Dominick 'Dom' Ciruzzi

Assistant Professor (on leave Fall 2023)

Office: McGlothlin-Street Hall 216
Email: [[dmciruzzi]]
Office Phone: 757 221 2484
Research Areas: Hydroecology, Geophysics, Hydrogeology, Trees, Ecosystem/Landscape Ecology

Education

Ph.D., Geological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S., Geological Sciences, University at Buffalo
B.A., Geophysics, SUNY Geneseo

Research Interests

Hydroecology, Geophysics, Hydrogeology, Trees, Ecosystem/Landscape Ecology

The overall goal of my research is to describe the physical processes controlling water movement along the groundwater-soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and their implications on the history, trajectory, and sustainability of natural and built ecosystems. Through developing and applying various field, numerical modeling, and remote sensing approaches, I investigate the influence of vegetation processes (mainly trees) on the water cycle and, conversely, how changes to the water cycle influence ecosystem structure, function, and services. My research synthesizes diverse indicators of hydroecological processes to address water, food, and ecosystem security in the contexts of climate change and land use change.

Projects

Monitoring tree sway as an indicator of hydroecological processes (e.g., reductions in evapotranspiration from water stress, interception processes)
The role of trees in the urban water cycle
Groundwater-forest interactions during drought
Trees as hydrological sensors: leveraging tree rings to reconstruct historic groundwater and lake levels

Selected Publications

Ciruzzi, D.M., and Loheide, S.P. 2021. Monitoring tree sway as an indicator of interception dynamics before, during, and following a storm. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL094980. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094980

Ciruzzi, D. M., Loheide, S. P. 2021. Groundwater subsidizes tree growth and transpiration in sandy humid forests. Ecohydrology. 2021; 14:e2294. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2294

Jackson, T. D., Sethi, S., Dellwik, E., Angelou, N., Bunce, A., van Emmerik, T., Duperat, M., Ruel, J.-C., Wellpott, A., Van Bloem, S., Achim, A., Kane, B., Ciruzzi, D. M., Loheide II, S. P., James, K., Burcham, D., Moore, J., Schindler, D., Kolbe, S., … Gardiner, B. 2021. The motion of trees in the wind: a data synthesis. Biogeosciences, 18(13), 4059–4072. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4059-2021

Ciruzzi, D. M., & Loheide, S. P. 2019. Monitoring tree sway as an indicator of water stress. Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 12021– 12029. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084122

Ciruzzi, D. M., Lowry, C. S. 2017. Impact of complex aquifer geometry on groundwater storage in high-elevation meadows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA. Hydrological Processes. 31: 1863– 1875. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11147

Courses

101: Dynamic Earth-Physical Geology

314: Watershed Dynamics

315: Hydrology

350: Earth Science for Environmental Justice