Panel 1. We are introduced to Dr. Ravindra Dwivedi in a dry, mountainous region of Arizona. Ravindra studies water resources of the Critical Zone.

Panel 2. Mountains provide water to rivers, that flow hundreds of miles away from their main peaks. The water can flow on the surface as a river, or below within soils and bedrock as part of an aquifer.

Panel 3. Ravindra explains that he uses multiple chemical measurements to learn how mountains in the dry desert can influence water movement.

Panel 4. Ravindra collects spring and ground waters from soil pits and flowing water samples from streams. Using isotopes and chemical tracers, Ravindra can explain the mixing of waters from multiple sources on a mountain.

Panel 5. His research shows that water storage increases with more diverse flow paths and trees are able to access multiple sources, depending on the storage conditions.

Panel 6. The project Ravindra completed was part of a big team effort to understand “nature’s water towers” as a whole system.