Jennifer McIntosh is a hydrogeologist and professor of

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...

and

atmospheric sciences Atmospheric science is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, where she is a University Distinguished Scholar. In 2019, she was named a

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...

Fellow.

Early life and education

Jennifer McIntosh first developed her interest in science during her childhood with family trips from her home near

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Olympic National Park Olympic National Park is a national park of the United States located in Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier e ...

and the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

. In college, a family trip to

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

inspired her interest in the physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes of deep subsurface

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

. McIntosh pursued these interests in her higher education by completing her undergraduate studies at

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

. McIntosh graduated from Whitman with a B.S. in geology - chemistry. She continued her education at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she earned her

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

Career and research

After earning her PhD, McIntosh completed her

post-doc A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

in earth and planetary sciences at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

through the Jane Blaustein Postdoctoral Fellowship. McIntosh began her career in academia at the

in 2006. McIntosh also served as an adjunct research geologist from 20072017 for the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

. As an associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at

and an adjunct professor at the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

, McIntosh has earned recognition for her research, curriculum, and mentorship of her undergraduate and graduate students. McIntosh is known for her study of topics related to

geochemical Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the ...

processes for

surface water Surface water is water located on top of land, forming terrestrial (surrounding by land on all sides) waterbodies, and may also be referred to as ''blue water'', opposed to the seawater and waterbodies like the ocean. The vast majority of surfac ...

ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...

, and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

. McIntosh conducts multidisciplinary research that integrates

geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

, and

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

to better understand the fate and transport of fluids beneath the Earth's surface. In subsurface environments, McIntosh studies both deep-subsurface and near-surface environments, as well as the physical interactions between the two.

Publications

McIntosh is the primary author or a coauthor of over 65

peer-reviewed journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

publications and has an ''h''-index of 33. Journals featuring her research include ''

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

'', '' Environmental Science and Technology'', ''Groundwater'', ''

Chemical Geology ''Chemical Geology'' is an international peer-reviewed academic journal. The journal is affiliated with the European Association of Geochemistry and it is published by Elsevier., publishing both subscription and open access articles. The journal ...

'', and ''

Journal of Hydrology ''Journal of Hydrology'' () is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The ...

''. McIntosh's paper, “Competition for Shrinking Window of Low Salinity Groundwater,” an article published in 2018 in ''

Environmental Research Letters ''Environmental Research Letters'' is a quarterly, peer-reviewed, open-access, scientific journal covering research on all aspects of environmental science. It is published by IOP Publishing. The editor-in-chief is Radhika Khosla ( University ...

'', attracted national attention with new findings about the limitations for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

's supply of fresh groundwater. The paper maps the depths of separation between

fresh Fresh may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film * ''Fresh'' (2009 film), a documentary film on sustainable agriculture * ''Fresh'' (2022 film), a thriller film *''Fresh with the Aust ...

and

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

groundwater for 28

sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock They form when long-term subsidence ...

s and discusses how this essential resource is being depleted at an alarming rate. Its conclusion that less fresh groundwater is available than previously estimated has initiated increased awareness about fresh groundwater security.

Awards and honors

In 2019, McIntosh was named a Fellow of the

. At the

, McIntosh was awarded the 2017 University Distinguished Scholar award for her scientific contributions toward teaching and public outreach. In 2011, the

(

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

) awarded McIntosh the STAR Award for her research contributions. She also received the "Best Paper Award" for her publication in ''Geofluids'' titled, “Impacts of

Pleistocene glaciation The Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, is an alternating series of glacial and interglacial periods during the Quaternary period that began 2.58 Ma (million years ago) and is ongoing. Although geologists describe ...

on large-scale groundwater flow and salinity in the

Michigan Basin The Michigan Basin is a geologic basin centered on the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The feature is represented by a nearly circular pattern of geologic sedimentary strata in the area with a nearly uniform structural dip towar ...

”. For her contributions as a professor, McIntosh has been recognized with multiple awards for the curriculum and classes she has contributed to both the Hydrologic and Atmospheric Sciences Department and the Geosciences department at University of Arizona. In 2019, McIntosh was awarded the Leon and Pauline Blitzer Award for Excellence in Teaching of Physics. McIntosh has also received the “Award for Excellence at the Student Interface” for three years of teaching including 2011, 2013, and 2017.

Public engagement

McIntosh has been commended for her dedication to teaching

earth science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

s, and has received multiple awards including the student nominated “Award for Excellence at the Student Interface” in 2011, 2013, and 2017. McIntosh is dedicated to enhancing the education of

women in STEM Many scholars and policymakers have noted that the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have remained predominantly male with historically low participation among women since the origins of these fields in the 18th ce ...

. Of the 40 undergraduate and graduate students McInotsh has mentored, more than half are women or underrepresented minorities in

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

. Due to her knowledge about subsurface systems and their physical interactions, McIntosh also presents at workshops for various public entities, including the United States Technical Review Board, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Atomic Energy Agency, and the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

. McIntosh provided a presentation at the EPA Technical Workshop for the U.S. EPA

Hydraulic Fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of Formation (geology), formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the ...

Study in 2015. Her presentation discussed chemical and analytical methods for distinction of subsurface groundwater by comparing the chemical composition of specific

isotope Isotopes are distinct nuclear species (or ''nuclides'') of the same chemical element. They have the same atomic number (number of protons in their Atomic nucleus, nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemica ...

s of

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

. Additionally, McIntosh is an External Advisory Board Member for Energize New Mexico, which is a

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

funded program designed to stimulate competitive research in STEM fields. McIntosh has served as an Associate Editor for ''

Water Resources Research ''Water Resources Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Geophysical Union, covering research in the social and natural sciences of water. The editor-in-chief is Georgia Destouni (Stockholm University), who took ...

'' since 2013.

Personal life

Jennifer McIntosh has a husband and two children. McIntosh is dedicated to enriching the lives of her students. An article courtesy of Parent and Family Programs about McIntosh's personal life and career reported:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntosh, Jennifer Hydrogeologists Scientists from Arizona Whitman College alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Arizona faculty University of Michigan alumni 21st-century American women scientists American women geologists 21st-century American geologists Fellows of the Geological Society of America Living people Year of birth missing (living people)