Dr. Jennifer M. Jacobs

Dr. Jennifer M. Jacobs

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering

Director of the Environmental Research Group

240 Gregg Hall
35 Colovos Road
Durham, NH 03824

T: 603 862 0635
F: 603 862 3957

jennifer.jacobs@unh.edu

Research Overview

Dr. Jacobs' research emphasizes the characterization of spatiotemporal land-surface water dynamics (e.g., evapotranspiration and soil-water dynamics) through experimentation and modeling and the advancement of ecohydrology through interdisciplinary studies with collaborators having strengths in soils pedology, vegetation physiology, and ecology. She uses emerging technologies to enhance the understanding of distributed hydrological processes with a specific focus on surface energy flux estimation. This research addresses the knowledge gap regarding evaporative fluxes and the emphasis within engineering practice to improve the spatial and temporal representation of water cycling.

Jacobs also pursues a parallel research effort in ecohydrology. This research combination, hydrological mechanisms essential to climate-soil-vegetation interactions, underlying ecosystem patterns and processes, and ecohydrology, positions her at the cutting edge of one of the "most exciting scientific frontiers". This research area is rapidly expanding with opportunities and funding, at scales ranging from local to global, to explore challenging and unanswered questions regarding ecosystems, biodiversity, and land change impacts.

Publications

2010

1. Thouin*, J.A., W.M. Wolheim, C.J. Vorosmarty, J.M. Jacobs, and W.H. McDowell. 2010. The biogeochemical influence of nitrate, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved organic carbon on stream nitrate uptake. Journal of the North American Benthological Society. In press.

2009

1. Jia*, X., M.D. Dukes, and J.M. Jacobs. 2009. Bahia grass crop coefficient by eddy correlation measurements in Central Florida. Transactions of the ASABE. 28(1), 5-15.
2. Douglas, E.M., J.M. Jacobs, D.M. Sumner and R.L. Ray*. 2009. Potential evapotranspiration method selection for Florida land cover types. Journal of Hydrology. 373, 366-376.
3. Bhat*, S., J.M. Jacobs, K. Hatfield, and W. Graham. 2009. A comparison of storm-based and annual-based indices of hydrologic variability: A case study in Fort Benning, Georgia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. DOI 10.1007/s10661-009-1050-2.
4. Jacobs, J.M., B. Lowry*, M. Choi*, and C.H. Bolster. 2009. GOES solar radiation for evapotranspiration estimation and streamflow prediction. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. 14(3), 293-300.

2008

1. Choi*, M., J.M. Jacobs, and W. Kustas. 2008. Assessment of clear and cloudy sky parameterizations for daily downwelling longwave radiation over different land surfaces in Florida, USA. Geophysical Research Letters. 35. L20402, doi:10.1029/2008GL035731.
2. Choi*, M., and J.M. Jacobs. 2008. Temporal variability corrections for Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer E (AMSR-E) surface soil moisture: Case study in SMEX03 Little River, Georgia, U.S. Sensor. 8(4). 2617-2627.
3. Choi*, M., J.M. Jacobs, and D.D. Bosch. 2008. Remote sensing observatory validation of surface soil moisture using Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer E, Common Land Model and ground base data: Case study in SMEX03 Little River, Georgia, U.S. Water Resources Research. 44, W08421, doi:10.1029/2006WR005578.

2007

1. Loescher, H., J.M. Jacobs, O. Wendroth, D.A Robinson., G.S. Poulos, K. McGuire, P. Reed, B.P. Mohanty, J.B. Shanley, and W. Krajewski. 2007. Enhancing water cycle measurements for future hydrologic research. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, DOI:10.1175/BAMS-88-5-669.
2. Ray*, R. and J.M. Jacobs. 2007. Relationships among remotely sensed soil moisture, precipitation and landslide events. Natural Hazards Journal. 43:211-222. DOI 10.1007/sl11069-006-9059-9.
3. Bhat*, S., K. Hatfield, J.M. Jacobs, and W. Graham.  2007. Relationships between Military Land Use and Storm-Based Indices of Hydrologic Variability. Ecological Indicators. 7, 553-564, doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2006.06.003.
4. Choi*, M. and J.M. Jacobs. 2007. Soil moisture variability of root zone profiles within SMEX02 remote sensing footprints. Advances in Water Resources. 30, 883-896.
5. Choi*, M., J.M. Jacobs, and M. Cosh. 2007. Scaled spatial variability of soil moisture fields, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L01401, doi:10.1029/2006GL028247.
6. Jia*, X., A. Swancar, J.M. Jacobs, M.D. Dukes, and K. Morgan. 2007. Comparison of evapotranspiration rates for flatwoods and ridge citrus. Transactions of the ASABE. 50(1), 83-94.
7. Bhat*, S., K. Hatfield, J.M. Jacobs, R. Lowrance, and R. Williams. 2007. Surface Runoff Contribution of Nitrogen during Storm Events in a Forested Watershed: Application of Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (REMM). Biogeochemistry. 85(3), 253-262.

2006

1. Whitfield*, B., J.M. Jacobs, and J. Judge. 2006. Intercomparison Study of the Land Surface Process Model and the Common Land Model for a Prairie Wetland in Florida. Journal of Hydrometeorology. 7(6), 1247-1258.
2. Bosch, D.D., V. Lakshmi, T. Jackson, Choi*, M. and J.M. Jacobs. 2006. Large scale measurements of soil moisture for validation of remotely sensed data: Georgia soil moisture experiment of 2003. Journal of Hydrology. 323, 120-137.
3. Robinson, D., J. Selker, B. Bowden, J. Duncan, J. Durant, R. Hooper, J. Jacobs, and R. Knight. 2006. Survey provides guidance for Consortium's Hydrologic Measurement Facility. Transactions, American Geophysical Union. 87(23), 222.
4. Jia*, X., M.D Dukes, J.M. Jacobs, and S. Irmak*. 2006. Large scale weighing lysimeters for evapotranspiration research in a humid environment. Transactions of the ASAE. 49(2), 1-12.
5. Bhat*, S., J.M. Jacobs, K. Hatfield, and J. Prenger. 2006. Relationships between stream water chemistry and military land use in Fort Benning, GA. Ecological Indicators. 6(2), 458-466.

2005

1. Loescher*, H.W., Gholz, H.L., Jacobs, J.M., and S.F. Oberbauer. 2005. Energy dynamics and modeled evapotranspiration from a wet tropical forest in Costa Rica. Journal of Hydrology. 315, 274-294.
2. Bryant*, M.L., Bhat*, S., and J.M. Jacobs. 2005. Throughfall characterization of heterogeneous forest communities in the southeastern U.S. Journal of Hydrology. 312, 95-108, 2005.
3. Liu*, S., Graham, W.D., and J.M. Jacobs. 2005. The value of climate forcings to capture soil water dynamics and evapotranspiration using daily potential evapotranspiration. Journal of Hydrology. 309, 39-52.
4. Irmak*, S., M.D. Dukes, and J.M. Jacobs. 2005. Using modified Bellani plat evapotranspiration gauges to estimate short canopy evapotranspiration. ASCE Journal of Irrigation and Drainage. 131(2), 164-175.
5. Sumner, D.M. and J.M. Jacobs. 2005. Utility of Penman-Monteith, Priestley-Taylor, reference evapotranspiration, and pan evaporation methods to estimate pasture evapotranspiration. Journal of Hydrology. 308, 81-104.

2004

1. Jacobs, J.M., Mohanty, B.P., Hsu*, E., and D.A. Miller. 2004. Field scale soil moisture variability and similarity from point measurements during SMEX02. Remote Sensing of Environment. 92, 436-446.
2. Jacobs, J.M. 2004. Closure to Atmospheric momentum roughness to determine stage-discharge relationships in vegetated flood plains. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. 9(5), p. 447.
3. Satti*, S.R., J.M. Jacobs and S. Irmak^*. 2004. Agricultural water management in a humid region: Sensitivity to climate, soil and crop parameters. Agricultural Water Management. 70(1), 51-65.
4. Jacobs, J.M., M.C. Anderson, L.C. Friess, and G.R. Diak. 2004. Solar radiation, longwave radiation and emergent wetland evapotranspiration estimates from satellite data in Florida, USA. Hydrological Sciences Journal. 49(3), 461-476.
5. Satti*, S.R. and J.M. Jacobs. 2004. A GIS-based model to estimate the regionally distributed drought water demand. Agricultural Water Management. 66, 1-13.
6. Boupha*, K., J.M. Jacobs, and K. Hatfield. 2004. MDL Groundwater Modeling: Laplace transforms and the De Hoog algorithm to solve contaminant transport equations. Computers in Geosciences. 30(5), 445-453. Download MDL Software>>
7. Satti*, S.R. and J.M. Jacobs. 2004. A comparison of Florida crop evapotranspiration and consumptive use permitting methods. Soil and Crop Society of Florida. 62, 30-37.

2003

1. Guha*, A., J.M. Jacobs, T.J. Jackson, M. Cosh, E. Hsu*, and J. Judge. 2003. Soil moisture mapping using ESTAR from the Southern Great Plains experiment (SGP99). IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters. 41(10), 2392-2397.
2. Jacobs, J.M., D.A. Myers*and B.M. Whitfield*. 2003. Improved rainfall-runoff estimates using remotely sensed soil moisture. Journal of American Water Resources Association. 39(2), 313-324.
3. Jacobs, J.M. and M. Wang*, 2003. Atmospheric momentum roughness to determine stage-discharge relationships in vegetated flood plains. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 8(2), 99-104.
4. Irmak*, S., Irmak, A., J.W. Jones, T.A. Howell, J.M. Jacobs, R.G. Allen, and G. Hoogenboom. 2003. Predicting net radiation in the humid regions of the Southeast United States. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering. 129(4), 256-259.

1998 - 2002

1. Jacobs, J.M., D.A. Myers*, M.L.Anderson, and G.R. Diak. 2002. GOES surface insolation to estimate wetlands evapotranspiration. Journal of Hydrology. 266, 53-65.
2. Jacobs, J.M., S.L. Mergelsberg*, A. Lopera*, and D.A. Myers*. 2002. Evapotranspiration from a wet prairie wetland under drought conditions: Paynes Prairie Preserve, Florida, USA. Wetlands. 22(2), 374-385.
3. Jacobs, J.M. and R.M. Vogel. 2000. Closure to: The optimal allocation of water withdrawals in a river basin. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 126(1), p.38.
4. Jacobs, J. M., R. L. Coulter and W. Brutsaert. 2000. Surface flux estimation by bulk ABL similarity with radiosonde and wind-profiler/RASS observations over a land-surface with small roughness, Advances in Water Resources., 23(4), 339-348.
5. Jacobs, J.M. and W. Brutsaert. 1998. Momentum roughness and view-angle dependent heat roughness at a Southern Great Plains test-site. Journal of Hydrology, 211, 61-68.
6. Jacobs, J.M. and R.M. Vogel. 1998. The optimal allocation of water withdrawals in a river basin. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, ASCE, 124(6), 357-363.

Grants

Teaching Interests

• CIE 745/845 Engineering Hydrology
• Ecohydrology

Biography

• Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 1997
• M.S. Civil Engineering, Tufts University, 1993
• ScB Electrical Engineering, Brown University, 1987

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, Oct 1997-2003

Head Teaching Fellow, College of Engineering, Cornell University, 1995-1996

Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 1993-1994

Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, 1992-1993

Environmental Consultant, Eastern Research Group, Arlington, Massachusetts, 1989-1993

Consultant, Boston Systems Group, Boston, Massachusetts, 1987-1989 

Graduate Students

Renee L. Fitsik, Master's Candidate

Robert Flynn, Ph.D. Candidate

Alaina Galvin, Master's Candidate

Aniruddha Guha, Ph.D. Candidate

Hwan Hee Han, Ph.D. Candidate

Ram L. Ray, Ph.D. Candidate

Danna Truslow, Master's Candidate

Recent Grads

Minha Choi, Ph.D. Candidate

Brian Lowry, Master's Candidate

Eileen Romesser, Master's Candidate