Luke Pangle

My research is motivated by two general questions: 1) how does weather variability, landscape heterogeneity, and human manipulation of landscapes control the magnitude of water fluxes in the terrestrial water cycle, and 2) how do the same factors control to distribution of water travel times through landscapes?  My research includes field-based observational studies, laboratory- and field-based manipulative experimentation, and application of various flow- and transport-modeling techniques.  I also utilize stable-isotopes of water as hydrological tracers, and operate a laser spectrometer in my laboratory for analysis of stable-isotope ratios in water samples.

Areas of Expertise:

Catchment Hydrology

Vadose Zone and Ground Water Hydrology

Urban Hydrology

Applications of Stable Isotope Tracers in Hydrology

Current Projects:

Investigating the Magnitude, Variability, and Governance of Infrastructure-Mediated Flows in Urban Watersheds.  Supported by the National Science Foundation Geography and Spatial Sciences Program, Grant #1853809, in collaboration with GSU Geosciences Faculty Jeremy Diem, Richard Milligan, and Ellis Adams.

Impact of beaver dam and beaver dam analogues on hydrologic and nitrate retention in Atlanta, GA.  Supported by the USGS Georgia Water Resources Institute 104b grant, in collaboration with GSU Geosciences Faculty Sarah Ledford.

Meteorological and ecological controls on water travel time distributions at Panola Mountain Research Watershed in the southeastern Piedmont, USA.  Supported by Georgia State University, in collaboration with USGS Research Hydrologist Brent Aulenbach.

Diurnal water table and streamflow fluctuations: ecohydrological significance and mechanistic evaluation.  Supported by Georgia State University, in collaboration with USGS Hydrologist and GSU Graduate Student Jeff Riley (Jeff’s dissertation research).

Course Offerings:

Fall Semester

GEOS 6007 – Groundwater Hydrology

GEOG 1113 – Introduction to Landforms

Spring Semester

GEOS 6009 – Applications of Chemical Tracers in Hydrology

GEOG 1113 – Introduction to Landforms

Current and Past Graduate Students

See curriculum vitae for student project descriptions and available information about their professional pursuits after degree completion.