Surface Water Research Group

Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder

 

 
Eric E. Small

Eric E. Small
Associate Professor of Geological Sciences

My research and teaching are focused on the physical processes that regulate the water and energy budgets of the Earth's land surface. Vegetation, soil, and the atmosphere strongly influence surface water fluxes and storage and therefore are primary targets for my research. The processes I study act across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, from the influence of plants on surface water redistribution during rainstorms to the effects of land-atmosphere interactions on decadal rainfall variability. My research combines modeling and data analysis, with the latter including measurements from the field, lab, and remote sensing. Graduate and undergraduate students participate in all aspects of this research, and I incorporate research-based learning into classes.  

University of Colorado - Boulder
Campus Box 399
2200 Colorado Ave.
Boulder, CO 80309-0399 USA
Phone: (303) 735-5033
Fax: (303) 492-2606
eric.small@colorado.edu

BA Geology, Williams College, 1993
PhD Earth Science, UC Santa Cruz, 1998

Curriculum Vitae (.pdf)

TEACHING:

Classes I taught at New Mexico Tech's Dept of Earth & Environmental Science:

Fall 2001
HYD 571: Advance Topics in Hydrology. Study of special topics in hydrology.

Spring 2001
HYD 412/512: Surface Water Hydrology. The hydrologic cycle, with emphasis on atmospheric, land surface, and shallow subsurface processes. Water and energy balance, global climate and the energy budget of the earth, precipitation mechanisms, infiltration and the vadose zone, evapotranspiration, open channel hydraulics, catchment hydrology. Shared lectures (412/512) but graded separately.

HYD 512L: Surface Water Hydrology Lab. A series of experiments and problems illustrating water flow and energy balance on the earth's surface and in the atmosphere.

Spring 2000
HYD 513: Hydroclimatology. Hydrology of the land surface and atmosphere. Water and energy balance, radiation and clouds, precipitation and evapotranspiration, boundary-layer processes, land-atmosphere interactions, climate change.