Who is teaching this course?

My name is Dr. Paul Low and I am a Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology (started this fall) and I am very excited to be teaching Water Resources this winter. In addition to this course, I teach General Geology with Field Emphasis, Earth Materials I: Rocks and Minerals, and Environmental Field Methods. In the past, I have taught courses in mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, environmental geology, and a course called The Ecology and Geology of the Connecticut River Valley. My academic area of expertise is in the field of igneous petrology and high-temperature geochemistry; specifically, I study differentiation within mafic and ultramafic magmatic systems and how this can be recorded via minute variations in mineral composition and texture.

In addition to my work on high-temperature plutonic systems, I have worked for several years as an field biologist specializing in designing and implementing qualitative and quantitative field surveys assessing the spatial distribution of endangered freshwater mussels in New England. Surveying for mussels requires long hours of swimming (snorkeling) upstream while scanning the river bed for creatures that have spent millions of years of evolutionary capital on trying to look as much like the rocks that comprise their habitat. Somewhere along the way, I have developed an interest- both academic and personal in understanding the degree to which we (humans) modify our environment and the far-reaching effects of these modifications. Mussels, for instance are very robust when it comes to dealing with anthropogenic pollution (in fact, as filter feeders, they actively concentrate many toxins thereby improving water quality). Their reproductive cycle, however, is greatly affected by the fragmentation of their habitat by dams, poorly designed culverts, and other physical barriers that are in place as a result of human water resource infrastructure.

If you have questions about the course, please drop by A223 (in the Science Addition) or e-mail lowp (at) wlu (dot) edu