Kristen Marie Whitney

(POST DOC)

Kristen Marie Whitney's Contact Card & Information.
Email:	kristen.m.whitney@nasa.gov
Phone:	301.614.6569
Org Code:	617
Address:	NASA/GSFC Mail Code 617 Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer:	UNIV OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK

Brief Bio

Research Interests

Talks, Presentations and Posters

Brief Bio

Dr. Kristen Whitney is an Assistant Research Scientist at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), working in the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Her research focuses on advancing the integration of satellite data and land surface modeling for climate resilience, drought monitoring, and environmental decision support.

She is a core developer of Phase 3 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-3), contributing to model enhancements, high-resolution meteorological forcings, and cloud-enabled workflows for real-time land monitoring. Kristen also co-leads NLDAS-3 engagement with partners across U.S. federal and state agencies. Her work with NASA’s Land Information System (LIS) also includes advanced analysis of hydroclimate extreme events and associated environmental resource implications.

She serves on the AGU Hydrology Section Executive Committee, is a deputy chair of the AGU Hydrology Section's Remote Sensing Technical Committee, and a member of NASA Code 610’s Early and Mid-Career Council (EMC²). Kristen earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Geological Sciences from Arizona State University, where she received the 2022 Central Arizona Project Award for Water Research for her NASA-funded dissertation. She also interned at Esri, contributing to GIS climate tool development, and served on ASU’s high-performance computing governance board.

Kristen has presented her work at AGU, AMS, GEWEX, EGU, and other conference venues, and has been invited to speak on the science–policy interface at water management panels and global climate workshops.

Research Interests

Land surface, meteorological and watershed modeling

Remote sensing and data assimilation for climate, food, forest and water systems

Hydroclimate extremes and climate change analysis

Coupled human–natural hydrosystem processes

Season-to-subseasonal forecasting for environmental resource monitoring

Decision-centric research and tool development and stakeholder engagement

Positions/Employment

Assistant Research Scientist

NASA/University of Maryland ESSIC - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

October 2024 - Present

NASA Postdoctoral Fellow

ORAU - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

March 2023 - September 2024

Postdoctoral Research Scholar (Temporary)

Arizona State University, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment - Tempe, AZ

December 2022 - March 2023

Graduate Research Associate

Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration - Tempe, AZ

August 2016 - December 2022

Student Intern (paid summer internship)

Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI), Software Products division - Redlands, CA

May 2018 - August 2018

Graduate Research Associate

Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration - Tempe, AZ

May 2013 - August 2015

Soil Conservation Intern

Natural Resource Conservation Service - Capitola, CA

January 2012 - April 2012

Hydrology and GIS Analyst Intern

Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency - Watsonville, CA

November 2011 - April 2012

Teaching Experience

Fall 2018, ASU, SES 502 - Exploring SES Research (Teaching Assistant)
Fall 2017, ASU, CEE 440/CEE 545/GLG 471 - Hydrology (Teaching Assistant)
Fall 2016, ASU, CEE 440/CEE 545/GLG 471 - Hydrology (Teaching Assistant)

Professional Service

December 2026 - Present, AGU Technical Committee on Remote Sensing: Deputy Chair, American Geophysical Union.
January 2025 - Present, AGU Hydrology Section Executive Committee: Newsletter Editor, American Geophysical Union.
October 2024 - Present, Early and Mid Career Council (EMC2), NASA GFSC code 610
January 2024 - December 2025, AGU Technical Committee on Remote Sensing: Member, American Geophysical Union.
December 2023 - February 2026, Officer: NASA Goddard Association of Postdoctoral and Early Career Scientists (NGAPS+).
2025, Co-chair: Session H019: Advances in Remote Sensing, AI, and Modeling for Hydrology and the Terrestrial Water Cycle. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. New Orleans, L.A. 15–19 December 2024.
2024, Co-chair: Session H006 Advancements in Remote Sensing, Hydrologic Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Machine Learning for Terrestrial Water Cycle. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C. 9–11 December 2024.
February - March 2024, Scientific content reviewer and voice actor, NASA ARSET Applications Course, NASA Earth Science Applied Remote Sensing Training Program.
2023, Peer reviewer: NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES), Water Resources Research, Scientific Data Nature.
June 2023, Invited presenter for "Future Career Day" for girls, St. Bernard's High School, UK.
July 2021 - December 2022, Appointed Student Representative, Research Computing Governance Board of Arizona State University.
September 2021, Invited panelist on session, "Assessing the current state of research on integrated land and water policy and management", American Water Resources Association 2021 Specialty Conference.
November 2017, Lead exhibitor, "21st Annual Earth & Space Exploration Day", School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University.
September 2011 - December 2012, Educational outreach volunteer, Livestock and Land Program, Ecology Action, Santa Cruz, CA.

Awards

2024, NASA HBG Peer Award for Scientific Achievement, NASA Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics
2024, NASA Special Act Award, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
2024, Award for Outstanding Early Career Presentation, The 9th Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) Open Science Conference.
2022, Central Arizona Award for Water Research, Central Arizona Project.
2020, Hydrology Section - Remote Sensing Technical Committee Student Award, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
2020, Babbitt Center Dissertation Fellowship, The Lincoln Institute.
2019, Summer Exploration Graduate Fellowship, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University.
2019, ASU Graduate College Travel Award, Arizona State University.
2019, Student CAP Grant for the Arizona Hydrological Society Symposium, Central Arizona Project.
2019, First Place Student Poster Award, American Meteorological Society 99^th Annual Meeting.
2018, Third place in ESRI’s Weekend of Innovation Hackathon, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
2018, Graduate Excellence Award, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University.
2017, ASU Graduate College Travel Award, Arizona State University.
2017, Graduate and Professional Student Association Individual Travel Grant, Arizona State University.
2015, Poster talk honorable mention, Third Annual Arizona Geological Society Doug Shakel Memorial Student
Poster Event.
2014, Graduate Excellence Award, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University.
2013, Graduate College Dean’s Fellowship, Arizona State University.
2011, Holly Day Barnett Award, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Grants

Terrestrial Hydrology Climate Information Dashboard for Water Management Decision Support in the Rio Grande Basin

Applying NASA Capabilities to Address Water Management Needs in the Rio Grande Basin Water Resource Management (GEC-2680-02012023) - NASA's Western Water Applications Office (WWAO) - Awarded: 2024-03-26

Dates: -

Improving NASA SMAP soil moisture using UMRB data for improved wildfire risk

Upper Missouri River Basin Data Value Study - NOAA NIDIS - Awarded: 2023-08-01

Dates: -

Amount $100,000

Understanding Wildfire Risks and Hydrologic Impacts using Satellite-Based Remote Sensing and Land Surface Modeling

NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellowship - Goddard Space Flight Center - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - Awarded: 2022-10-04

Dates: -

Amount $194,962

Simulating Hydrologic Responses in the Colorado River to Climate and Land Use Change Using a Data-Infused Land Surface Model

Babbitt Dissertation Fellowship - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy - Awarded: 2020-05-15

Dates: -

Amount $10,000

Exploring the response of the Colorado River Basin to future climate

Summer Exploration Graduate Fellowship - School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University - Awarded: 2019-05-20

Dates: -

Amount $8,000

Special Experience

March 2026, Participant in the Drought Planning Platform (DPP) Design Spring led by NOAA NIDIS, NCAR & UCAR Center Green Campus, Boulder, CO.
April 2025, Co-lead of the NLDAS-3 Drought Monitoring Workshop, virtual.
November 2024, Participant in NASA's Next Generation Earth System Science: Positioning GSFC as an Integrative Hub, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.
October 2024, Completed NASA's Everyone Belongs: Creating Space for Diverse Abilities Workshop, virtual.
September 2024, Participant in the UNCCD IDRO Drought Resilience Workshop with IDRA, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
September 2024, Participant in the NASA Water Resources Program Annual Team Meeting, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
August 2024, Participant in NASA Agriculture Strategy Workshop, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
July 2024, Participant in the 9th Global Energy and Water Exchanges Early Career Workshop, Sapporo, Japan.
April 2024, Co-lead of the NLDAS-3 Drought Monitoring Workshop, virtual.
March 2024, Participant in the Freshwater Natural Climate Solutions Workshop, Conservation International Headquarters, Arlington, VA.
January 2024, Completed the Machine Learning in Python for Environmental Science Problems training, American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD.
June – July 2016, Completed the Science Diplomacy & Leadership Program, Arizona State University, Washington, DC.
July – August 2013, Completed the US-Mexico Border Water and Environmental Sustainability training, Arizona State University, Sonora, MX.

Publications

Refereed

2025. "Efficient and Regionally Transferable Snow Water Equivalent Estimation Using a Long Short‐Term Memory Network.", Journal of Geophysical Research: Machine Learning and Computation, 2 (4): e2025JH000593 [10.1029/2025jh000593] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Quantifying the Impacts of Dynamic Lapse Regimes on Snow Simulations over Complex Terrains.", Journal of Hydrometeorology, 26 (10): 1525–1560 [10.1175/jhm-d-25-0021.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "An Observation‐Driven Framework for Modeling Post‐Fire Hydrologic Response: Evaluation for Two Central California Case Studies.", Water Resources Research, 61 (2): [10.1029/2023wr036582] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "On the Use of SMAP Soil Moisture for Forecasting NDVI Over CONUS Cropland Regions.", Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (20): [10.1029/2024gl111187] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "On the Sensitivity of Future Hydrology in the Colorado River to the Selection of the Precipitation Partitioning Method.", Water Resources Research, 60 (6): [10.1029/2023wr035801] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Enhancing the accessibility and interactions of regional hydrologic projections for water managers.", Environmental Modelling & Software, 167 105763 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2023.105763] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "A stakeholder-engaged approach to anticipating forest disturbance impacts in the Colorado River Basin under climate change.", Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 149 (7): 04023020 [https://doi.org/10.1061/JWRMD5.WRENG-5905] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Spatial attribution of declining Colorado River streamflow under future warming.", Journal of Hydrology, 617 129125 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129125] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "On the value of satellite remote sensing to reduce uncertainties of regional simulations of the Colorado River.", Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26 (21): 5627-5646 [https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5627-2022] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "A Deterministic Approach for Approximating the Diurnal Cycle of Precipitation for Use in Large-Scale Hydrological Modeling.", Journal of Hydrometeorology, 20 (2): 297-317 [https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-18-0203.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "Ecohydrological role of biological soil crusts across a gradient in levels of development.", Ecohydrology, 10 (7): [https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1875] [Journal Article/Letter]

Talks, Presentations and Posters

Invited

NASA’S NLDAS-3 System and Hydrology Copilot

March 4, 2026

Co-authors: Whitney KM [on behalf of NASA’S NLDAS-3 team]

The Drought Planning Platform (DPP) Design Sprint Workshop. NCAR & UCAR Center Green Campus, Boulder, CO

Advancing water resource decision-making through remote sensing, modeling, and stakeholder engagement

December 12, 2024

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bolten JD, Kumar SV, Vivoni ER, White DD, Locke KM

American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C. 9–11 December 2024.

https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.173991592.25109795/v1

NASA Land Information System (LIS) Products

September 24, 2024

Co-authors: Whitney KM [on behalf of NASA’S Land Information System team]

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO) Workshop. Yale, New Haven, CT

Overview of NASA’s Land Information System capabilities to support scalable riparian restoration and protection activities

March 5, 2024

Co-authors: Whitney KM [on behalf of NASA’S Land Information System team]

Freshwater Natural Climate Solutions Workshop. Conservation International Headquarters, Arlington, VA

Phase three of the North American Land Data Assimilation System in support of water and agricultural management efforts

November 2023

Co-authors: Whitney KM [On behalf of NASA’S Earth Information System team]

NASA Acres Kick-off Event. St. Louis, MO.

A Stakeholder Engaged Approach to Anticipating Forest Disturbance Impacts in the Colorado River Basin under Climate Change

September 16, 2022

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ER, Wang Z, Quay R, White DD, Mahmoud MI, Templeton N.

Arizona Hydrological Society 34th Annual Symposium. Tuscon, AZ.

Improving and Employing a Hydrologic Model to Enable Water Resource Planning Under Future Climate and Land Cover Uncertainties

May 31, 2022

Early Career Scientist Webinar, Climate Hazards Center, University of California, Santa Barbara. (virtual)

Colorado River Hydrology Under Future Climate and Land Cover Changes

May 13, 2022

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ER, Bohn TJ, Mascaro G, Wang Z, Xiao M, Mahmoud M, Cullom C, White D, Quay R.

ASU AND UCLA Hydrology Research Day. Tempe, AZ.

Differential climate-change response across the Colorado River due to seasonal precipitation gradients

May 26, 2021

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER, Wang Z.

Nexus Exploration of Opportunities in Uruguay and Argentina (NEXO-UA), Speaker Series. (virtual)

Increased Temperatures Overwhelm Precipitation Changes Leading to Streamflow Declines in the Colorado River Basin

March 24, 2021

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER, Wang Z., Xiao M, Mascaro G.

Hydrosystems Engineering Seminar, Arizona State University. (virtual)

MEGADAPT: Upland Hydrology Model

May 2017

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ET.

MEGADAPT All Hands Meeting. Mexico City, MX.

Other

Dynamic Lapse Rate Corrections Improve Snowpack Simulations in Complex Terrain

January 29, 2026

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Kumar SV, Bolten JD, Pflug J, Main FZ, Hain CR, Mocko DM, Wrzesien ML

American Meteorological Society 106th Annual Meeting. Houston, TX. 25–29 January 2026

Dynamic Lapse Rate Corrections Improve Snowpack Modeling Across Mountain Regions Critical for Water Supply

December 15, 2025

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Kumar SV, Bolten JD, Pflug J, Main FZ, Hain CR, Mocko DM, Wrzesien ML

American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. 15–19 December 2025

Quantifying the impact of meteorological dynamic lapse regimes on snowpack in land surface models

December 13, 2024

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Kumar SV, Bolten JD, Pflug J, Main FZ, Hain CR, Mocko DM, Wrzesien ML

American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C. 9–11 December 2024.

https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.173975606.65819113/v1

Quantifying drought propagation typology through remote sensing and data assimilation*

July 10, 2024

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Kumar SV, Bolten JD, Konapala G, Brunner MI, Le M-H, Lahmers TM, Ahmad SK, Nie W

9th Global Energy and Water Exchanges Open Science Conference, Sapporo, Japan.

*Awarded: Outstanding Early Career Presentation,

Quantifying the impact of dynamic lapse regimes on snow simulations

April 16, 2024

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Kumar SV, Bolten JD, Pflug J, Main FZ, Hain CR, Mocko DM, Wrzesien M

European Geophysical Union General Assembly 2024. Vienna, Austria.

https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-12854

Enhancing the accessibility, applicability, and interactions of satellite-informed hydrologic projections under climate and forest changes for water managers

February 1, 2024

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ER, White DD, Wang Z, Quay R, Mahmoud MI, Templeton NP

American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD.

Quantifying the impact of dynamic lapse regimes on snow simulations

February 1, 2024

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Kumar SV, Bolten JD, Pflug J, Main FZ, Hain CR, Mocko DM

American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD.

Enhancing the accessibility and interactions of satellite-informed hydrologic projections under climate and forest changes for water managers

December 2023

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ER, White DD, Wang Z, Quay R, Mahmoud MI, Templeton NP.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA.

Assessing the feasibility of SMAP-enhanced vegetation dynamics as an indicator of wildfire danger: A case study of the 2017 Lodgepole Complex Fire in Montana

December 2023

Co-authors: Le MH, Bolten JD, Holmes TR, Whitney KM, Ahmad SK, Lahmers TM, Liu PW, Bindlish R, Tabor K, Kumar SV.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA.

On the sensitivity of future snowpack and streamflow in the Colorado River Basin to the selection of precipitation partition method

December 2023

Co-authors: Wang Z, Vivoni ER, Whitney KM, Xiao M, Mascaro G.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA.

Improving and Employing a Hydrologic Model to Enable Water Resource Planning Under Future Climate and Land Cover Uncertainties

June 2022

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ER, Wang Z, Mascaro G.

American Geophysical Union Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting. San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Assessing Future Climate and Land Use Impacts to the Colorado River using a Bottom-up Modelling Approach Informed by Water Managers

May 2022

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni E, Wang Z, Mascaro G.

European Geosciences Union General Assembly. (virtual). https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-5757

Warming-driven Snowfall Declines and Evaporative Increases Overwhelm Precipitation Increases Leading to Colorado River Streamflow Declines

December 2021

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER, Wang Z, Xiao M, Mascaro G, Mahmoud MI, Cullom C, White DD. 2021.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA. https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/866003

Assessing Future Climate and Land Use Impacts to the Colorado River using a Bottom-up Modelling Approach Informed by Water Managers

December 2021

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ER, Wang Z, Mascaro G.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA. https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/866673

Increased Temperatures Overwhelm Precipitation Changes Leading to Streamflow Declines in the Colorado River Basin

April 2021

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER, Wang Z., Xiao M, Masacro G.

European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2021. (virtual) https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-3151

Increased Temperatures Overwhelm Precipitation Changes Leading to Streamflow Declines in the Colorado River Basin*

December 2020

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER, Wang Z.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. (virtual) https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/672643

*Awarded: Remote Sensing Technical Committee Student Award

Application of Satellite Products in Surface Hydrological Modeling of the Colorado River Basin

December 2020

Co-authors: Xiao M, Wang Z, Mascaro G, Whitney KM, Vivoni ER.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. (virtual)

Simulating Hydrologic Responses in the Colorado River to Climate Change

December 2019

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER, Wang Z.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA

Long-range scenario modeling of the Colorado River Basin

October 8, 2019

Co-authors: Vivoni ER, Mascaro GM, White D, Whitney KM, Wang Z.

ASU-CAP, NASA Applied Sciences Program Kickoff-Meeting. Scottsdale, AZ

Exploring the Response of the Colorado River Basin to Future Climate

September 2019

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER.

32^nd Annual Symposium of the Arizona Hydrological Society. Tuscon, AZ.

Simulating Hydrologic Responses in the Colorado River to Climate Change

September 2019

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER.

Geological Society of America 2019 Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ.

Modeling hydrologic extremes in the Colorado River Basin at various watershed scales*

January 2019

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER.

American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ.

*Awarded: First Place Student Poster Award

Modeling land surface hydrology sensitivity in the Colorado River Basin to historical climate variability

December 2017

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA.

Spatial and temporal vulnerability to urban heat in Hermosillo, Sonora

May 2017

Co-authors: Robles-Morua A, Diaz-Caravantes R, Navarro J, Vivoni ER, Whitney KM, Montoya-Laos J.

School of Transborder Studies, ASU, Tempe, AZ.

Modeling land surface hydrology sensitivity in the Colorado River Basin and its urban areas to historical meteorological data

March 2017

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Bohn TJ, Vivoni ER.

Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network Annual All-Hands Meeting. New York, New York.

Role of biological soil crusts in hydrologic modeling of western high-desert ecosystems*

April 2015

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ER, Duniway M, Bradford J, Reed SC, Belnap J.

3rd Annual Arizona Geological Society Doug Shakel Memorial Student Poster Event. Tempe, AZ.

*Awarded: Honorable mention

Role of biological soil crusts in hydrologic modeling of western high-desert ecosystems

January 2015

Co-authors: Whitney KM, Vivoni ER, Duniway M, Bradford J, Reed SC, Belnap J.

American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ.

Contact Us

For general inquiries about the Sciences and Exploration Directorate.

Jocelyn Lynch

Project Support Specialist

301-286-6066 jocelyn.m.lynch@nasa.gov

Ellie Jeffries

Project Support Specialist

301-286-6066 ellie.jeffries@nasa.gov

Technical issues with this website may be reported to ben.pelletier@nasa.gov.
General inquiries about the scientific programs at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center may be directed to the Center Office of Communications at 1.301.286.8955.