowest Holocene-Pleistocene aquifers, arsenic occurrence is best described by distance to the Mekong river channels and delta front, depth, and location within fault-bounded zones of the region. The same model, however, fails to explain observations in the deeper group of Pliocene-Miocene aquifers. Among these deeper units, arsenic occurrence is rare except among older wells in near-river, heavily pumped areas. Our analysis is the first to examine both natural and anthropogenically mediated contributions to the distribution of arsenic throughout the Mekong Delta's multi-aquifer system, with implications for management of similarly affected basins throughout Southeast Asia.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/es403932t

    View details for PubMedID 24849074

  • Alameda Song Sparrow abundance related to salt marsh vegetation configuration San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science Moffett, K. B., Law, J., Gorelick, S. M., Nur, N., Wood, J. K. 2014; 12 (3)
  • Hydrological controls on methylmercury distribution and flux in a tidal marsh Environmental Science and Technology Zhang, H., Moffett, K. B., Windham-Myers, L., Gorelick, S. M. 2014; 48 (12): 6795–6804

    View details for DOI 10.1021/es500781g

  • Peak oil demand: the role of fuel efficiency and alternative fuels in a global oil production decline. Environmental science & technology Brandt, A. R., Millard-Ball, A., Ganser, M., Gorelick, S. M. 2013; 47 (14): 8031-8041

    Abstract

    Some argue that peak conventional oil production is imminent due to physical resource scarcity. We examine the alternative possibility of reduced oil use due to improved efficiency and oil substitution. Our model uses historical relationships to project future demand for (a) transport services, (b) all liquid fuels, and (c) substitution with alternative energy carriers, including electricity. Results show great increases in passenger and freight transport activity, but less reliance on oil. Demand for liquids inputs to refineries declines significantly after 2070. By 2100 transport energy demand rises >1000% in Asia, while flattening in North America (+23%) and Europe (-20%). Conventional oil demand declines after 2035, and cumulative oil production is 1900 Gbbl from 2010 to 2100 (close to the U.S. Geological Survey median estimate of remaining oil, which only includes projected discoveries through 2025). These results suggest that effort is better spent to determine and influence the trajectory of oil substitution and efficiency improvement rather than to focus on oil resource scarcity. The results also imply that policy makers should not rely on liquid fossil fuel scarcity to constrain damage from climate change. However, there is an unpredictable range of emissions impacts depending on which mix of substitutes for conventional oil gains dominance-oil sands, electricity, coal-to-liquids, or others.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/es401419t

    View details for PubMedID 23697883

  • The impact of urbanization on water vulnerability: A coupled human-environment system approach for Chennai, India GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS Srinivasan, V., Seto, K. C., Emerson, R., Gorelick, S. M. 2013; 23 (1): 229-239
  • Distinguishing wetland vegetation and channel features with object-based image segmentation INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING Moffett, K. B., Gorelick, S. M. 2013; 34 (4): 1332-1354
  • The nature and causes of the global water crisis: Syndromes from a meta-analysis of coupled human-water studies WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Srinivasan, V., Lambin, E. F., Gorelick, S. M., Thompson, B. H., Rozelle, S. 2012; 48
  • Salt marsh ecohydrological zonation due to heterogeneous vegetation-groundwater-surface water interactions WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Moffett, K. B., Gorelick, S. M., McLaren, R. G., Sudicky, E. A. 2012; 48
  • A method to calculate heterogeneous evapotranspiration using submeter thermal infrared imagery coupled to a stomatal resistance submodel WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Moffett, K. B., Gorelick, S. M. 2012; 48
  • Evidence that earthquake triggering could render long-term carbon storage unsuccessful in many regions (Reply to comment) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Zoback, M. D., Gorelick, S. M. 2012

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1217264109

  • Lessons Learned from 25 Years of Research at the MADE Site GROUND WATER Zheng, C., Bianchi, M., Gorelick, S. M. 2011; 49 (5): 649-662

    Abstract

    Field studies at well-instrumented research sites have provided extensive data sets and important insights essential for development and testing of transport theories and mathematical models. This paper provides an overview of over 25 years of research and lessons learned at one of such field research sites on the Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, commonly known as the Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site. Since the mid-1980s, field data from the MADE site have been used extensively by researchers around the world to explore complex contaminant transport phenomena in highly heterogeneous porous media. Results from field investigations and modeling analyses suggested that connected networks of small-scale preferential flow paths and relative flow barriers exert dominant control on solute transport processes. The classical advection-dispersion model was shown to inadequately represent plume-scale transport, while the dual-domain mass transfer model was found to reproduce the primary observed plume characteristics. The MADE site has served as a valuable natural observatory for contaminant transport studies where new observations have led to better understanding and improved models have sprung out analysis of new data.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2010.00753.x

    View details for Web of Science ID 000294737800004

    View details for PubMedID 20860688

  • Investigation of Small-Scale Preferential Flow with a Forced-Gradient Tracer Test GROUND WATER Bianchi, M., Zheng, C., Tick, G. R., Gorelick, S. M. 2011; 49 (4): 503-514

    Abstract

    A new tracer experiment (referred to as MADE-5) was conducted at the well-known Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site to investigate the influence of small-scale mass-transfer and dispersion processes on well-to-well transport. The test was performed under dipole forced-gradient flow conditions and concentrations were monitored in an extraction well and in two multilevel sampler (MLS) wells located at 6, 1.5, and 3.75 m from the source, respectively. The shape of the breakthrough curve (BTC) measured at the extraction well is strongly asymmetric showing a rapidly arriving peak and an extensive late-time tail. The BTCs measured at seven different depths in the two MLSs are radically different from one another in terms of shape, arrival times, and magnitude of the concentration peaks. All of these characteristics indicate the presence of a complex network of preferential flow pathways controlling solute transport at the test site. Field-experimental data were also used to evaluate two transport models: a stochastic advection-dispersion model (ADM) based on conditional multivariate Gaussian realizations of the hydraulic conductivity field and a dual-domain single-rate (DDSR) mass-transfer model based on a deterministic reconstruction of the aquifer heterogeneity. Unlike the stochastic ADM realizations, the DDSR accurately predicted the magnitude of the concentration peak and its arrival time (within a 1.5% error). For the multilevel BTCs between the injection and extraction wells, neither model reproduced the observed values, indicating that a high-resolution characterization of the aquifer heterogeneity at the subdecimeter scale would be needed to fully capture 3D transport details.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2010.00746.x

    View details for Web of Science ID 000292104400007

    View details for PubMedID 20807245

  • Spatial connectivity in a highly heterogeneous aquifer: From cores to preferential flow paths WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Bianchi, M., Zheng, C., Wilson, C., Tick, G. R., Liu, G., Gorelick, S. M. 2011; 47
  • Relationship of Salt Marsh Vegetation Zonation to Spatial Patterns in Soil Moisture, Salinity, and Topography ECOSYSTEMS Moffett, K. B., Robinson, D. A., Gorelick, S. M. 2010; 13 (8): 1287-1302
  • Salt marsh-atmosphere exchange of energy, water vapor, and carbon dioxide: Effects of tidal flooding and biophysical controls WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Moffett, K. B., Wolf, A., Berry, J. A., Gorelick, S. M. 2010; 46
  • Geological modeling of submeter scale heterogeneity and its influence on tracer transport in a fluvial aquifer WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Ronayne, M. J., Gorelick, S. M., Zheng, C. 2010; 46
  • Sustainable urban water supply in south India: Desalination, efficiency improvement, or rainwater harvesting? WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Srinivasan, V., Gorelick, S. M., Goulder, L. 2010; 46
  • A hydrologic-economic modeling approach for analysis of urban water supply dynamics in Chennai, India WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Srinivasan, V., Gorelick, S. M., Goulder, L. 2010; 46
  • Combining geologic-process models and geostatistics for conditional simulation of 3-D subsurface heterogeneity WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Michael, H. A., Li, H., Boucher, A., Sun, T., Caers, J., Gorelick, S. M. 2010; 46
  • Relative importance of dispersion and rate-limited mass transfer in highly heterogeneous porous media: Analysis of a new tracer test at the Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Liu, G., Zheng, C., Tick, G. R., Butler, J. J., Gorelick, S. M. 2010; 46
  • Factors determining informal tanker water markets in Chennai, India WATER INTERNATIONAL Srinivasan, V., Gorelick, S. M., Goulder, L. 2010; 35 (3): 254-269
  • Investigation of Small-Scale Preferential Flow with a Forced-Gradient Tracer Test Ground Water Bianchi, M., Zheng, C., Tick, G. R., Gorelick, S. M. 2010
  • Tsunami-induced groundwater salinization in southeastern India COMPTES RENDUS GEOSCIENCE Violette, S., Boulicot, G., Gorelick, S. M. 2009; 341 (4): 339-346
  • Identifying discrete geologic structures that produce anomalous hydraulic response: An inverse modeling approach WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Ronayne, M. J., Gorelick, S. M., Caers, J. 2008; 44 (8)
  • Processes controlling the thermal regime of saltmarsh channel beds ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Moffett, K. B., Tyler, S. W., Torgersen, T., Menon, M., Selker, J. S., Gorelick, S. M. 2008; 42 (3): 671-676

    Abstract

    Spatially and temporally continuous temperature measurements were collected over 32 h using a fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) system deployed along 330 m of two intertidal saltmarsh channel beds in northern California. Measured temperature gradients imparted ecosystem-scale structure to the saltmarsh tidal channel thermal regime, which was punctuated by potential warm and cold refugia. Anomalous bed temperatures of 2-4 degrees C occurred throughout the 1.3 tidal cycles at some locations. Discrete locations of consistently warm temperatures characterized sustained seepage of recently infiltrated tidal waters. Low-variance temperature anomalies were typically collocated with hidden microtopographic tributaries that facilitated mixing of warm surface waters and cold groundwater. Bed temperature gradients (approximately 2 degrees C/100 m, average) decreased from high temperatures similar to bay water at the channel mouths to low inland temperatures comparable to groundwater. The trends were maintained by cold groundwater discharge throughout the channels, which affected bed temperatures in proportion to channel reach exposure time; the opposing effect, conductive bed-warming by tidal waters, was proportional to flood duration. DTS is a promising tool for identifying spatial and temporal temperature patterns of hydroecological importance amidst complex natural systems.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/es071309m

    View details for Web of Science ID 000252777600010

    View details for PubMedID 18323086

  • Evaluation of Fickian and non-Fickian models for solute transport in porous media containing decimeter-scale preferential flow paths ModelCare07: Credibility of Modeling Bianchi, M., Zheng, C., Tkck, G. R., Gorelick, S. M. 2008
  • Evaluation of the applicability of the dual-domain mass transfer model in porous media containing connected high-conductivity channels WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Liu, G., Zheng, C., Gorelick, S. M. 2007; 43 (12)
  • Riparian hydroecology: A coupled model of the observed interactions between groundwater flow and meadow vegetation patterning WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Loheide, S. P., Gorelick, S. M. 2007; 43 (7)
  • The local geometry of gas injection into saturated homogeneous porous media TRANSPORT IN POROUS MEDIA Selker, J. S., Niemet, M., Mcduffie, N. G., Gorelick, S. M., Parlange, J. 2007; 68 (1): 107-127
  • Coping with predictive uncertainties in optimization of sustainable water resources IUGG General Assembly Mok, C. M., Wanakule, N., der Kiureghian, A., Gorelick, S. M., Zhang, M. 2007
  • Reliable conjunctive use rules for sustainable irrigated agriculture and reservoir spill control WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Schoups, G., Addams, C. L., Minjares, J. L., Gorelick, S. M. 2006; 42 (12)
  • Sustainable conjunctive water management in irrigated agriculture: Model formulation and application to the Yaqui Valley, Mexico WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Schoups, G., Addams, C. L., Minjares, J. L., Gorelick, S. M. 2006; 42 (10)
  • Hydrogeophysical tracking of three-dimensional tracer migration: The concept and application of apparent petrophysical relations WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Singha, K., Gorelick, S. M. 2006; 42 (6)
  • Comment on "Investigating the macrodispersion experiment (MADE) site in Columbus, Mississippi, using a three-dimensional inverse flow and transport model'' by Heidi Christiansen Barlebo, Mary C. Hill, and Dan Rosbjerg WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Molz, F. J., Zheng, C., Gorelick, S. M., Harvey, C. F. 2006; 42 (6)
  • Quantifying stream-aquifer interactions through the analysis of remotely sensed thermographic profiles and in situ temperature histories ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Loheide, S. P., Gorelick, S. M. 2006; 40 (10): 3336-3341

    Abstract

    The interaction between surface and subsurface waters through hyporheic exchange and baseflow is critical to maintaining ecological health in streams. During warm periods, groundwater-surface water interactions have two primary effects on stream temperature: (1) cool groundwater discharging as baseflow lowers stream temperature and (2) hyporheic exchange buffers diurnal stream temperature variations. We demonstrate, for the first time, how high-resolution, remotely sensed forward-looking infrared (FLIR) images and instream temperature data can be used to quantify detailed spatial patterns of groundwater discharge to a 1.7 km reach of Cottonwood Creek in Plumas National Forest, CA. We quantifythe individual effects of baseflow and hyporheic exchange on stream temperatures by simulating the stream energy budget under different conceptual models of the stream-aquifer interaction. Observed spatial and temporal patterns of stream temperature are consistent with an increase in baseflow and hyporheic exchange within the middle, restored stream reach when compared to groundwater fluxes in the surrounding, unrestored reaches. One implication is that pond and plug stream restoration may improve the aquatic habitat by depressing maximum stream temperatures by > 3 degrees C (K).

    View details for DOI 10.1021/es0522074

    View details for Web of Science ID 000237525500036

    View details for PubMedID 16749702

  • Effects of spatially variable resolution on field-scale estimates of tracer concentration from electrical inversions using Archie's law GEOPHYSICS Singha, K., Gorelick, S. M. 2006; 71 (3): G83-G91

    View details for DOI 10.1190/1.2194900

    View details for Web of Science ID 000238819700020

  • Effective permeability of porous media containing branching channel networks PHYSICAL REVIEW E Ronayne, M. J., Gorelick, S. M. 2006; 73 (2)

    Abstract

    We study the effective permeability of two-dimensional binary systems characterized by a network of branching channels embedded in a uniform matrix material. Channels are assigned a higher permeability than the surrounding matrix and, therefore, serve as preferential pathways for fluid migration. The channel networks are constructed using a nonlooping invasion percolation model. We perform extensive numerical flow simulations to determine the effective permeability tensor of channel-matrix systems with broadly varying network properties. These computed effective permeabilities are then used to systematically investigate the factors that control the permeability upscaling process. The upscaling framework adopted for this study is based on spatial power averaging. We determine the scaling behavior of the averaging exponent omega by analyzing its dependence on three characteristic properties of the channel-matrix system: (i) the channel-matrix permeability contrast; (ii) the fractal dimension of the channel network, df; and (iii) the average tortuosity of spanning paths on the network backbone, tau. The behavior of and the corresponding component of effective permeability in each principal direction (parallel and perpendicular to the network-spanning direction) are compared. The permeability anisotropy ratio is shown to be a clear function of key system properties.

    View details for DOI 10.1103/PhysRevE.73.026305

    View details for Web of Science ID 000235667700075

    View details for PubMedID 16605452

  • Combined interpretation of radar, hydraulic, and tracer data from a fractured-rock aquifer near Mirror Lake, New Hampshire, USA HYDROGEOLOGY JOURNAL Day-Lewis, F. D., Lane, J. W., Gorelick, S. M. 2006; 14 (1-2): 1-14
  • Methods and systems for automatically determining and collecting a monetary contribution from an instrument US Patent 7,080,775 Gorelick, S. M. 2006
  • Field evaluation of in situ source reduction of trichloroethylene in groundwater using bioenhanced in-well vapor stripping ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Goltz, M. N., Gandhi, R. K., Gorelick, S. M., Hopkins, G. D., Smith, L. H., Timmins, B. H., McCarty, P. L. 2005; 39 (22): 8963-8970

    Abstract

    Two technologies in combination, cometabolic bioremediation and in-well vapor stripping, were applied to reduce trichloroethylene (TCE) concentrations in groundwater at a contaminant source area without the need to pump contaminated groundwater to the surface for treatment. The vapor-stripping well reduced source TCE concentrations (as high as 6-9 mg/L) by over 95%. Effluent from the well then flowed to two bioremediation wells, where additional reductions of approximately 60% were achieved. TCE removal was extensively monitored (for research and not regulatory purposes) using an automated system that collected samples about every 45 min at 55 locations over an area of approximately 50 x 60 m2. During 4.5 months of system operation, total TCE mass removal was 8.1 kg, 7.1 kg of which resulted from in-well vapor stripping and 1.0 kg from biotreatment. The system reduced the average TCE concentration of about 3000 microg/L in the source-zone groundwater to about 250 microg/L in water leaving the treatment zone, effecting greater than 92% TCE removal. A 6 month rebound study after system operation ceased found TCE concentrations then increased significantly in the treatment zone due to diffusion from the fractured rock below and perhaps other processes, with mass increases of about 1.5 kg in the lower aquifer and 0.3 kg in the upper aquifer.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/es050628f

    View details for Web of Science ID 000233297100061

    View details for PubMedID 16323801

  • A local-scale, high-resolution evapotranspiration mapping algorithm (ETMA) with hydroecological applications at riparian meadow restoration sites REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT Loheide, S. P., Gorelick, S. M. 2005; 98 (2-3): 182-200
  • Quantifying mass transfer in permeable media containing conductive dendritic networks GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Gorelick, S. M., Liu, G. S., Zheng, C. M. 2005; 32 (18)
  • MOD_FreeSurf2D: A MATLAB surface fluid flow model for rivers and streams COMPUTERS & GEOSCIENCES Martin, N., Gorelick, S. M. 2005; 31 (7): 929-946
  • Estimation of groundwater consumption by phreatophytes using diurnal water table fluctuations: A saturated-unsaturated flow assessment WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Loheide, S. P., Butler, J. J., Gorelick, S. M. 2005; 41 (7)
  • Saline tracer visualized with three-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography: Field-scale spatial moment analysis WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Singha, K., Gorelick, S. M. 2005; 41 (5)
  • Framework to evaluate the worth of hydraulic conductivity data for optimal groundwater resources management in ecologically sensitive areas WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Feyen, L., Gorelick, S. M. 2005; 41 (3)
  • Semi-analytical method for departure point determination INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS Martin, N., Gorelick, S. M. 2005; 47 (2): 121-137

    View details for DOI 10.1002/fld.799

    View details for Web of Science ID 000226079300002

  • A general approach to advective-dispersive transport with multirate mass transfer ADVANCES IN WATER RESOURCES Wang, P. P., Zheng, C. M., Gorelick, S. M. 2005; 28 (1): 33-42
  • Multi-objective calibration of a surface water-groundwater flow model in an irrigated agricultural region: Yaqui Valley, Sonora, Mexico HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES Schoups, G., Addams, C. L., Gorelick, S. M. 2005; 9 (5): 549-568
  • Effects of air injection on flow through porous media: Observations and analyses of laboratory-scale processes WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Dror, I., Berkowitz, B., Gorelick, S. M. 2004; 40 (9)
  • Limits of applicability of the advection-dispersion model in aquifers containing connected high-conductivity channels WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Liu, G. S., Zheng, C. M., Gorelick, S. M. 2004; 40 (8)
  • Reliable groundwater management in hydroecologically sensitive areas WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Feyen, L., Gorelick, S. M. 2004; 40 (7)
  • Time-lapse imaging of saline-tracer transport in fractured rock using difference-attenuation radar tomography WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Day-Lewis, F. D., Lane, J. W., Harris, J. M., Gorelick, S. M. 2003; 39 (10)
  • Analysis of solute transport in flow fields influenced by preferential flowpaths at the decimeter scale MODFLOW 2001 and Other Modeling Odysseys Conference Zheng, C. M., Gorelick, S. M. BLACKWELL PUBLISHING. 2003: 142–55

    Abstract

    Several recent studies at the Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site in Columbus, Mississippi, have indicated that the relative preferential flowpaths and flow barriers resulting from decimeter-scale aquifer heterogeneities appear to have a dominant effect on plume-scale solute transport. Numerical experiments are thus conducted in this study to explore the key characteristics of solute transport in two-dimensional flow fields influenced by decimeter-scale preferential flowpaths. A hypothetical but geologically plausible network of 10 cm wide channels of high hydraulic conductivity is used to represent the relative preferential flowpaths embedded in an otherwise homogeneous aquifer. When the hydraulic conductivity in the channels is 100 times greater than that in the remaining portion of the aquifer, the calculated concentration distributions under three source configurations all exhibit highly asymmetrical, non-Gaussian patterns. These patterns, with peak concentrations close to the source and extensive spreading downgradient, resemble that observed at the MADE site tracer tests. When the contrast between the channel and nonchannel hydraulic conductivities is reduced to 30:1 from 100:1, the calculated mass distribution curve starts to approach a Gaussian one with the peak concentration near the central portion of the plume. Additional analysis based on a field-scale model demonstrates that the existence of decimeter-scale preferential flowpaths can have potentially far-reaching implications for ground water remediation. Failure to account for them in numerical simulation could lead to overestimation of the effectiveness of the remedial measure under consideration.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000181382900005

    View details for PubMedID 12656281

  • Electrical imaging of tracer migration at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (SAGEEP) Singha, K., Binley Jr., A. M., Lane, J. W., Gorelick, S. M. 2003
  • Operation and analysis of the BEHIVS system at Edwards Air Force Base, Final Report, Western Regional Hazardous Substance Research Center McCarty, P. L., Gorelick, S. M., Goltz, M. N., Hopkins, G. D., Eisenberg, F. 2003
  • Time-lapse inversion of crosswell radar data GEOPHYSICS Day-Lewis, F. D., Harris, J. M., Gorelick, S. M. 2002; 67 (6): 1740-1752

    View details for DOI 10.1190/1.527075

    View details for Web of Science ID 000179840000006

  • Full-scale demonstration of in situ cometabolic biodegradation of trichloroethylene in groundwater - 2. Comprehensive analysis of field data using reactive transport modeling WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Gandhi, R. K., Hopkins, G. D., Goltz, M. N., Gorelick, S. M., McCarty, P. L. 2002; 38 (4)
  • Full-scale demonstration of in situ cometabolic biodegradation of trichloroethylene in groundwater - 1. Dynamics of a recirculating well system WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Gandhi, R. K., Hopkins, G. D., Goltz, M. N., Gorelick, S. M., McC rty, P. L. 2002; 38 (4)
  • Hydrogeology Program Planning Group Final Report JOIDES Journal Ge, S., Bekins, B., Bredehoeft, J. D., Brown, K., Davis, E. E., Gorelick, S. M., Henry, P., Kooi, H., Moench, A. F., Ruppel, C., Sauter, M., Screaton, E., P. K. Swart, T. Tokunaga, C. I. Voss, Whitaker, F. 2002; 28: 24-34
  • Solute transport in flow fields influenced by decimetre-scale preferential flow paths: implications for groundwater remediation 3rd International Conference on Groundwater Quality Zheng, C. M., Gorelick, S. M. INT ASSOC HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES. 2002: 463–69
  • Characterization of fractured-rock aquifers using radar, tracer and hydraulic data Day-Lewis, F. D., Lane Jr., J. W., Hsieh, P. A., Gorelick, S. M. 2001
  • Field experiments using in situ bioremediation to treat trichloroethylene (TCE)-contaminated groundwater Meeting of the Korean Groundwater and Soil Environment Society (Spring) Goltz, M. N., Gandhi, R. K., Gorelick, S. M., Hopkins, G. D., McCarty, P. L. 2001
  • Application of circulating wells for in situ treatment of contaminated groundwater International Symposium on Soil and Groundwater Contamination Control Strategy Gold, M. N., Gandhi, R. K., Gorelick, S. M., Hopkins, G. D., LeBron, C., McCarty, P. L., Reinhard, M. 2001
  • Inferring the relation between seismic slowness and hydraulic conductivity in heterogeneous aquifers WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Hyndman, D. W., Harris, J. M., Gorelick, S. M. 2000; 36 (8): 2121-2132
  • Identifying fracture-zone geometry using simulated annealing and hydraulic-connection data WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Day-Lewis, F. D., Hsieh, P. A., Gorelick, S. M. 2000; 36 (7): 1707-1721
  • Rate-limited mass transfer or macrodispersion: Which dominates plume evolution at the Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site? WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Harvey, C. F., Gorelick, S. M. 2000; 36 (3): 637-650
  • Attenuation-difference radar tomography: Results of a multiple-plane experiment at the US Geological Survey Fractured-Rock Research Site, Mirror Lake, New Hampshire 8th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR 2000) Lane, J. W., Day-Lewis, F. D., Harris, J. M., Haeni, F. P., Gorelick, S. M. SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. 2000: 666–675
  • Convergence of stochastic optimization and decision analysis in the engineering design of aquifer remediation GROUND WATER Freeze, R. A., Gorelick, S. M. 1999; 37 (6): 934-954
  • Geostatistical simulation of high-transmissivity zones at the Mirror Lake Site in New Hampshire: Conditioning hydraulic information Day-Lewis, F. D., Hsieh, P. A., Shapiro, A. M., Gorelick, S. M. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018C. 1999: 685–694
  • Modeling mass transfer processes in soil columns with pore-scale heterogeneity SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL Haggerty, R., Gorelick, S. M. 1998; 62 (1): 62-74
  • Simulation-Optimization of Groundwater Pumping from the Gwelup Borefield, Western Australia CSIRO Land and Water Report No Ali, R., Gorelick, S. M., Turner, J. V. 1998
  • Experimental investigations for trapping oxygen gas in saturated porous media for in situ bioremediation WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH FRY, V. A., Selker, J. S., Gorelick, S. M. 1997; 33 (12): 2687-2696
  • Laboratory-scale analysis of aquifer remediation by in-well vapor stripping - 2. Modeling results JOURNAL OF CONTAMINANT HYDROLOGY Pinto, M. J., Gvirtzman, H., Gorelick, S. M. 1997; 29 (1): 41-58
  • Incorporating uncertainty into aquifer management models Subsurface Flow and Transport Gorelick, S. M. edited by Dagan, G., Newman, S. P. Cambridge University Press. 1997: 101–112
  • Heterogeneity in sedimentary deposits: A review of structure-imitating, process-imitating, and descriptive approaches WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH KOLTERMANN, C. E., Gorelick, S. M. 1996; 32 (9): 2617-2658
  • Estimating lithologic and transport properties in three dimensions using seismic and tracer data: The Kesterson aquifer WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Hyndman, D. W., Gorelick, S. M. 1996; 32 (9): 2659-2670
  • A physically based model for air-lift pumping WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Francois, O., Gilmore, T., Pinto, M. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1996; 32 (8): 2383-2399
  • The effects of pulsed pumping on land subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley, California JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY Wilson, A. M., Gorelick, S. 1996; 174 (3-4): 375-396
  • Fractional packing model for hydraulic conductivity derived from sediment mixtures WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH KOLTERMANN, C. E., Gorelick, S. M. 1995; 31 (12): 3283-3297
  • TEMPORAL MOMENT-GENERATING EQUATIONS - MODELING TRANSPORT AND MASS-TRANSFER IN HETEROGENEOUS AQUIFERS WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Harvey, C. F., Gorelick, S. M. 1995; 31 (8): 1895-1911
  • MAPPING HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY - SEQUENTIAL CONDITIONING WITH MEASUREMENTS OF SOLUTE ARRIVAL TIME, HYDRAULIC-HEAD, AND LOCAL CONDUCTIVITY WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Harvey, C. F., Gorelick, S. M. 1995; 31 (7): 1615-1626
  • If it works, don't fix it: Benefits from regional groundwater management Groundwater Models for Resources Analysis and Management Bredehoeft, J. D., Reichard, E. G., Gorelick, S. M. 1995: 101–121
  • WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - THE WORTH OF MONITORING DATA IN AQUIFER REMEDIATION DESIGN WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH JAMES, B. R., Gorelick, S. M. 1994; 30 (12): 3499-3513
  • AQUIFER REMEDIATION - A METHOD FOR ESTIMATING MASS-TRANSFER RATE COEFFICIENTS AND AN EVALUATION OF PULSED PUMPING WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Harvey, C. F., Haggerty, R., Gorelick, S. M. 1994; 30 (7): 1979-1991
  • COUPLED SEISMIC AND TRACER TEST INVERSION FOR AQUIFER PROPERTY CHARACTERIZATION WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Hyndman, D. W., Harris, J. M., Gorelick, S. M. 1994; 30 (7): 1965-1977
  • DESIGN OF MULTIPLE CONTAMINANT REMEDIATION - SENSITIVITY TO RATE-LIMITED MASS-TRANSFER WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Haggerty, R., Gorelick, S. M. 1994; 30 (2): 435-446
  • ANALYSIS OF UNCERTAINTY IN OPTIMAL GROUNDWATER CONTAMINANT CAPTURE DESIGN WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH TIEDEMAN, C., Gorelick, S. M. 1993; 29 (7): 2139-2153
  • DESIGN OF OPTIMAL, RELIABLE PLUME CAPTURE SCHEMES - APPLICATION TO THE GLOUCESTER LANDFILL GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION PROBLEM GROUND WATER GAILEY, R. M., Gorelick, S. M. 1993; 31 (1): 107-114
  • Groundwater Contamination: Optimal Capture and Containment Gorelick, S. M., Freeze, R. A., Donohue, D., Keely, J. F. 1993
  • USING AIRLIFT PUMPING AS AN IN-SITU AQUIFER REMEDIATION TECHNIQUE 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONF OF THE ISRAEL SOC FOR ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY : ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ECOSYSTEM STABILITY Gvirtzman, H., Gorelick, S. M. IWA PUBLISHING. 1993: 195–201
  • THE CONCEPT OF INSITU VAPOR STRIPPING FOR REMOVING VOCS FROM GROUNDWATER TRANSPORT IN POROUS MEDIA Gvirtzman, H., Gorelick, S. M. 1992; 8 (1): 71-92
  • COUPLED PROCESS PARAMETER-ESTIMATION AND PREDICTION UNCERTAINTY USING HYDRAULIC-HEAD AND CONCENTRATION DATA ADVANCES IN WATER RESOURCES GAILEY, R. M., Gorelick, S. M., Crowe, A. S. 1991; 14 (5): 301-314
  • DISPERSION AND ADVECTION IN UNSATURATED POROUS-MEDIA ENHANCED BY ANION EXCLUSION NATURE Gvirtzman, H., Gorelick, S. M. 1991; 352 (6338): 793-795
  • INSITU METHANOTROPHIC BIOREMEDIATION FOR CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER AT ST-JOSEPH, MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SYMP ON IN SITU AND ON-SITE BIORECLAMATION McCarty, P. L., Semprini, L., Dolan, M. E., Harmon, T. C., TIEDEMAN, C., Gorelick, S. M. BUTTERWORTH-HEINEMANN. 1991: 16–40
  • BENEFITS OF AN IRRIGATION WATER RENTAL MARKET IN A SALINE STREAM-AQUIFER SYSTEM WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH LEFKOFF, L. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1990; 26 (7): 1371-1381
  • SIMULATING PHYSICAL PROCESSES AND ECONOMIC-BEHAVIOR IN SALINE, IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE - MODEL DEVELOPMENT WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH LEFKOFF, L. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1990; 26 (7): 1359-1369
  • LARGE-SCALE NONLINEAR DETERMINISTIC AND STOCHASTIC OPTIMIZATION - FORMULATIONS INVOLVING SIMULATION OF SUBSURFACE CONTAMINATION MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING Gorelick, S. M. 1990; 48 (1): 19-39
  • RELIABLE AQUIFER REMEDIATION IN THE PRESENCE OF SPATIALLY-VARIABLE HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY - FROM DATA TO DESIGN WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH WAGNER, B. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1989; 25 (10): 2211-2225
  • PARTICLE TRAVEL-TIMES OF CONTAMINANTS INCORPORATED INTO A PLANNING-MODEL FOR GROUNDWATER PLUME CAPTURE JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY Greenwald, R. M., Gorelick, S. M. 1989; 107 (1-4): 73-98
  • EFFECTIVE GROUNDWATER MODEL PARAMETER VALUES - INFLUENCE OF SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY, LEAKANCE, AND RECHARGE WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH GOMEZHERNANDEZ, J. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1989; 25 (3): 405-419
  • AQMAN: Linear and quadratic programming matrix generator using two-dimensional ground water flow simulation for aquifer management modelling Water Resources Investigation Lefkoff, L. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1989
  • OPTIMAL GROUNDWATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT UNDER PARAMETER UNCERTAINTY WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH WAGNER, B. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1987; 23 (7): 1162-1174
  • Sensitivity analysis of optimal groundwater contaminant capture curves: Spatial variability and robust solutions Gorelick, S. M. 1987: 133–46
  • DESIGN AND COST-ANALYSIS OF RAPID AQUIFER RESTORATION SYSTEMS USING FLOW SIMULATION AND QUADRATIC-PROGRAMMING GROUND WATER LEFKOFF, L. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1986; 24 (6): 777-790
  • A STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY FOR ESTIMATING TRANSPORT PARAMETERS - THEORY AND APPLICATIONS TO ONE-DIMENSIONAL ADVECTIVE-DISPERSIVE SYSTEMS WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH WAGNER, B. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1986; 22 (8): 1303-1315
  • A statistical methodology for estimating transport parameters: Theory and applications to one-dimensional advective-dispersive systems Water Resources Research Wagner, B. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1986; 22: 1301-1316
  • Incorporating assurance into groundwater quality management model Groundwater Flow and Quality Modelling Gorelick, S. M. edited by Custodio, E., Gurgui, A., Lobo Ferreira, L. P. 1986; 224: 135–150
  • Evaluating strategies for groundwater contaminant plume stabilization and removal Selected Papers in the Hydrologic Sciences Gorelick, S. M., Wagner, B. J. 1986: 81-89
  • The problem of complex eigensystems in the semianalytic solution for advancement of time in solute transport simulations: A new method using real arithmetic Water Resources Research Umari, A. M. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1986; 22: 1149-1154
  • Estimating missing streamflow values by cokriging Mathematical Geology Solow, A. R., Gorelick, S. M. 1986; 18: 785-809
  • Optimal groundwater quality management under parameter uncertainty Water Resources Research Wagner, B. J., Gorelick, S. M. 1986; 23: 162-1174
  • Geologic inference from flow net transmissivity determination: Three case studies Water Resources Bulletin Rice, W., Gorelick, S. M. 1985; 21: 919-930
  • Hydraulic gradient control for groundwater contaminant removal Journal of Hydrology Atwood, D. F., Gorelick, S. M. 1985; 76: 85-106
  • A policy evaluation tool: Management of a multi-aquifer system using controlled stream recharge Water Resources Research Danskin, W. R., Gorelick, S. M. 1985; 21: 1731-1747
  • AQUIFER RECLAMATION DESIGN - THE USE OF CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT SIMULATION COMBINED WITH NONLINEAR-PROGRAMMING WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Gorelick, S. M., Voss, C. I., Gill, P. E., Murray, W., Saunders, M. A., Wright, M. H. 1984; 20 (4): 415-427
  • IDENTIFYING SOURCES OF GROUNDWATER POLLUTION - AN OPTIMIZATION APPROACH WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Gorelick, S. M., Evans, B., Remson, I. 1983; 19 (3): 779-790
  • A review of distributed parameter groundwater management modelling methods Water Resources Research Gorelick, S. M. 1983; 19: 18-32
  • OPTIMAL LOCATION AND MANAGEMENT OF WASTE-DISPOSAL FACILITIES AFFECTING GROUNDWATER QUALITY WATER RESOURCES BULLETIN Gorelick, S. M., Remson, I. 1982; 18 (1): 43-51
  • Hydrologic issues in repository siting The technology of high-level nuclear waste disposal Remson, I., Gorelick, S. M. edited by Hofmann, P. L. 1982: 46–52
  • A model for managing sources of groundwater pollution Water Resources Research Gorelick, S. M. 1982; 18: 773-781
  • OPTIMAL DYNAMIC MANAGEMENT OF GROUNDWATER POLLUTANT SOURCES WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Gorelick, S. M., Remson, I. 1982; 18 (1): 71-76
  • COMPUTER-MODELS IN GROUNDWATER EXPLORATION GROUND WATER Remson, I., Gorelick, S. M., FLIEGNER, J. F. 1980; 18 (5): 447-451
  • Management models incorporating groundwater variables Operations Research in Agriculture and Water Resources Remson, I., Gorelick, S. M. edited by Yaron, D., Tapiero, C. S. North Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 1980: 333–356
  • MANAGEMENT MODEL OF A GROUNDWATER SYSTEM WITH A TRANSIENT POLLUTANT SOURCE WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Gorelick, S. M., Remson, I., Cottle, R. W. 1979; 15 (5): 1243-1249