Maria Vicenta Valdivia

Email:  mvv2@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-0185
Office: 165 Riley Robb Hall
Advisor: Todd Walter
Degree Program: Ph.D.

I am a M.S. student, and my research interests include hydrology and biogeochemistry, specifically in cold and temperate rainforests. Currently, I am working on a project related to hydrology and biogeochemical modeling at watershed scale. This research is based on the application of the SMDR (Soil Moisture Distribution and Routing) model to a small, forested, unpolluted watershed in southern Chile, and modeling of chemicals and nutrients in this catchment. One unique aspect of this study is that the anthropogenic chemical inputs in this watershed are among the lowest in the world, which provides the opportunity to understand the interactions of hydrological and biogeochemical processes without the bias of human perturbation. To date, the SMDR model has only been applied to describe the hydrology of watersheds located in the northern hemisphere, specifically on the Catskills region of New York State, and this will be the first attempt to apply this model in the southern hemisphere.