currents.iihr.uiowa.edu

In Iowa, we hear a lot about the rural-urban divide. Where we live can color our work, our social lives, our politics, and even our perceptions of ourselves and our neighbors. But near Iowa City, there’s a place for all Iowans, where urban and rural meet in a unique and productive way — the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm.

There’s a lot more going on underground than most of us imagine.

IIHR researcher Jessica Meyer is working to develop new insights on how groundwater moves and innovative ways to characterize its flow. Meyer, an assistant professor in the University of Iowa Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, says that understanding the flow of groundwater can be difficult. “It’s challenging because you can’t observe any of it directly,” she says.