Current Hydrogeology Research Projects

Fluid Flow in Accretionary Prisms

Field Locality: Nankai Trough, Offshore Kii Peninsula, Japan
Objectives: Unraveling the role of fluid over-pressure in the mechanics of
accretionary wedge sediments and deformation zones at subduction localities.
Funding Sources: IODP
Collaborators: See NanTroSeize project for complete list
Current and Past Students: Seeking a student!
Relevant Publications and Presentations:

Ground Water/Surface Interactions:

Field Locality: Deerfield River Watershed/Charlemont, MA, USA
Objectives: Determine the influence of upstream dam releases on downstream
surface-water ground water interaction.
Funding Sources: UMass Faculty Research Grant;
Collaborators: Steve Mabee (MA OSG)
Current and Past Students: Brandon Fleming (Now at USGS- MS), Brian Yellen
(UMass- MS)
Relevant Publications and Presentations: Boutt and Fleming (2009)

Hydrogeology and Climate Change

Field Locality: Northeast Region, USA
Objectives: Using a large 60 year data set and network of ground water, surface
water, and atmospheric measurement stations to examine decadal scale variability
in the response of the ground water table to climate, land use, and anthropogenic
forcing.
Funding Sources: None
Current and Past Students: Willie Guerra (Now at Cornell - UG), Kaitlyn Wieder
(UMass- MS)
Relevant Publications and Presentations:

Hydrogeology and Mechanics of Fractured Rock Aquifers

Field Locality: I-495 Corridor, Eastern Massachusetts, USA
Objectives: To improve our understanding of the storage mechanisms of fractured
rock systems including the understanding of how physical properties are influenced
by low magnitude anisotropic stress fields in the shallow earth.
Funding Sources: USGS 104G – National Water Science Competition, NSF
Collaborators: Steve Mabee (MA OSG)
Current and Past Students: Alex Manda (Now a Professor at ECU -PHD), Patrick
Diggins (Now at ERM -MS), Liam Bevan (UMass - MS), Evan Earnest-Heckler (UMass
-PhD), Also Seeking another student!
Relevant Publications and Presentations: Boutt et al. (In review):

Deep Crustal Hydrogeology

Ecohydrology of Deep Crystalline Rocks (DUSEL – Homestake)
Field Locality: Black Hills, SD, USA
Objectives: Develop state of the art underground research laboratory for
investigating the relationship between in‐situ stress, fluid transport, and life
Funding Sources: NSF – EAR-IF
Collaborators: Herb Wang (UWisc), Tom Keift (NMT), Larry Murdoch (Clemson), TC
Onstott (Princeton)
Current and Past Students: None
Relevant Publications and Presentations:

Natural Hydraulic Fracture Genesis

Field Locality: NM, USA; WI, USA
Objectives: Determine the role of mechanical and hydrologic properties on the
initiation and propagation of natural hydraulic fractures in evolving sedimentary
basins.
Funding Sources: NSF -Tectonics
Collaborators: Laurel Goodwin (UWisc)
Current and Past Students: Melodie French (while at UWisc - MS), Erin Bradley
(UMass - MS)
Relevant Publications and Presentations:

Poroelastic Behavior of Aquifer Systems, including siliclastic reservoirs

Field Locality: Various Localities including Deerfield River Watershed, MA; NM, USA;
WI, USA.
Objectives: Improving our ability to characterize the effect of variable cementation
on the hydro‐mechanical properties of siliclastic aquifers and reservoirs.
Funding Sources: DOE-BES
Collaborators: Laurel Goodwin (UWisc), Tom Buchheit (Sandia), Benjamin Cook
(Sandia)
Current and Past Students: Kathleen Plourde (Now at Exxon - MS); Seeking a
student!
Relevant Publications and Presentations: