Abe Springer

Abe Springer is an Associate Professor of Geology in the Department of Geology at Northern Arizona University and he is the NAU Water Coordinator for the Arizona Water Institute. He grew up on a small grain and sheep farm in rural Central Ohio. He received his B.A. in Geology from the College of Wooster and his M.S. and Ph.D. in hydrogeology from The Ohio State University. Since arriving at NAU in 1994, he has become an avid trail runner. Among the courses he has taught at NAU are hydrogeology, geology of Arizona, environmental geology, applied geology, groundwater modeling, contaminant transport modeling, university colloquium and many others. Dr. Springer and his students study local and regional groundwater flow systems and human impacts on them, apply principles of sustainability to aquifer management through models, quantify the hydrological function of groundwater dominated ecosystems, the role of land-use change and disturbance on groundwater flow systems, and restoration of riparian ecosystems. Most of these studies are interdisciplinary and consist of a mix of field and lab work, and basic and applied research. He has collaborated with ecologists, botanists, plant physiologists, foresters, land managers, engineers, and many different sub-disciplines within the Earth Sciences.  Funding for these studies has come from many different local, state, and federal agencies and entities and from private sources. Dr. Springer and his students have studied over 500 springs the past 8 years in the Southwestern U.S. With colleagues, he has developed a new, comprehensive spring classification system.