Heat as a Tracer

In the subsurface, the distribution of heat is partially a function of groundwater flow. We focus on developing new tools to improve how heat can be measured and used as a tool for tracing and quantifying groundwater processes. This includes developing new methods for analyzing temperature data, using fibre-optic distributed temperature sensors (FO-DTS), and thermal infrared cameras. Further, we study how warming climate impacts the shallow subsurface thermal regime.

---

Research Examples
Baker, E., L.K. Lautz, C.A. Kelleher, J.M. McKenzie, 2018, The Importance of Incorporating Diurnally Fluctuating Stream Discharge in Energy Balance Models to Determine Groundwater Inflow Rates, Hydrological Processes. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.13226.
  Article Online

Aubry-Wake, C., D. Zéphir, M. Baraer, J.M. McKenzie, B.G. Mark, 2017, Importance of longwave emissions from an adjacent terrain on patterns of tropical glacier melt and recession, Journal of Glaciology, DOI:10.1017/jog.2017.85.
  Article Online (open access) 

Kurylyk, B.L., K.T.B. MacQuarrie, D. Caissie, J.M. McKenzie, 2015, Shallow groundwater thermal sensitivity to climate change and land cover disturbances: derivation of analytical expressions and implications for stream temperature modeling, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS), DOI: doi:10.5194/hess-19-2469-2015
  Article Online (Open Access)

VFLUX, a code for analyzing 1-dimensional temperature data:
Vertical Fluid Heat Transfer Solver (VFlu[H]X Solver)