GEORGIA-XH-CW

Research

About our research

The River Basin Center works in three broad areas: a) Conservation ecology of aquatic ecosystems; b) Applied research on aquatic system stressors and development of appropriate management tools; c) policy development and outreach.

The River Basin Center includes over 80 affiliates from 27 different University of Georgia units and $6,400,000 in active grants from external funders.

To learn more about River Basin Center research or request a project description of your own work, email UGARiverbasincenter@uga.edu.

Research Stories

Portrait of a person in a blue shirt, with greenery visible in the background.

Q&A with RBC intern Carissa Bogan

Meet Carissa Bogan, the River Basin Center's fall 2023 intern.
A man teaches to a class of students outside.

Thompson to lead new Land Conservation Clinic

Steffney R. Thompson will lead the School of Law's new Land Conservation Clinic (a refocused version of the Environmental Practicum). The clinic will be an interdisciplinary collaboration between the law school and Odum School of Ecology working at the nexus of law, science and policy to support and expand conservation efforts across Georgia and the Southeast.

Booming populations, rich freshwater diversity, and water scarcity: the common challenges of the towns along the I-85 corridor

The towns that line the I-85 corridor from Atlanta to Raleigh have several commonalities: burgeoning populations, reliance on small rivers and tributaries for water supply and waste disposal, and some of the richest freshwater aquatic biodiversity on the planet. These commonalities lead to shared problems. A team of University of Georgia researchers, from the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems and River Basin Center recently published a paper that gets at the heart of this issue.
An aerial image of a dam and canyon.

Scientists develop tool to predict dam removal costs by analyzing 55 years of past removals

Scientists, including several River Basin Center affiliates, analyzed more than 650 dam removal projects over 55 years in the United States totaling $1.52 billion inflation-adjusted dollars to develop a tool to better estimate the cost of future dam removals.
A man stands in front of a stream, arms folded.

Are stream restoration projects working for fish? Not long-term, new research finds. 

Development threatens Georgia's biodiversity, and projects designed to offset harm may not have a lasting positive impact on fish, according to new research from a team of University of Georgia researchers. 
A gloved hand holds a gopher frog tadpole belly up. The tadpole looks bloated.

Imperiled frogs are dying off at alarming rates. Here’s what researchers know.

As the longleaf pine ecosystem becomes smaller and wildlife populations become more isolated, amphibians face many challenges. Among these are disease and habitat fragmentation, which are more relevant now than ever. Since April of this year, frogs that rely on these wetlands have been dying at alarming rates in some regions. The amphibian infection and mortality event appears to be widespread, according to University of Georgia researchers and their collaborators.
A water sampling device.

CAES researchers find improved treatments for removing ‘forever chemicals’

Affiliates Gary Hawkins and Ke (Luke) Li collaborated on a study to develop improved, cost-effective treatment systems with advanced technologies for removing polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, wastewater and biosolids.