Geoscience department Ph.D. student Melvin Kunkel was one of four students recognized for outstanding poster presentations at the recently concluded EPSCoR Western Tri-State MeetingĀ in Sun Valley, Idaho. Mel’s poster, entitled “Interactions between long- and short-period teleconnections associated with distinct seasonal streamflow volume typologies” was among approximately 40 posters presented at the meeting, a gathering of faculty, staff, and students from institutions in Idaho, New Mexico, and Nevada focused on impacts of climate change on water resources in these water limited states. The poster outlines a quantitative analysis of how sea surface temperature and atmospheric pressure interact across a range of spatial and temporal scales to influence stream discharge in a number of rivers in the Western US and how knowledge of these interactions might lead to better forecasts of water supply for water managers throughout the West. Mel is a member of Professor Lejo Flores’ hydrology research group.