About

Christine Hatch is an UMass Extension Professor and Associate Director for Academics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, within the Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences. Her research focuses on the interconnectedness of surface water and groundwater, viewing them as a single resource. She investigates processes and transitions at the interfaces between streams and underground reservoirs, utilizing techniques such as heat as a tracer, including Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) and fiber-optic cables. Her work explores how water moves between these reservoirs and the wide-ranging effects on biological communities, water resources, and water quality and quantity. Dr. Hatch's goal is to understand these systems and educate others about their functions to help preserve and protect water, which she considers the most basic and precious natural resource. She aims to quantify the impacts of climate change on water resources, especially as anthropogenic forcings produce inevitable changes in our climate, to aid in preparing for a safe and sustainable future.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Geology
• History
• Sociology
• Geotechnical engineering
• Library science
• Geophysics
• Archaeology
• Ecology
• Environmental science
• Engineering
• Environmental engineering
• Soil science

Selected publications

• Views of a restored peatland from the past, underground, and future cedar swamp

  2026-03-14

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The Hydrologic Understory is an integrated research and extension project that explores groundwater flowpaths, surface water mixing, underground thermal regimes and soil moisture monitoring to map out the interconnected web of hydrology and ecology beneath the surface ultimately helping guide management of wetlands, including attracting desirable native species, creating and maintaining habitat for rare and endangered species including Atlantic White Cedar, cold water fishes and optimal water quality. In this cranberry-bog-turned-restored-freshwater-wetland, the largest in Massachusetts, we are exploring first principles measurements of hydrologic parameters to help guide restoration practices and management of this former peatland. One of the most basic, defining metrics of a wetland is, as the name implies, its wetness. We explore time series of temperature and water elevation data at a restoration site from retired farm, through restoration, and wetland development. While single measurements can indicate the groundwater table elevation below the ground surface at one time (a useful delineation metric), long time series can indicate how the site responds to storm flows, droughts, and other conditions; and how those responses are changed by restoration practice. Coupled with streamflow data, net water balance can be calculated as well as water residence time. Temperature data serves as an indicator of thermal buffering capacity, the potential for development of thermal refugia for wildlife, and a tracer to locate influxes of groundwater. We use thermal imagery from UAS before and after restoration to map the surface expression of groundwater, and document the arc of change as the site rewilds. Distributed temperature sensing (DTS) buried at 10, 20 and 30 cm depths across the site allow for estimates of groundwater upwelling and soil moisture through time without creating additional subsurface disturbance.Understanding long-term ecosystem dynamics in southeastern Massachusetts is achieved through a pollen and charcoal analysis of deep sediment cores spanning 9,140 years. This fire history record provides critical context for current restoration efforts of Atlantic White Cedar swamps, a rare and threatened ecosystem type in New England. Efforts are underway to co-steward these swamps together with local indigenous groups for whom they are critically important.While the cranberry farming industry is in decline owing to competition from less expensive land and more productive varietals in other locations, everything under historic cranberry farms is ripe for resilient wetland restoration projects. These low-lying water-rich areas are underlain by glacial geology (peats and clays) that are ideal for holding water, possess large accumulations of organic and hydric soils, and are currently sought-after by a statewide restoration program that aims to create a self-sustaining, resilient freshwater wetlands - promising hydrologic metrics are the first indicator of that success.

  PublisherDOI

• Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Flood Risk in Massachusetts Environmental Justice Communities

  Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management · 2025-05-13 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  During the past decade, changing population dynamics in Massachusetts raised concerns about inequitable exposure to floods in historically underserved communities. To examine the interplay between socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and flood risk, we constructed spatially explicit geospatial models to assess the distribution of flood risk from 2010 to 2020 across the 351 municipalities and 4,985 census block groups using the Environmental Justice Index (EJI) developed by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. EJI uses individual categorical variables to describe eight different combinations of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, allowing for assessments through different types of models We found an increasing presence by 69.9% of EJ communities residing in flood zones during the past decade. Specific combinations of socioeconomic indicators, such as minority status linked with limited English proficiency and low-income status, exhibit a statistically significant likelihood of residing in flood zones from 2010 to 2020, relative to non-EJ. Of these socioeconomic indicators, we note a 124.4% increase by area in minority status with limited English proficiency living in flood-prone block groups (3.8 km2 in 2020), a 79.6% increase by area for those with only minority status (92 km2 in 2020), and a 522.6% increase in low-income with limited English proficiency zones by area occurring in the flood-prone block group (0.07 km2 in 2020). Our findings demonstrate that racial and ethnic composition in addition to income inequality are correlated to flood exposure in Massachusetts at both the census block group and at the municipality level. Finer scale analysis revealed additional hotspots of flooding that are obscured at the municipality level. These results not only underscore the potential for harm with increasing intensity and magnitude of flooding in EJ communities but also demonstrate the need for disaster risk reduction to center racial and EJ in flood mitigation efforts. Our study may help inform equitable decision making and equitable adaptation planning under climate change at different spatial scales.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• THE HYDROGEOLOGIC RESTORATION OF GOLF COURSES TO WETLANDS

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2024-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Editorial: “Novel approaches for understanding groundwater dependent ecosystems in a changing environment”

  Frontiers in Earth Science · 2023-03-07 · 1 citations

  editorialOpen access

  Groundwater represents one of the largest reservoirs of freshwater on the planet (Oki and Kanae, 2006) and is the source of drinking water for 2.5 billion people (Grönwall and Danert, 2020). From the earliest evidence of groundwater-related knowledge dating back to antiquity, with the construction of qanats in the Middle East, to the contemporary use of artificial intelligence in support of aquifer studies, hydrogeological science has expanded rapidly (Fetter, 2004a; b; Niu et al., 2014). Other related disciplines such as hydrology, ecology, land use planning, and climatology, have experienced comparable booms. Yet, one of the downfalls of the rapid growth and specialization of different scientific disciplines is that the scientific community sometimes becomes split into groups with complementary expertise. As a result, some challenges that should implicitly be addressed with holistic or multidisciplinary approaches have been neglected by the scientific community. This justifies pursuing the study of groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs). GDEs are ecosystems for which vegetation composition, structure, and functions are reliant on a given supply of groundwater (Kløve et al., 2011). GDE types are extremely varied and include springs, wetlands, and groundwater-fed terrestrial and aquatic environments (Bertrand et al., 2012). The study of GDEs is thus clearly positioned at the intersection of many disciplines (Figure 1). Consider the example of a spring located in a valley. The geological perspective is needed for evaluating how the architecture of rock formations and overburden deposits influence the geometry of aquifers. The hydrogeological perspective is critical for documenting the characteristics of exfiltration zones in groundwater flow systems (e.g., Lambert et al., 2022). The climate perspective is crucial to assess the inputs (precipitation) and outputs (evapotranspiration) of the flow systems (e.g., Rohde et al., 2021). The ecological perspective is central to identify the faunal and floral species in discharge areas and document their dependence on the (eco)hydrological, thermal, and geochemical conditions maintained by groundwater flows (e.g., Mitton and Allen, 2022). Ultimately, land-use planning and rehabilitation approaches will be critical to ensure the protection and rehabilitation of GDEs under increasing human pressures (e.g., Hatch and Ito, 2022; Watts et al., 2023). This Research Topic brings together five original contributions that address critical issues concerning GDEs from the different perspectives illustrated in Figure 1. The studied environmental contexts range from relatively arid California, USA (Rohde et al., 2021) to the boreal zone of the Province of Quebec, Canada (Lambert et al., 2022), the humid continental zone of the northeastern USA (Hatch and Ito, 2022; Watts et al., 2023) and the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada (Mitton and Allen, 2022). It is clear from the contributions collected here that assessing the sensitivity and resilience of GDEs to human pressures and climate change is of great importance. Each contribution stands out for deploying innovative approaches to the study of GDEs. For example, Lambert et al. (2022) focused on the evaluation of the hydrogeological balance of peatlands via numerical hydrogeological models based on field measurements. Their work shows that the hydrogeomorphic environment surrounding boreal peatlands is a major factor to consider when assessing their sensitivity to climate change. The work of Rohde et al. (2021) is further based on hydrogeological observations (groundwater levels) complemented by climate data and satellite images. The machine learning approach they developed allows for an efficient landscape-scale assessment of GDEs at risk. The authors highlight the increased impacts suffered by GDEs located in areas where sustainable water management is not implemented. The approach taken by Mitton and Allen (2022) stands out. Thanks to the coupled use of hydrological measurements, habitat monitoring and the assessment of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Their findings highlight the need to better characterize benthic habitat heterogeneity within intermittent streams, particularly in areas of groundwater discharge, with a view to better understanding the resilience of such GDEs to human pressures and climate change. Hatch and Ito (2022) and Watts et al. (2023) bring GDE resilience to another level, by considering the possibility of restoring these ecosystems. Hatch and Ito (2022) assess groundwater flow within an "anthropogenic aquifer" once created for cranberry cultivation to provide the knowledge required to restore the "natural" water regime of the GDE. Watts et al. (2023) further advances this work and deploys innovative thermal remote sensing approaches to assess groundwater exfiltration to the impacted wetland in the pre- and post-restoration phases. Ultimately, the insights from these studies will provide the knowledge needed to optimize approaches to regenerate GDEs at human-impacted sites. Combining the studies presented in this Research Topic, not only contributes to disseminate innovative knowledge to better understand GDEs, but also to draw the attention of the scientific community to the anthropogenic and climatic pressures to which they are exposed. This is a step towards better protecting GDEs for the benefit of current and future generations of humans and of the breadth of fauna and flora they sustain.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A just map: community and fluvial science working together for flood hazard vulnerability mapping in Massachusetts

  2023-02-26

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  In the Northeastern U.S., the most costly damages from intense storm events were impacts to road-stream crossings.  In steep post-glacial terrain, erosion by floodwater and entrained sediment is the largest destructive force during intense storms, and the most likely driver of major morphological changes to riverbanks and channels.  Steam power analysis is a tool that can successfully quantify floodwater energy that caused damages, however, prediction of which reaches or watersheds may experience future impacts remains uncertain. Downstream, in urban areas, floodwaters increasingly occupy larger geographic extents that spill well beyond traditionally mapped flood and hazard zones. Limiting these maps are critical biases: Often more information is available for coastal and urban areas (missing steeper terrain geomorphic hazard zones), base functional assumptions (that flood risk is dominantly inundation risk from a specific depth of water, ignoring the force of moving water, sediment or erosion), their concentration around the highest-value infrastructure (lower-value and lower-density development or undeveloped areas have little or no map coverage) and how these maps are utilized for regulatory purposes (e.g. mortgage and insurance requirements). Compounding the physical destruction of flooding is the unequal distribution of these impacts on socially vulnerable populations that are least able to recover from them.  We strive to improve the co-generated mapping of social vulnerability and flood risk by (1) utilizing measures of social vulnerability with greater social and geographical insight and nuance, including self-organizing maps (SOM) that cluster overlapping metrics, (2) applying modified flood hazard maps that accurately represent fluvial geomorphic hazards, urban flooding hazards, and climate change considerations, and (3) overlapping these to understand what factors influence current maps and policy practice; what populations and places may be overlooked or under-resourced relative to vulnerability; and use this collective insight to help inform and develop improved map products and policy approaches.  Integration of this information directly with practitioners’ resources allows communities to prioritize and make land-use decisions and flood-response and preparedness decisions that are informed by the specific vulnerabilities of their populations as well as the fluvial geomorphic workings of the larger watershed, and that have powerful local implications.  Outreach and educational programs focused on social vulnerability and fluvial systems for river practitioners and politicians at all levels align communities’ attitudes about flooding and rivers can ultimately result in ecologically sound, socially just, and more flood resilient policies and practices.

  PublisherDOI

• Mapping groundwater discharge seeps by thermal UAS imaging on a wetland restoration site

  Frontiers in Environmental Science · 2023 · 11 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Ecology
  • Geology

  One of the key metrics for the effectiveness of wetland restoration is whether a restored wetland behaves hydrologically like a natural wetland. Restoration is designed to increase the water residence time on the surface of the site in order to capture and process nutrients, mitigate the impact of local flooding and drought, and provide a habitat for wetland species abundance and biodiversity. Quantifying the change in groundwater presence at the wetland’s surface will inform future freshwater wetland restorations across New England. The ability to produce a comprehensive map of the locations of groundwater discharge over a large area has the potential to provide insight into restoration practice, its success, and its effects on individual seeps over time. Identification, mapping, and measurement of groundwater discharge sites have long been a challenge, but new methodologies are developing with the advances in unmanned aerial systems (UAS). This study uses a UAS-mounted thermal infrared camera to map groundwater seeps on a 25-ha (62-acre) site in Plymouth, Massachusetts, before and after it underwent restoration to a freshwater wetland. Using the thermal map, we located and quantified the spatial extent that of groundwater seeps pre-restoration and the changes after restoration. The location and size of these seeps show that existing groundwater seeps remained immobile through restoration, but their surface expression grew, indicating that restoration removed barriers to surface expression and successfully increased residence time. This analysis using a thermal camera-enabled UAS allows for a temporal comparison over large spatial scales and provides insight into restoration impacts to groundwater expression on the surface of post-agricultural wetland sites.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Recovering groundwater for wetlands from an anthropogenic aquifer

  Frontiers in Earth Science · 2022-10-05 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Freshwater wetlands are groundwater-dependent ecosystems that require groundwater for saturation, for wetland plants and creatures, for maintenance of wetland soils, and thermal buffering. With worldwide wetland area in decline for decades if not centuries, finding and restoring wetlands provides enormous ecosystem and public benefits, yet so often these projects fail to yield self-sustaining wetland ecosystems. One reason is that restored wetlands are often built in places that are neither wet enough nor possess the underlying geology to sustain them, and they dry out or require continual (expensive!) water inputs. Massachusetts is making the best of a challenging situation for the declining cranberry farming industry: while competition from less expensive land and more productive varietals shifts cranberry production to other locations, everything under historic cranberry farms is ripe for resilient wetland restoration projects. These low-lying water-rich areas are underlain by glacial geology (peats and clays) that are ideal for holding water, they possess historic seed banks of wetland plants and large accumulations of organic and hydric soils, and are currently sought-after by a statewide restoration program, for which these results provide critical information for restoration design, enabling practitioners to maximize the capture and residence time of groundwater inputs to sustain the future wetland. In this paper, we investigate the human legacy of cranberry farming on the surface of a wetland as it has created a unique hydrogeologic unit: the anthropogenic aquifer. Water moves through an anthropogenically constructed aquifer in specific and predictable ways that were engineered to favor a monoculture of cranberry plants on the surface of what once was a peatland. In order to restore this landscape to a functioning freshwater wetland, every property of the anthropogenic aquifer must be reversed. We detail observational, thermal, hydrologic, geologic and isotopic evidence for the location of groundwater inflows to Foothills Preserve in southeastern Massachusetts. The specific properties of the Anthropogenic aquifer, and the location and magnitude of groundwater discharge at this location provide crucial information for practitioners when designing plans for a self-sustaining, resilient restored freshwater wetland on this and future sites.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Groundwater‐Surface Water Exchange

  Ground Water · 2022 · 1 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Computer Science
  • Library science
  PublisherDOI

• Beavers offer lessons about managing water in a changing climate, whether the challenge is drought or floods

  2022-01-20

  preprint1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Exactly Where Does the River Need Space to Move? Seeking Participatory Translation of Fluvial Geomorphology into Flood Management

  JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association · 2022-07-30

  articleSenior author

  ABSTRACT Fluvial geomorphic risks are rarely incorporated into and mitigated by river flood management in the United States. Identifying where such risks exist is difficult and there is much scholarly debate on how best to do it. We incorporate this debate into a stakeholder‐driven process to assess its viability in translational fluvial geomorphology. Focusing on Massachusetts, USA we describe a decade‐long, stakeholder‐driven project that sought to better manage flood risks across the state. We found that even if a diverse group of expert stakeholders agrees on the science, politics complicate the transfer of science into policy in highly participatory settings. Stakeholders agreed that fluvial geomorphic risk mapping should result in a “river corridor” that must be process‐based, variable‐width, and based on readily available, easily measured data sources. However, without an agreed‐upon sense of how to resolve the geographic mismatch between an expansive scientifically defined corridor and one constrained by social and economic practicalities, stakeholders struggled to determine what a fluvial geomorphology‐informed river corridor would be used for , and by whom.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• S. W. Tyler

  University of Nevada, Reno

  19 shared

• C. R. Ruehl

  California Air Resources Board

  12 shared

• A. T. Fisher

  University of Cincinnati

  11 shared

• Marc Los Huertos

  Pomona College

  9 shared

• John D. Gartner

  9 shared

• Carol Shennan

  University of California, Santa Cruz

  8 shared

• J. Constantz

  United States Geological Survey

  7 shared

• Michael H. Cosh

  Agricultural Research Service

  7 shared

Labs

• Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate SciencesPI