Kyle Blount
Department(s):
School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability, and Public Health
Title(s):
Assistant Prof.
Area of Specialization


  • ecohydrology
  • water resource management
Office Location
PAC 326
Phone Number
217-206-8524
Email
wblou2@uis.edu
Area of Expertise
Climate Change
Diversity
Environment
Global Warming
Science
Inequality
Sustainability

Biography

Academic and Personal Background

Dr. Blount (they/them) is a socio-ecohydrologist who is interested in the interactions between hydrology (water), ecology (vegetation), and society (people). Dr. Blount joined the faculty at UIS in Fall 2022 after completing a postdoctoral research appointment in urban ecohydrology at Washington State University Vancouver. They received a Ph.D. and M.S. in Hydrology from Colorado School of Mines (2020; 2018) and a B.S. in Environmental Geosciences from Texas A&M University (2013). When not working, they enjoy spending time with their dog, running, CrossFit, outdoor recreation, and visiting coffee shops and breweries. 

Information for Prospective Students

Dr. Blount is interested in working with M.S. and undergraduate students who are curious about exploring any aspect of water resources and urban development including physical hydrology, water quality, water management and governance, and the role of water in ecosystem functions. They are also open to any other exciting projects in the realm of physical environmental sciences or those that use innovative, quantitative data analyses. Dr. Blountâ¿¿s first M.S. advisee completed a project to model and characterize groundwater transport of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) in a Northern Illinois community in May 2023, and a new cohort of six undergraduate and Master's students are currently working on a funded project examining urban microclimate modeling and redevelopment. They enjoy providing support and mentorship to students for individual development, whatever their individual career aspirations, including employment in the public, private, or academic sectors. Interested students should contact Dr. Blount via email (wblou2@uis.edu), and you can find updated postings of funded opportunities on the News page of my Website or on Twitter. 

Additional Links and Contact Information

Academic Website: https://kyleblount.weebly.com/ 

Twitter: @hydro_kyleb

Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1LndTtUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Research

Dr. Blount's research focuses on the interactions between hydrology, ecology, and society in the contexts of wildfire and urban development. They employ a variety of methods including remote sensing, modeling, field data collection, and hydrologic and microclimate modeling to monitor, understand, and predict environmental dynamics in these systems. Their recent work examines how urban development affects the movement of water and heat within cities with the goal of promoting equitable and sustainable water resource management and urban development. Areas of focus include:

  • ecohydrology
  • socio-hydrology
  • water resource management
  • urban heat, water, and vegetation interactions
  • land-atmosphere interactions
  • remote sensing of water resources
  • hydrologic and microclimate modelling
Publications
  • Blount, K., V. Shandas, and K. Moffett. Assessing the role of proximity to cool land covers and advective cooling on urban land surface temperature at the city scale. In preparation. 
  • Blount, K. and T.S. Hogue. The role of urban redevelopment in closing the water supply gap in Denver, CO. In preparation. 
  • Kubinec, K.*, K. Moffett, and K. Blount. Prediction of summer urban air temperatures from high-resolution land cover data and ground-based thermal imaging of residential streetscapes. Submitted.  
  • Blount, K., G. Pignotti, and J. Wolfand. ET Cool Home: Innovative Educational Activities on Evapotranspiration and Urban Heat. In review, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. https://hess.copernicus.org/preprints/hess-2023-296/. 
  • Blount, K., R. Abdi, C.L. Panos, N.K. Ajami, and T.S. Hogue (2021). Building to conserve: Quantifying the outdoor water savings of residential redevelopment in Denver, Colorado. Landscape and Urban Planning, 214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104178. 
  • Blount, K., J. Wolfand, C.D. Bell, N.K. Ajami, and T.S. Hogue (2021). Satellites to sprinklers: Assessing spatiotemporal patterns of outdoor water use using remote sensing. Water Resources Research. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027587. 
  • Blount, K., C.J. Ruybal, K.J. Franz, and T.S. Hogue (2020). Increased water yield and altered hydrologic partitioning follow wildfire in a forested catchment in the western U.S. Ecohydrology. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2170. 
  • Blount, K. and A. Kroepsch (2019). Adventures in Post-Wildfire Watershed Management: Improving Water Resources Resilience in Colorado. Case Studies in the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1525/cse.2019.sc.960306. 
  • Blount, W.K. (2013). Future Flooding in Houston: Modeling the Impacts of Climate and Land Cover Change on Hydrology in the Buffalo-San Jacinto Watershed. Texas A&M University Honors and Undergraduate Research. Available electronically from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/154891. 
Involvement
  • Chancellor's Committee on Belonging, Dignity, and Justice (Committee Member)
  • Safe Zone/Brave Space (Planning Committee, Training Facilitator)
  • Institute on Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Justice (Steering Committee Member, Affiliated Faculty)
  • Urban Heat, Water, Vegetation, and Equity Hydrology Section Sessions at AGU Fall Meeting (Primary Convener, OSPA Liaison)
  • Inclusive Teaching Book Club and Conference (Member, Planning Committee)
  • ENS Executive and Personnel Committees (Member)
  • Several search committees for faculty, staff, and administrators
Lectures
  • Blount, K., G. Pignotti, and K. Moffett. Urban microclimate interactions: Land cover heterogeneity affects near-surface heat and water dynamics. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 13, 2023. 
  • Blount, K. Evaluating the Impacts of Urban Configuration on Heat and Water Transfer using ENVI-met Microclimate Simulations. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 12, 2023. 
  • Small, E. and K. Blount. Using Geospatial Analyses to Identify Contaminant Source Area and Transport of a PFAS Plume at the Sandy Hollow Groundwater Contamination Site in Winnebago County, Illinois. Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference, Champaign, IL, April 18-19, 2023. 
  • Small, E. and K. Blount. Identifying PFAS contaminant source area and transport via geospatial methods: A case study in Winnebago County, Illinois. UIS Student Technology, Arts, & Research Symposium (STARS), Springfield, IL, April 14, 2023. 
  • Blount, K. Water and Heat in U.S. Cities: Examining Biophysical Feedbacks for Sustainable Urban Environments. Energy-Water-Environment Sustainability (EWES) Seminar, Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, March 27, 2023. Invited presentation. 
  • Blount, K. Water in Changing Cities: Managing Urban Water Resources Under Redevelopment and Climate Change. UIS Confluence Lab Speaker Series, Springfield, IL, March 22, 2023. Invited presentation. 
  • Blount, K., G. Pignotti, and J. Wolfand. Feelinâ¿¿ the Heat: Adapting a Classroom Activity on Urban Heat and Water Dynamics for Informal Learning Experiences. AGU Fall Meeting. Chicago, IL, December 12, 2022. 
  • Blount, K. and T.S. Hogue. Opportunities to Reduce Regional Water Supply Gaps through Infill Development in Denver, Colorado. AGU Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA, December 15, 2021. 
  • Blount, K. and K. Moffett. Cityscape Configuration and Streetscape Composition Impacts on Urban Surface and Air Temperatures. AGU Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA, December 15, 2021.  
  • Blount, K. Fire and watershed hydrology: re-plumbing source water supplies in the Western U.S. National Academies of Sciences: Natural and Prescribed Wildland Fire Impacts on Soil Health Meeting. Virtual. November 2, 2021. Invited presentation and panelist.  
  • Blount, K., R. Abdi, C. Panos, N.K. Ajami, and T.S. Hogue. Changes to Outdoor Water Demand Associated with Residential Redevelopment Highlight the Importance of Integrated Land Use and Urban Water Planning. AGU Fall Meeting. Virtual [COVID-19], December 15, 2020. 
  • Blount, K. Toward sustainable urban systems: Water, vegetation, heat, and urban redevelopment. Colorado School of Mines CEEN 596 Environmental Seminar Series. November 6, 2020. Invited presentation.  
  • Blount, K. The collaborative management of watersheds in response to wildfire. Portland State University School of the Environment Seminar Series: Geographies of Uncertainty. October 22, 2020. Invited presentation. 
  • Blount, K. Collaborative governance for post-wildfire watershed management. Cascadia Wildfire & Urban Smoke Working Group Webinar. October 14, 2020. Invited presentation.  
  • Blount, K., J. Wolfand, C.D. Bell, N.K. Ajami, and T.S. Hogue. Modeling Irrigation using Remote Sensing to Assess the Influence of Evolving Urban Dynamics on Water Demand in Denver, Colorado. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA, December 12, 2019. 
  • Blount, K., C.D. Bell, K. Spahr, and T.S. Hogue: Understanding Urban Evapotranspiration Changes Due to Redevelopment and Infill through Remote Sensing Analysis in Denver, Colorado. AGU Fall Meeting. Washington D.C., December 14, 2018. 
  • Hogue, T.S., K. Blount, C.J. Ruybal and A. Rust: Wildfire and water: Utilizing remote sensing and in situ observations to monitor post-fire impacts on water supply in the western U.S., AGU Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., December 11, 2018. Invited presentation. 
  • Ruybal, C.J., Blount, K., and T.S. Hogue: Evaluating Hydrologic Partitioning and Water Yield Following Wildfire in Forested Watersheds. AGU Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., December 12, 2018. 
  • Blount, K., K. Clarke, M. Darveau, P. Eranki, K. Knechtel, M. Mattjik, A. Salazar-Morgan, J. Simbai, A.E. Landis: Engineering Learning in the Minesâ¿¿ Strategic Plan for Diversity, Inclusion, & Access. Engineering Learning Conference, Golden, CO, August 14, 2018. 
  • Blount, W.K., T.S. Hogue, K.J. Franz, and K.R. Knipper: Advancing Remotely-sensed Evapotranspiration Estimates using the MODIS Soil Moisture-Evapotranspiration (MOD-SMET) Model. American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, January 7-11, 2018.  
  • Blount, W.K., T.S. Hogue, K.J. Franz, and K.R. Knipper: Application of MODIS Soil-Moisture-Evapotranspiration (MOD-SMET) Model to Evaluate Landscape and Hydrologic Recovery after the High Park Fire, Colorado, USA. AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 11-15, 2017.  
  • Blount, W.K., T.S. Hogue, K.J. Franz, and K.R. Knipper: Use of remote sensing products to evaluate hydrologic response in fragmenting landscapes in East Africa. University of Oklahoma International WaTER Conference, Norman, OK, September 18-20, 2017. 
  • Blount, W.K., T.S. Hogue, K.J. Franz, and K.R. Knipper: Evapotranspiration and partitioning of the hydrologic cycle in fragmented landscapes in the Western United States. University Council on Water Resources/National Institute of Water Resources (UCOWR/NIWR) Annual Conference, Fort Collins, CO, June 13-15, 2017.  
  • Hogue, T.S., S. Saxe, R. Logan, K. Knipper, and W.K. Blount: Short and Long-Term Recovery in Burned Watersheds and the Impact on Streamflow Dynamics. Geological Society of America (GSA) National Conference, Denver, CO, September 25-28, 2016. 
Teaching

At UIS, Dr. Blount primarily teaches classes that focus on water resources, physical environmental sciences, and environmental methods. Courses taught or planned to develop include:

  • ENS 251 - Introduction to Environmental Sciences
  • ENS 404 - Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems
  • ENS 465 - Water Resources and Society
  • ENS 466 - Ecohydrology
  • ENS 467 - Ecohydrology Lab
  • ENS 543 - Environmental Data Analysis with R
  • ENS 551 - Environmental Natural Sciences
Editorial Boards
  • Journal of Hydrology, Associate Editor (Urban hydrology; Ecohydrology)
  • Active reviewer for: NSF Division of Earth Sciences - Hydrologic Sciences Program, GIScience & Remote Sensing, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment; Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, Landscape and Urban Planning, Scientific Reports, Science Advances, Sustainable Cities & Society, Sustainability, and Water Resources Research