Rachel Thomas is a hydrologist who specializes in stream gaging, water quality monitoring, sediment sampling, and hydrologic data analysis. She brings together a background in environmental engineering and hydrogeology with hands-on technical experience—deploying multiparameter sondes, running acoustic doppler profiling equipment, installing stream gages and telemetry systems, and developing hydrologic rating curves. Her work has taken her across a range of landscapes and monitoring networks, from national wildlife refuges to real-time stream-gage systems across the west coast. Before joining Balance, Rachel worked as a hydrologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and then as a hydrologic technician at the USGS in Anchorage, Alaska, and Santa Cruz, California, where she carried out storm and sediment sampling, stream gage installation, and real-time data analysis. Rachel is passionate about collecting hydrologic data that helps to inform decisions about water resources. Outside of work, you’ll usually find her sitting around a campfire or swimming in the ocean.
- M.S. Hydrogeology, University of Nevada, Reno, 2017
- B.S. Environmental Engineering, Clemson University, 2015
Bathymetric and Topographic Data Collection, Field Work, Hydrologic Monitoring, Hydrology, Sediment Transport Data Collection and Analysis, Storm Monitoring, Stream Gaging, Surface Water / Groundwater Interaction, Water Quality