Laura Norman
Laura M. Norman is a Supervisory Research Physical Scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey, where she has worked since 1998. She received her Ph.D. in Watershed Management from the University of Arizona (UA), minoring in Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis in 2005, where she also taught an introductory geographic information system (GIS) Laboratory for 4 years. She graduated with a M.S. in Watershed Management, using the Advanced Resource Technology Option from the UA in 2000 and a B.S. in Forestry from Oregon State University in 1994, minoring in Cultural Anthropology. Dr. Norman also has a degree certificate in Visual Basic Programming from Pima Community College (2002).
Her research uses remotely sensed imagery and other geospatial data in complex models to predict the fate of non-point source pollutants and identify their sources, consider potential growth scenarios and identify watershed processes. This research has been tested in a historically mined area in the Patagonia Mountains of Arizona to track acid-mine drainage and employed on the U.S.-Mexico border, where virtual models can predict pollution rates and measure consequences of abatement under varying management regimes. Most recently she is using her skills to improve restoration-site selection and design, assess restoration efforts, and predict the effects of climate and land-use change. Norman has published several articles on environmental health, cross-border policy, regional planning, ecosystem services and restoration design.
Her research uses remotely sensed imagery and other geospatial data in complex models to predict the fate of non-point source pollutants and identify their sources, consider potential growth scenarios and identify watershed processes. This research has been tested in a historically mined area in the Patagonia Mountains of Arizona to track acid-mine drainage and employed on the U.S.-Mexico border, where virtual models can predict pollution rates and measure consequences of abatement under varying management regimes. Most recently she is using her skills to improve restoration-site selection and design, assess restoration efforts, and predict the effects of climate and land-use change. Norman has published several articles on environmental health, cross-border policy, regional planning, ecosystem services and restoration design.
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Climate change, biodiversity, restoration, & best management practices
Broad overview of Jaguar habitat
Madrean Archipelago Ecoregion
Major players ranging from well-known academics, spokespeople, restoration practitioners, agency folk, & a group of cowboys working in the "radical center"
A grassroots effort created >5 years ago involves managers, restorationists & landowners, has spiraled into a successful binational landscape collaborative
USGS Aridland Water Harvesting Study portrays a series of publications using varied interdisciplinary scientific experiments to validate rock detention structures
Results presented as Ecosystem Services & ability to combat climate change and preserve biodiversity
I discuss provisioning of public goods for humankind, especially environmental justice communities and related to conservation of land and water resources.
Results could be used to leverage funding & trade
Special journal issue!
Papers
Highlights
•Natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS) store water, sediment, and carbon
•NIDS can be installed by both beaver or humans, using rock, wood, and mud.
•NIDS can create or restore riparian wetlands in degraded, incised watersheds.
•NIDS sustain processes and functions that boost fluvial ecosystem resilience.
•NIDS initiate positive feedback loops that mitigate climate change.
Climate change, biodiversity, restoration, & best management practices
Broad overview of Jaguar habitat
Madrean Archipelago Ecoregion
Major players ranging from well-known academics, spokespeople, restoration practitioners, agency folk, & a group of cowboys working in the "radical center"
A grassroots effort created >5 years ago involves managers, restorationists & landowners, has spiraled into a successful binational landscape collaborative
USGS Aridland Water Harvesting Study portrays a series of publications using varied interdisciplinary scientific experiments to validate rock detention structures
Results presented as Ecosystem Services & ability to combat climate change and preserve biodiversity
I discuss provisioning of public goods for humankind, especially environmental justice communities and related to conservation of land and water resources.
Results could be used to leverage funding & trade
Special journal issue!
Highlights
•Natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS) store water, sediment, and carbon
•NIDS can be installed by both beaver or humans, using rock, wood, and mud.
•NIDS can create or restore riparian wetlands in degraded, incised watersheds.
•NIDS sustain processes and functions that boost fluvial ecosystem resilience.
•NIDS initiate positive feedback loops that mitigate climate change.
Wilson, N. R., & Norman, L. M. (2019b, August). Vegetation Response to Watershed Restoration in Southeastern Arizona. Native Plant Society Meeting 2019, Thatcher, AZ.
Wilson, N. R., & Norman, L. M. (2019c, November 8). Vegetation Response to Watershed Restoration in Southeastern Arizona. Society of Ecological Restoration Southwest Conference, Tucson Arizona.
Wilson, N. R., Norman, L. M., Campbell, C., Conn, J., Buckley, S., Tirion, K., & Seibert, D. (2016, November 9). Vegetation Response to Watershed Restoration in Southeastern Arizona. 2016 Annual Conference of the Society of Ecological Restoration – Southwest Chapter, Las Vegas, NV. http://chapter.ser.org/southwest/2016-annual-conference/
Wilson, N. R., Norman, L. M., Tiller, R., Salywon, Gass, L., & Villarreal, M. L. (2014a, June 7). Temporal study of cienegas at Cienega Creek using multispectral satellite imagery and aerial photography. Science on the Sonoita Plain Symposium, Appleton-Whittle Research Ranch of the National Audubon Society, Sonoita, AZ.
Wilson, N. R., Norman, L. M., Tiller, R., Salywon, Gass, L., & Villarreal, M. L. (2014b, July 14). Temporal study of cienegas at Cienega Creek using multispectral satellite imagery and aerial photography. 2014 Esri International User Conference, San Diego, California.
Wilson, N. R., Norman, L. M., Villarreal, M. L., Gass, L., Tiller, R., & Salywon, A. (2014, September 26). Temporal study of cienegas at Cienega Creek using multispectral satellite imagery. Association of Pacific Coast Geographers (APCG) Conference, Tucson, AZ.
This study is using a novel combination of methods to develop a conceptual hydrologic model of a fractured-rock aquifer in the Patagonia Mountains of southeast Arizona. The study is motivated by a need to understand current hydrologic and hydrochemical baseline conditions due to an increased interest in mineral exploration and extraction. Rainfall-runoff modeling with sediment transport is being used to understand both hydrology and hydrochemistry. Model calculation of evapotranspiration and percolation below the root zone provides estimates of water-budget components at relatively high resolution. Modeled baseflow will be compared with perennial-reaches to evaluate if groundwater flow through surficial alluvial material and hillslope soils is sufficient to explain baseflow or whether groundwater discharge from faults is required. Sediment-transport modeling is being used to evaluate potential impacts of erosion of hillslopes and metal-rich tailings. Wells with available water level information are few. Data on known elevations of springs and flowing adits will be used to supplement groundwater level information, but few are mapped. Additional groundwater discharge locations are being mapped using a combination of satellite and potential fields. Probable seep and spring locations are sites where linear features, increased greenness (from leaves), iron-rich soils, and faults occur together, and are identified using a combination of Aster satellite Bands 2 and 3N (NDVI and Canny edge detection), satellite maps of ferric iron, gravity and magnetic field variations (horizontal gradient and analytic signal). New geologic maps and cross-sections derived from field mapping, borehole logs, and potential field modeling are being analyzed to identify areas and likely directions of groundwater flow via faults, breccia pipes, shear zones, and hydrothermally-altered and sedimentary rocks. Locations of tunnels, adits, and unlined drillholes are being analyzed to understand anthropogenic modifications of the groundwater flow field. Isotopes, major ions and trace metals are being used for flow path delineation.
Water resource availability restricts development in arid and semi-arid regions of world. Past observations show that urban areas can increase stream discharge at least on a local scale. These results suggest that urbanization may increase the availability of wet water capable of being used by urban society. Here we present a combination of observational work demonstrating the increase of available water in urban areas of southern Arizona; and a modelling study demonstrating that future land use change may significantly increase river discharge across the Santa Cruz watershed which is {\textasciitilde}12\% urban. The observational data comes from over 30 watersheds varying in cover from undeveloped to highly urban and in spatial scale from a few square meters to thousands of square kilometers. The modelling study includes a conservation ({\textasciitilde}35\% urban), megalopolitan ({\textasciitilde}34\% urban) and business as usual scenario ({\textasciitilde}38\% urban) for land use change due to regional population growth. All land use change scenarios result in significant increases in watershed streamflow. Depending upon pattern of urbanization, streamflow increased as much 88\% in some watershed locations; demonstrating the potential to partially meet water resources demands in the region with water produced by the urbanization process. This water could be used regionally or locally, and significant efforts at implementing water harvesting in the region have been pursued. However, the ability to scale such implementation and overcome the physical, and social barriers to implementation are currently unquantified.
In water-scarce regions prone to flash-flooding, simple rock structures can be used to slow runoff and erosion in ephemeral-stream channels, increasing infiltration and recharge and improving riparian ecological health. However, few quantitative studies assess the effectiveness of such structures for enhanced infiltration and recharge. We aim to evaluate the impact of newly-installed gabions (rock-filled wire baskets) in an ephemeral-stream channel located in a grassland in southeastern Arizona. Four gabions were installed in the channel in May, 2015. We have instrumented channel reaches upstream and downstream of one gabion with wildlife cameras, pressure transducers, and surface and subsurface temperature sensors. We plan to infer vertical water flux through the subsurface using daily surface and subsurface temperature fluctuations and analytical solutions of heat transport in soil. These methods use the extent to which daily temperature fluctuations are dampened and delayed with depth (because water transmits temperature changes more quickly than dry soil). Flow on August 20, 2015 was captured by both cameras and temperature sensors. Novel to this study, we will use the repeat camera imagery to estimate ponded area through time. This will be used to convert temperature-sensor derived infiltration flux to total flow, with and without the gabion’s influence. Additionally, we expect to be able to monitor changes in infiltration flux through time, which will advance our understanding of the impacts of fine-sediment deposition upstream of the gabion.