Staff stories

Learn more about our research at the Survey

Land use and municipal water supplies

Dr. Stephanie DeVries has left the Wisconsin Geological Survey to be an assistant professor of hydrology and aquatic geochemistry in the Department of

Mapping the Ice Age deposits of Jefferson County

Libby Ives, a research assistant at the Survey and a PhD student at UW–Milwaukee, is one of the Survey’s newest members. With the Survey’s Elmo Rawlin

Survey Samples Coordinator makes the samples and data readily accessible

Carsyn Ames is the Samples Coordinator for the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. She joined the Survey in June 2018 after completing he

Bradbury leads Survey after 30 years of Wisconsin research

Ken Bradbury became the Director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) in 2015. Ken joined the Survey in 1982 as a hydrogeolo

Pulling together the pieces of the Bayfield County Groundwater Atlas

Grace Graham, a geologist at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS), is producing a map of the depth to bedrock in Bayfield Count

Geologic history meets the web

Caroline Rose, a geographic information system (GIS) specialist at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, has a knack for data visualiza

Dave Hart and intern Catherine Christenson collect data by canoe on Lake Waubesa

Big data from small streams (and small lakes—the 2018 update)

Dave Hart, a hydrogeologist at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, is designing and implementing a project that is challenging ideas

Managing Chippewa County’s groundwater—today and tomorrow

Mike Parsen, a hydrogeologist at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS), completed a 5-year study in 2017 that evaluated the impa

Photo of Survey staff with a Lake Michigan bluff in background

Investigating bluff collapse along Lake Michigan

J. Elmo Rawling III, a geologist at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS), is working with Dr. Lucas Zoet, in UW-Madison’s Depar

Mapping Wisconsin’s oldest rocks to better understand our groundwater today

Esther Stewart, a geologist at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS), studies Wisconsin’s oldest rocks – the Precambrian – to un

High-tech equipment opens a window into our aquifers

Pete Chase, a geotechnician at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, uses borehole imaging equipment to collect high-resolution digital

Wisconsin Groundwater-Level Monitoring Network: 70 years and counting

The Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have jointly operated Wisconsin’s statewide Groundwa

Brad Gottschalk with a geologic map on the wall behind him

Making fragile historical collections accessible

Our mission includes archiving (along with collecting, interpreting, and distributing) information about Wisconsin’s natural resources. We are t

Helping the U.S. Forest Service manage resources in northern Wisconsin

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) of northern Wisconsin is home to abundant springs, streams, and lakes. However, there was little inform

Grace Graham outside wearing fishing waders on a sunny day

Springs Detective

Grace Graham is an Associate Research Specialist at the Survey working on a statewide study of springs in Wisconsin. She completed work on the Wiscons

Steve Mauel wearing hiking gear with mountains in the background

Steve Mauel studies the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest groundwater

How do you understand the groundwater resources of a vast, uninhabited part of the state? That is the question researchers at the Wisconsin Geological

Tree Ring Studies when the Trees are Gone

J. Elmo Rawling III, a geomorphologist at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, studies the dunes and beaches of Lake Michigan. He want

The Link Between Groundwater and Geothermal Energy

Can a geothermal energy system raise the temperature of nearby groundwater? If it does, could that affect a nearby trout stream? Will higher temperatu

Reference Springs for Research

“Springs are an accessible representation of the groundwater. It’s easier to sample a spring than to install a groundwater monitoring well,” says Prof

Statewide groundwater-level monitoring network

Pete Chase, a geotechnician at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, spends a lot of his time in the field. He has to because he is a p

The ancient Wyalusing River

The lower Wisconsin River flows west to the Mississippi River from the Baraboo Hills. Has it always done that? Not according to the data being collect