We study how streams, rivers, and shallow lakes connect ecosystems and regulate water quality. Our focus is often on non-perennial streams—those that periodically dry, yet make up more than half of global river length and are increasing with climate and human pressures. Despite their prevalence, they remain understudied compared to perennial streams. We investigate how these systems reflect the landscapes they drain, and how their physical and biogeochemical functions shift when flow stops and resumes. Recent work also explores ice dynamics in shallow temperate lakes. Dr. Singley’s research spans sites from Antarctica to Colorado, Iowa, and Rhode Island.
Forests are vital cultural, hydrological, and economic resources, linking subsurface water stores to the atmosphere. We study forest ecohydrology as a lens to quantify heterogeneous subsurface characteristics and processes across space and time. Our focus spans from rural woodlands to intensively managed urban forests, exploring how forests mediate water movement, storage, and exchange within diverse landscapes.
Constructed Critical Zone
Human modifications to the critical zone—through roads, dams, stormwater systems, and other infrastructure—are widespread. We study how these alterations reshape hydrologic connectivity and drive biogeochemical consequences in both urban and coastal environments. For example, sea-level rise can lead to coastal infrastructure failure or abandonment, rapidly shifting where and when tidal fluctuations influence groundwater–surface water interactions and water quality. In cities, planting infrastructure strongly affect urban forest health by controlling infiltration, storage, and access to subsurface water.
Antarctica captures scientific and public imagination unlike almost any other place on Earth. Beyond ice sheets and charismatic wildlife, the continent offers unique insights into how ecosystems function and respond to global change. Our research centers on the McMurdo Dry Valleys, the largest ice-free region in Antarctica, where we study the hydrology and biogeochemistry of ephemeral streams. In this seemingly desolate polar desert, microbial life flourishes during the brief Austral summer.
Through courses and collaborative research, we foster learning environments grounded in constructivist principles: collaborative, student-centered lessons that build deep understanding, and feedback-driven, multi-modal learning that develops expertise. Dr. Singley’s teaching emphasizes quantitative systems thinking and data literacy as core skills.
We are deeply committed to equity, inclusion, and accessibility in geoscience education. Dr. Singley’s practice draws from feminist and progressive pedagogies to center student voices, encourage intellectual risk-taking, and cultivate metacognition through consistent use of feedback and reflective practice.
Dr. Singley and three students looking at benthic macroinvertebrates in a net. They are standing in a stream surrounded by forest. The students are wearing waders in the stream or looking on from the shore.
Our lab is committed not only to research and teaching, but also to advancing science-informed policy. We bridge the gap between science and real-world impact through partnerships with community, municipal, and non-profit organizations, as well as direct engagement with federal legislators. Participation in programs such as AGU’s Local Science Partners provides opportunities to advocate both as scientists and for science beyond individual projects. Dr. Singley also integrates policy training into courses, helping students connect scientific literacy with engaged citizenship.
