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Sarah is currently an Assistant Professor of Hydrogeology at the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Dayton. She recently graduated with a Ph.D. from the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She received a B.A. at Mount Holyoke College and M.Sc. at UMass Amherst. Her research uses numerical simulations and remote sensing techniques to study density-driven flow dynamics of brine-rich groundwater in arid basins and resulting geochemical and surface water interactions. Her current work focuses on field sites in the Altiplano-Puna region, but previous work has taken her to the Ruby Mountains in northwestern Utah and parts of the Middle East including Jordan and Palestine/Israel.

Professional activities and affiliations

• American Geophysical Union
• Geological Society of America

Research interests

• Groundwater-surface water interactions
• Variable-density groundwater flow modeling
• Reactive transport modeling
• UAS and remotely-sensed data applications to hydrology

Courses taught

• GEO 109

Selected publications

Sarah McKnight, D. Boutt, L.A. Munk, B. Moran, 2023. Distinct hydrologic pathways regulate perennial surface water dynamics in a hyperarid basin. Water Resources Research, doi: 10.1029/2022WR034046.

Sarah McKnight, D. Boutt, L.A. Munk, 2021. Impact of Hydrostratigraphic Continuity on Brine to Freshwater Interface Dynamics: Implications From a 2D Parametric Study in an Arid and Endorheic Basin. Water Resources Research, doi: 10.1029/2020WR028302.

Brendan Moran, D. Boutt, S. McKnight, L.A. Munk, J. Jenckes, A. Kirshen, 2022. Relic Groundwater and Prolonged Drought Confound Interpretations of Water Sustainability and Lithium Extraction in Arid Lands. Earth’s Future, doi: 10.1029/2021EF002555.

LeeAnn Munk, D.Boutt, B. Moran, S. McKnight, 2021. Hydrogeologic and Geochemical Distinctions in Freshwater Brine Systems of an Andean Salar Basin. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi: 10.1029/2020GC009345.

Selected presentations

Distinct hydrologic pathways regulate perennial surface water dynamics in a hyperarid basin, AGU 2023.

Hydrological signatures of wetland complexes in the Altiplano-Puna region, Frontiers in Hydrology 2022.

Impact of Hydrostratigraphic Continuity on Brine to Freshwater Interface Dynamics: Implications From a 2D Parametric Study in an Arid and Endorheic Basin, AGU 2019.