Todd Scanlon
Associate Chair, Professor
My primary research interests are in the areas of (1) catchment hydrology, focusing on hydrological and geochemical transport processes, and (2) land-atmosphere interaction, including the exchange of water, energy, and gaseous compounds such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane between the terrestrial surface and the atmosphere. I seek to develop an integrated understanding of how the hydrological cycle, vegetation processes, and atmospheric dynamics are linked as well as how these connections are manifest in terms of nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. My research combines a balance of field, remote sensing, and numerical modeling methods to address these issues over a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. Current field locations for my research include Shenandoah National Park, Ireland, and southern Africa.
Publications
- CO2and H2O flux partitioning in a Mediterranean cropping system
2018; Agricultural and Forest Meteorology; Rana, G. | Palatella, L. | Scanlon, T.M. | Martinelli, N. | Ferrara, R.M. - Plant acclimation to long-term high nitrogen deposition in an N-rich tropical forest
2018; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; Lu, X. | Vitousek, P.M. | Mao, Q. | Gilliam, F.S. | Luo, Y. |... - Fluxpart: Open source software for partitioning carbon dioxide and water vapor fluxes
2018; Agricultural and Forest Meteorology; Skaggs, T.H. | Anderson, R.G. | Alfieri, J.G. | Scanlon, T.M. | Kustas, W.P. - Climate Change to Offset Improvements in Watershed Acid-Base Status Provided by Clean Air Act and Amendments: A Model Application in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
2018; Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences; Robison, A.L. | Scanlon, T.M. - Stream Runoff and Nitrate Recovery Times After Forest Disturbance in the USA and Japan
2018; Water Resources Research; Oda, T. | Green, M.B. | Urakawa, R. | Scanlon, T.M. | Sebestyen, S.D. |... - Emerging investigator series: The effect of wildfire on streamwater mercury and organic carbon in a forested watershed in the southeastern United States
2017; Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts; Jensen, A.M. | Scanlon, T.M. | Riscassi, A.L. - Albedo changes after fire as an explanation of fire-induced rainfall suppression
2017; Geophysical Research Letters; Saha, M.V. | D'Odorico, P. | Scanlon, T.M. - On the correlation of water vapor and CO2: Application to flux partitioning of evapotranspiration
2016; Water Resources Research; Wang, W. | Smith, J.A. | Ramamurthy, P. | Baeck, M.L. | Bou-Zeid, E. |... - Comparing methods for partitioning a decade of carbon dioxide and water vapor fluxes in a temperate forest
2016; Agricultural and Forest Meteorology; Sulman, B.N. | Roman, D.T. | Scanlon, T.M. | Wang, L. | Novick, K.A. - Suppression of rainfall by fires in African drylands
2016; Geophysical Research Letters; Saha, M.V. | Scanlon, T.M. | D'Odorico, P.
Teaching
Teaching
Physical Hydrology (EVSC 3600)
Studies the physical principles governing the flow of water on and beneath the earth's surface, including fundamental concepts of fluid dynamics applied to the description of open channel hydraulics, ground water hydraulics, and dynamics of soil moisture. Introduces elements of surface water and ground water hydrology and explores humanity's influence on its hydrological environment.
Dryland Ecohydrology (EVSC 4020/7020)
Study of ecohydrologic processes characteristic of arid and semiarid regions.
Land-Atmosphere Interaction (EVSC 4630/7630)
Study of energy, water, and carbon exchange between the atmosphere and the land surface. Prerequisite: One year of college physics and calculus, one hydrology or atmospheric science course, or permission of instruct.
Hydrological Field Methods and Data Analysis (EVSC 4660)
Hydrological instruments are introduced; students employ the instruments to make field measurements and perform a range of data analysis exercises.
Catchment Hydrology: Process and Theory (EVSC 5640)
Introduces current theories of the hydrological response of catchments. Using an integrative approach, the course illuminates the derivation of theory in light of the time and location of the process studies on which they were based.