The Levers Lab
Sustainable Water Use
Sustainable Agricultural Water Management of Oklahoma Panhandle Region
A dynamic hydro-economic programming model to investigate the optimal annual cropping pattern and consumption path of Ogallala aquifer under the Oklahoma Panhandle Region for a long-term timescale with various water table targets, natural gas prices (pumping costs), and discount rates.
Collaborators: Lixia Lambert, Lucia Levers, Yiqing Yao
Funding Agency: USDA-NIFA Hatch Project W4190
Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas (WATA)
A geophysical library of case studies of adaptation strategies (such as managed aquifer recharge, Forecast Informed Reservoir Operation, cover crops, deficit irrigation, and so on) to water scarcity in the U.S. Southwest to identify solutions to overallocation and unsustainable extraction of water resources as drought and aridification intensify in the context of climate change.
Media: Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas, The water adaptation techniques atlas: A new geospatial library of solutions to water scarcity in the U.S. Southwest (WATA)
Collaborators: Noah Silber-Coats, Emile Elias, Katherine Fernald, Mason Gagliardi, Danielle Nguyen, Steven Ostoja, Lucia Levers, Yiqing Yao
Funding Agency: USDA Southwest Climate Hub, USDA California Climate Hub, USDA-ERS
Dynamics of Perennials and Groundwater Under Climate Change
A regional hydro-economic modeling aims to capture the dynamics of perennial crop production and groundwater storage under climate change. This helps better evaluate perennial crop acreage change, age-dependent water demands, and productivity impacting groundwater storage, which suggests optimal perennial cropping decisions.
​
Media: Perennial Crop Dynamics May Affect Long-Run Groundwater Levels
Collaborators: Bradley Franklin, Lucia Levers, Kurt Schwabe, Yiqing Yao
Funding: USDA-NACA (Lucia Levers)