Dr. Donaldson received her PhD from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2024. She was a Excellence in Earth Science Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas, Austin from 2024 - 2026 before joining the Department in 2026.
- PostDoc, 2024, University of Texas, Austin
- PhD, 2024, Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz
- BS, 2018, Forestry (concentration: Hydrology), Humboldt State University
Education & Training
Donaldson A., Dralle D., Barling N., Callahan R., Loik M., Zimmer M. (2024) Aspect differences in vegetation type drive higher evapotranspiration on a pole-facing slope in a California oak savanna. Journal of Geophysical Research, Biogeosciences. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JG008054
Callahan R., Huang M.-H., Donaldson A., Hudson-Rasmussen B., Zimmer M., (2024). Geologic and tectonic controls on deep fracturing, weathering, and water flow in the central California Coast Range. Geophysical Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109129
Scandellari F, Attou T, Barbeta A, Bernhard F, Amato C, Dimitrova Petrova K, Donaldson A., et al., (2024) Using stable isotopes to inform water resource management in forested and agricultural ecosystems. Journal of Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121381
Callahan, R., Flinchum, B., Aronson, E., Atwood, A., Dere, A., Donaldson, A., et al., (2024). Hydrology and Critical Zone Science Planning for Continental Drilling and Coring 2024. https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/csdscienceplanning/home/hydrology-and-…
Donaldson, A., Zimmer, M., Huang, M.-H., Johnson, K. N., Hudson-Rasmussen, B., Finnegan, N., et al. (2023). Symmetry in hillslope steepness and saprolite thickness between hillslopes with opposing aspects. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 128, e2023JF007076. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JF007076
Zimmer, M., Donaldson A., Gorski G., Murphy C., Pensky J., Price A., Richardson C., Serrano A. (2021) Hidden curriculum in the geosciences graduate course, HydroShare. http://www.hydroshare.org/resource/60b4def2ee034f4b8a0b488704770905
My research training is uniquely a combination of hydrology, geomorphology, and forest ecology which enables my research to investigate interdisciplinary research questions that are at the forefront of ecohydrology and societally relevant. My research specializes in the role of vegetation in regulating watershed hydrologic function and form and, conversely, the impact of the subsurface (e.g. porosity, water storage) on vegetation health. Specifically, I combined field-based methods, remote-sensing techniques, and laboratory analyses of water, rock, and tree cores to characterize the ‘critical zone’ which extends from the tops of vegetation canopies to the deepest groundwater. My future research goals are to use my understanding of hydrology and ecology to contribute to the scientific theory and management strategies used to improve watershed resilience to disturbance and water resource sustainability in the face of a changing climate.