Dr. Talon Newton

I am a hydrogeologist with the Aquifer Mapping Program, and I conduct hydrogeologic research that is relevant to New Mexico's water supply and future water management. Over the last 9 years, my projects have ranged from basin-scale hydrogeologic characterization to watershed scale ecohydrology. My approach is multidisciplinary where I use a variety of hydrogeologic, geophysical, and geochemical techniques to evaluate various hydrologic processes. I have significant experience in the use of aqueous geochemistry and environmental tracers to examine soil water dynamics, recharge processes, and groundwater/surface water interactions. More recently, I have been helping in the development of a soil water balance model to estimate groundwater recharge for the entire state of New Mexico. I am an adjunct faculty member of the NM Tech Earth and Environmental Sciences Dept. and have advised several graduate students on their thesis research. I also provide presentations on numerous projects as public outreach to help the general public understand important water issues in New Mexico.

• B.S., Geology, NM Tech, 2001
• M.S., Hydrology, NM Tech, 2004
  Thesis title: "Geological controls on shallow groundwater quality in the Socorro Basin, New Mexico"
• Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, Queen’s Universitty Belfast, 2013
  Dissertation title: "Noble gases as applied tracers for investigating hydrologic and chemical processes in permeable reactive barriers"

• Watershed and groundwater recharge modeling
• Isotope geochemistry
• Applied and environmental tracer methodologies in hydrology
• Contaminant transport

• Animas River Long Term Monitoring
• Sacramento Mountains watershed study
• Hydrologic investigation at White Sands National Monument
• Tularosa Basin hydrogeology study
• El Camino Real paleohydrology study