Biography

Dr. Michelle Newcomer is a Research Scientist in the Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She is a member of the Watershed Function SFA 2.0 Team and her research focuses on analyzing the effects of climate perturbations on hydrological and biogeochemical cycling in hyporheic zones and as a function of surface water-groundwater interactions. Her current research links dynamic mechanisms of microbial transformations to larger scale effects driven by climate in the East River, CO, and the Russian River, CA. Michelle completed her PhD in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley and has a wide range of hydrological interests from:

• Impacts of California wild-fires on watershed hydrology and water quality
• Extreme climate and changes to groundwater-surface water connectivity
• Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and the role of food-webs, riverine exports, and climate perturbations
• Terrestrial Aquatic Interface (TAI): exploring the biogeochemistry of the TAI across large-scale (coastal zones) to small-scale (hyporheic zones)
• New fiber-optic technologies for sensing across the TAI

News Highlights

• Apr. 2019: Dr. Newcomer, selected expert at the April 4, 2019 CCST Expert Briefing Series on Environmental Impacts of Wildfires in California [One-Pager; Video]
• Feb. 2019: Poseidon Water Partners With Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Algal Bloom Research [link]
• Dec. 2018: Research scientist Michelle Newcomer Talks About Wildfire’s Effects on Water Quality at AGU [link]
• Oct. 2018: Dr. Newcomer accepted the invitation to participate as the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) Early Career Committee (ECC) member and representative of the International Commission on Groundwater
• Aug. 2018: Dr. Newcomer receives the LBNL Early Career LDRD research grant 2018-2020: Climate and Hydrological Controls on Coastal Algal Blooms [link]
• Jul. 2018: Michelle hosts the Intro to Jupyter for Water Data Analysis: CA Big Data Challenge, YouTube Video time 0:10, Binder materials.
• Jun. 2018: Recently published article receives cover article highlight. Influence of hydrological perturbations and riverbed sediment characteristics on hyporheic zone respiration of CO₂ and N₂. JGR Biogeosciences. doi:10.1002/2017JG004090 [link]. Cover Article Highlight.
• Apr. 2018: Lab Hosts First Big Data study trip. BLEND Workshop. February 2018. [link]
• Oct. 2017: Dr. Newcomer launches the post-fire water quality sampling across the Russian River Watershed. Research Becomes Reality in Study of Fire Impact on Sonoma Water Resources. October 2017. [link]