​I am a hydrogeologist and watershed ecosystem ecologist with expertise in process-based mechanics of surface water and groundwater transport and biogeochemical processing within these environments. I am currently an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences.  

My research focuses on characterizing hydrologic processes and investigating how these processes underpin the response of watershed ecosystems to climatic and land use changes.  My research interests are generally motivated by:

(1)   the spatio-temporal role of groundwater in watersheds; 

(2)  how terrestrial-aquatic connectivity shapes water quality, and 

(3) the effect of climate change on freshwater processes and patterns.

Much of my work is also centered on method development at a range of multiple scales to support and inform process-based and mechanistic modeling approaches.  

email: dhare[at]umass.edu   

Generally, my research has focused on understanding site-specific surface water-groundwater exchange to instruct aquatic habitat/ecological restoration design, as well as contaminant fate and transport remediation. 

I have extensive experience using novel, high-resolution field methods to characterize surface water-groundwater connections, including geophysical surveys, stable isotope tracers, and multiple heat tracing techniques, including infrared, fiber optic temperature sensing (FO-DTS), and thermal flux profiles. Previously, I utilized unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) to evaluate larger, difficult-to-access aquatic systems. I am interested in combining these techniques to understand better the spatial and temporal dynamics of the groundwater-surface water interface, which will allow us to model better and apply them to large-scale projects.

I grew up in Calgary, Alberta, along the Silver Springs of the Bow River, which I credit with much of my unending fascination with hydrologic systems.   

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