Noah Molotch photo portrait
Associate Professor of Geography • Surface Water and Snow Hydrology; Remote Sensing; Ecohydrology • Fellow of INSTAAR • Faculty of Hydrologic Sciences • Ph.D. The University of Arizona, 2004
Physical Geography

Research Interests

My research and teaching interests are focused on the processes controlling hydrologic fluxes in mountainous regions and within the greater Earth system. Improved understanding of these processes is essential for sustainable management of natural resources and for making informed environmental policy decisions. My research projects utilize ground-based observations, remote sensing, and computational modeling to obtain comprehensive understanding of hydrological processes; in particular the distribution of snow and vegetation. Additional projects aim at developing techniques for scaling hydrological processes and for designing ground-based observation networks tailored for integration with remote sensing and modeling. Studies relating fluxes of water, carbon, and nitrogen are also a focus of my current projects - in particular the feedbacks between water availability and carbon cycling in montane forests.


Recent Courses Taught

  • Spring 2024  GEOG 4321/5321  Snow Hydrology
  • Fall 2023 GEOG 3251  Mountain Geography
  • Spring 2023  GEOG 4321/5321  Snow Hydrology
  • Spring 2023  GEOG 5241  Topics in Physical Geography: Snow from Space
  • Fall 2022 GEOG 1001  Environmental Systems: Climate and Vegetation
  • Spring 2021  GEOG 4321/5321  Snow Hydrology
  • Spring 2021  GEOG 5241  Topics/Physical Geography: Mountain Hydrology
  • Fall 2020  GEOG/GEOL 4093/5093  Remote Sensing of the Environment
  • Spring 2020  GEOG 4321/5321  Snow Hydrology
  • Spring 2019  GEOG 1001  Environmental Systems: Climate and Vegetation
  • Spring 2019  GEOG 5100  Special Topics: Snowpack Stratigraphy