Dr. Marsha K. Allen started her academic research journey at MHC where she studied a meteorite sample for her senior thesis. However, her focus shifted to the field of hydrogeology during her Ph.D., specializing in fractured rock aquifers. She used geochemistry to track the mixing of different water types along flow paths, environmental tracer analysis to age date groundwater, and 3-dimensional groundwater flow modeling to calculate the changes in the aquifer recharge and storage over time. Dr. Allen aims to continue to use these methods to understand complexly fractured rock aquifer systems globally to aid these locations' water management authorities so that they are equipped with the knowledge to prepare and prevent water shortages during droughts or plan for population growth in the future.
Her future research and mentorship plans include applying these methods to the fractured rock aquifers in Massachusetts and other island fractured rock aquifer systems while providing students with hands-on research and publication opportunities.
Areas of Expertise
Hydrogeology focused on water geochemistry, environmental tracers, and 3D groundwater flow modeling.
