Dr. Jan Boll

Education

• Ph.D., Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 1995, Cornell University
• M.S. Agricultural Engineering, 1988, University of Idaho
• M.S., Land Use Planning, 1988. The Agricultural University of Wageningen
• B.S. Land Use Planning, 1985, The Agricultural University of Wageningen

Certifications

• Professional Engineering (P.E.) License in State of Idaho

Professional Experience

• Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU, 2015-present
• Special Assistant to VPR & Science Lead NSF-EPSCoR , University of Idaho, 2013-2015
• Director, Environmental Science & Water Resources Program, University of Idaho, 2011-2015
• Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Idaho, 2008-2015
• Director, Waters of the West (incl. Water Resources Graduate Program), UI, 2006- 2011
• Associate Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Idaho, 2002-2008
• Affiliate Professor, CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza), Turrialba, Costa Rica, 2001-present
• Assistant Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Idaho, 1996-2002

Awards

• Leon Luck Outstanding Faculty Award, Washington State University, 2024
• Excellence in Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Efforts, University of Idaho, 2010
• Outstanding Research Faculty, College of Engineering at University of Idaho, 2006
• Outstanding Faculty Award, Environmental Science Program, University of Idaho, 2005
• R.M. Wade Outstanding Teaching Award, College of Agriculture, 2003
• Engineer of the Year, ASAE Pacific Northwest Section, 2002
• Outstanding Young Faculty Award, College of Engineering, University of Idaho, 2000

Research Interests

• Watershed hydrology
• Water quality
• Hydrologic modeling
• Integrated water resources management
• Vadose zone hydrology

Teaching

• Engineering hydrology
• Advanced hydrology
• Environmental water quality

Publications

Sucozhañay, A. L. Timbe, J. Boll, and R. Célleri. 2025. Streamflow drought identification and characterization in a tropical Andean basin: effect of threshold methods. Hydrological Processes (in press)

Quaggio, C.S. L.V. Santarosa, P. Moffatt, M.D. Sacchi, B.H.V. Vieira, J. Boll, and D. Gastmans. 2025. A Holistic Assessment of Climate Change, Land Use, and Water Governance through Complex Water Systems. Water Resources Management. (in press)

Tawse-Garcia, C., R. Valdez, R. Gustine, E.E. Tracy, W. Larsen, D. Auerbach, V. Pertuzé R. Mukerji, A. Fremier, B. Warner, and J. Boll. 2025. “To Irrigate or Not?” Is the Wrong Question: Exploring the Triple Bottom Line of Climate Adaptation for Dairy Farmers in Los Lagos, Chile. Case Studies in the Environment, 9(1), p.2470531. https://doi.org/10.1525/cse.2025.2470531

Oyarzún, R., D. Duhalde, J.L. Arumí, J. Boll, S. MacDonell. 2025. Understanding hydrological dynamics in Andean basins: An isotope-based study in arid North-Central Chile. Hydrological Processes. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70066

Duhalde, D., J. Cortés, J.L. Arumí, J. Boll, and R. Oyarzún. 2024. Exploring the behavior of high-Andean wetlands of the semi-arid zone of Chile: Influence of precipitation and temperature variability on vegetation cover and water quality. Water 16(24), 3682. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16243682

Sánchez-Murillo, R., D.A. Herrera, K.K. Farrick, G. Esquivel-Hernández, R. Sánchez-Gutiérrez, J. Barberena-Moncada, J. Guatemala-Herrera, Y. Flores-Meza, R. Cerón-Pineda, L. Gil-Urrutia, J. Cardona-Hernández, T. Peña-Paz, J.O. Hernández-Ortiz, W. Harrison-Smith, G. Marshall, A. Persoiu, J. Pérez-Quezadas, M. Mejía-González, L. González-Hita, M. Barrera de Calderón, A. García-Moya, D. Hernández, K. Welsh, R.M. Price, D.A. Riveros-Iregui, N. Riavo G. Voarintsoa, J.C. Bregy, M. Sánchez-Llull, C. Alonso-Hernández, S. Santos-García, A.M. Durán-Quesada, C. Birkel, J. Boll, K.M. Cobb A.F. Obando-Amador, I.M. Vargas-Azofeifa, D. Tetzlaff, C. Soulsby, and S.G. Dee. 2024. Stable isotope tempestology of tropical cyclones across the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Ocean basins. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15274

Melinda M., Y.C. Lin, M. Walsh-Dilley, A.J. Webster, A.B. Stone, K. Chief, N. Estrada, K. Ayers, H. Love, P.A. Townsend, S. Hall, R. Rushforth, R.R. Morrison, J. Boll, M.C. Stone. 2024. Convergence, Transdisciplinarity and Team Science: an Interepistemic Approach. Ecology and Society 29(4):20 https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15448-290420

Alrehaili, A.M., C.K. Keller, B.C. Moore, and J. Boll. 2024. Stable isotope hydrology of a polymictic lake: Capturing transience of groundwater interactions. J. Hydrol. 639, 131551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131551

Birkel, C., S. Arciniega-Esparza, M.P. Maneta, J. Boll, J.L. Stevenson, L. Benegas-Negri, D. Tetzlaff, C. Soulsby. 2024. Importance of measured transpiration fluxes for modelled ecohydrological partitioning in a tropical agroforestry system. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 346 (2024) 109870 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109870

Sanchez-Murillo, R., C. Birkel, J. Boll, G. Esquivel-Hernández, L. Rojas-Jiménez, L. Castro-Chacón, A. Durán-Quesada, N.R.G. Voarintsoa, S. Dee, and A.M.E. Winguth. 2023. ENSO sentinels in the Americas’ humid tropics: We need combined hydrometric and isotopic monitoring for improved El Niño and La Niña impact prediction. Hydrological Processes, Authorea Preprints. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.15027

Langman, J.B., E. Gaddy, T.E. Link, J. Boll, B. Barnett, and M. Hill. 2023. Isotope Discrimination of Source Waters, Flowpaths, and Travel Times at an Acid-Generating, Lead-Zinc-Silver Mine, Silver Valley, Idaho, USA. Water 15, 3362. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15193362

Joyal, T., A.K. Fremier, and J. Boll. 2023. Modeled forest conversion influences humid tropical watershed hydrology more than projected climate change. Hydrology 10,160. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology10080160

Sánchez-Gutiérrez, R., R. Sánchez-Murillo, G. Esquivel-Hernández, C. Birkel, J. Boll, L.D. Rojas-Jiménez, L. Castro-Chacón. 2023. Nitrate legacy in a tropical and complex fractured volcanic aquifer system. JGR Biogeoscience 128, e2023JG007554. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JG007554

Hernandez, V., J.L. Arumí, J. Boll, D. Duhaldee, S. MacDonell, and R. Oyarzún. 2023. Streamflow–concentration relationships of surface water in the Choapa basin: historical analysis and projections under climate change. Hydrological Sciences Journal https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2023.2212167

Arciniega-Esparza, S., C. Birkel, A.M. Durán-Quesada, R. Sánchez-Murillo, G. Moore, M. Maneta, J. Boll, L. Benegas Negri, D. Tetzlaff, K. Yoshimura, and C. Soulsby. 2023. Tracer-aided ecohydrological modelling across climate, land cover, and topographical gradients in the Tropics. Hydrological Processes. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14884

Stevenson, J.L., C. Birkel, J-C. Comte, D. Tetzlaff, C. Marx, A.J. Neill, M.P. Maneta, J. Boll, and C. Soulsby. 2023. Quantifying heterogeneity in ecohydrological partitioning in urban green spaces through the integration of empirical and modelling approaches. Environ. Monitoring and Assessment 195(4), 468.

Yourek*, M., M. Liu, F.V. Scarpare, K. Rajagopalan, K. Malek, J. Boll, M. Huang, M. Chen, and J C. Adam. 2023. Downscaling global land-use/ cover change scenarios for regional analysis of food, energy, and water subsystems. Front. Environ. Sci. 11:1055771. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1055771

Zhao*, M. and J. Boll. 2022. Adaptation of water resources management under climate change. Frontiers Water, Sec. Water and Human Systems. Research Topic: Limits and Permanence of Modern Interventions in the Water Cycle. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2022.983228

Fowler*, A., J. Boll, and A. Beall-King. 2022. Evaluating conservation effectiveness: an investigation of spatial targeting, conservation adoption, and financial incentives. JAWRA 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.13034

Langman, J.B., J. Martin, E. Gaddy, J. Boll, D. Behrens. 2022. Snowpack aging, water isotope evolution, and runoff isotope signals, northern Idaho, USA. Hydrology 9, 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9060094

Sánchez-Murillo, R., I. Montero-Rodríguez, J. Corrales-Salazar, G. Esquivel-Hernández, L. Castro-Chacón, L. Rojas-Jiménez, J. Vargas-Viquez, J. Perez Quezadas, E. Gazel, and J. Boll. 2022. Deciphering complex groundwater age distributions and recharge processes in a tropical and fractured volcanic multi-aquifer system. Hydrol. Processes e14521. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14521

Sánchez-Murillo, Ricardo, A.M. Durán-Quesada, G. Esquivel-Hernández, D. Rojas-Cantillano, C. Birkel, K. Welsh, M. Sánchez-Lull, C.M. Alonso-Hernández, D. Tetzlaff, C. Soulsby, J. Boll, and N. Kurita, and K.M. Cobb. 2019. Deciphering key processes controlling rainfall isotopic variability during extreme tropical cyclones. Nature Communications NCOMMS-18-01461D https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12062-3

Muñoz, E, D.C. Guzman*, Y. Medina, J. Boll, V. Parra, J.L. Arumí. 2019. An adaptive basin management rule to improve water allocation resilience under climate variability and change. A case study in the Laja Lake basin in southern Chile. Water 11(8):1733. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11081733

Campos-Arias, P., G. Esquivel-Hernández, J. Francisco Valverde-Calderón, S. Rodríguez-Rosales, J. Moya-Zamora, R. Sánchez-Murillo and J. Boll. 2019. GPS precipitable water vapor estimations over Costa Rica: A comparison against atmospheric sounding and moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS). Climate 7(5):63. doi:10.3390/cli7050063

Esquivel-Hernández, G. G.M. Mosquera, R. Sánchez-Murillo, A. Quesada-Román, C. Birkel, P. Crespo, R. Célleri, D. Windhorst, L. Breuer, and J. Boll. 2019. Moisture transport and seasonal variations in the stable isotopic composition of rainfall in Central American and Andean Páramo during El Niño conditions (2015-2016). Hydrological Processes 2019:1-16. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.13438

dos Santos, V., M. Dias de Oliveira, J. Boll, R. Sánchez‐Murillo, A.A. Menegário, L.F. Gozzo, and D. Gastmans. 2019. Isotopic composition of precipitation during strong El Niño–Southern Oscillation events in the Southeast Region of Brazil. Hydrological Processes, 33:647–660. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13351

O’Rourke, M., Hall, T. E., Boll, J., Cosens, B., Dietz, T., Engebretson, J., Goralnik, L., Piso, Z., Valles, S., Whyte, K. 2018. Values and policy in interdisciplinary environmental science: A dialogue-based framework for ethics education. Online Ethics Center for Engineering. 8/16/2018 OEC. Accessed: Wednesday, November 28, 2018. <www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Values-and-Policy-Environmental-Science-Framework.aspx>

Esquivel-Hernández*, G., R. Sánchez-Murillo, A. Quesada-Román, G.M. Mosquera, C. Birkel, and J. Boll. 2018. Insight into the stable isotopic composition of glacial lakes in a tropical alpine ecosystem: Chirripó, Costa Rica. Hydrological Processes DOI: 10.1002/hyp.13286

Givens, J.E., J. Padowski, C.D. Guzman*, K. Malek, R. Witinok-Huber, B. Cosens, M. Briscoe, J. Boll, J. Adam. 2018. Incorporating social system dynamics in the Columbia River Basin: Food-energy-water resilience and sustainability modeling in the Yakima River Basin. Frontiers in Environmental Science 6, 104. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00104

Xue, J., Z. Huo, Q. Huang, F. Wang, J. Boll, G. Huang, Z. Qu. 2018. Assessing sustainability of agricultural water saving in arid area with shallow groundwater” in its current form for publication in Irrigation and Drainage. Irrigation and Drainage. 68(2):205-217. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2295

Welsh*, K.E., J. Boll, R. Sánchez-Murillo, and O. Roupsard. 2018. Isotope hydrology of a tropical coffee agroforestry watershed: Seasonal and event-based analysis. Hydrological Processes. 32(13):1965-1977. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13149

Esquivel-Hernández*, G., R. Sánchez-Murillo, C. Birkel, and J. Boll. 2018. Climate and water conflicts coevolution from tropical development and hydro-climatic perspectives: A case study of Costa Rica. JAWRA 50(2):451-470). DOI: 10.1111/1752-1688.12617

Toohey*, R., J. Boll, E.S. Brooks, and J.R. Jones. 2018. Effects of land use on soil properties and hydrological processes at the point, plot, and field scale in volcanic soils in the Turrialba Region of Costa Rica. Geoderma 315:138-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.11.044

Guzman*, C.D., S.A. Tilahun, D.C. Dagnew, F.A. Zimale, A.D. Zegeye, J. Boll, J.-Y. Parlange, T.S. Steenhuis. 2017. Spatio-temporal patterns of groundwater depths and soil nutrients in a small watershed in the Ethiopian highlands. J. of Hydrology 555 (2017): 420-434.

Xue, J.  H. Guan, Z. Huo, F. Wang, G. Huang, J. Boll. 2017. Water saving practices enhance regional efficiency of water consumption and water productivity in an arid agricultural area with shallow groundwater. Agric. Water Management, 194:78–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2017.09.003

Squires*, A.L., J. Boll, and E.S. Brooks. 2017. On the role of spatial, temporal and climate forces on stream sediment loading from rural and urban ecosystems. JAWRA https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12566.

Esquivel-Hernández*, G., R. Sánchez-Murillo, C. Birkel, S.P. Good, and J. Boll. 2017. Hydroclimatic and ecohydrological resistance/resilience conditions across tropical biomes of Costa Rica. Ecohydrology 10(6) https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1860.

Al-Hamdan*, O.Z., F.B. Pierson, M.A. Nearing, C.J. Williams, M. Hernandez, J. Boll, S.K. Nouwakpo, M.A. Weltz, K. Spaeth. 2017. Developing a parameterization approach of soil erodibility for the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM). Transactions of the ASABE 60(1), 85-94.

Sánchez-Murillo, R., A.M. Durán-Quesada, C. Birkel, G. Esquivel-Hernández, J. Boll. 2017. Tropical precipitation anomalies and d-excess evolution during El Niño 2014-16. Hydrological Processes, 31(4):956-967. DOI 10.1002/hyp.11088.

Williams*, C.J., F.B. Pierson, K.E. Spaeth, J.R. Brown, O.Z. Al-Hamdan, M.A. Weltz, M.A. Nearing, J.E. Herrick, J. Boll, P.R. Robichaud, D.C. Goodrich, P. Heilman, D.P. Guertin, M. Hernandez, H. Wei, V.O. Polyakov, G. Armendariz, S.K. Nouwakpo, S.P. Hardegree, P.E. Clark, E.K. Strand, J.D. Bates, L.J. Metz, and M.H. Nichols. 2016. Application to transformative changes on Great Basin Sagebrush rangelands. Rangelands 38:379-388.

Boll, J., T. Link, M. Santelmann, R. Heinse, and B. Cosens. 2016. Análisis y síntesis de buenas prácticas en la educación socioambiental interdisciplinaria en Estados Unidos.» Interdisciplina 4(10):117-146.

Yousefi, S., H. Moradi, J. Boll, and S. Schönbrodt-Stitt. 2016. Effects of road construction on soil degradation and nutrient transport in Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests. Geoderma 284:103-112. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.09.002

Brooks, E.S., M. Dobre, W.J. Elliot, J.Q. Wu, and J. Boll. 2016. Watershed-scale evaluation of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model in the Lake Tahoe basin. J. Hydrol. 533:389-402.

Williams*, C.J., F.B. Pierson, K.E. Spaeth, J.R. Brown, O.Z. Al-Hamdan, M.A. Weltz, M.A. Nearing, J.E. Herrick, J. Boll, P.R. Robichaud, D.C. Goodrich, P. Heilman, D.P. Guertin, M. Hernandez, H. Wei, S.P. Hardegree, E.K. Strand, J.D. Bates, L.J. Metz, and M.H. Nichols. 2016. Incorporating hydrologic data and ecohydrologic relationships into ecological site descriptions. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 69:4-19. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2015.10.001)

Corrales, J.L., R. Sánchez-Murillo, G. Esquivel-Hernández*, E. Herrera, and J. Boll. 2016. Tracking the water fingerprints of Cocos Island: a stable isotope analysis of precipitation, surface water, and groundwater. Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol. ISSN-0034-7744) Vol. 64 (Suppl. 1): S105-S0120.

Sánchez-Murillo*, R., C. Birkel, K. Welsh*, G. Esquivel-Hernández, J. Corrales-Salazar, J. Boll, E. Brooks, O. Roupsard, O. Sáenz-Rosales, I. Katchan, R. Arce-Mesén, C. Soulsby, and L.J. Araguás- Araguás. 2016. Key drivers controlling stable isotope variations in daily precipitation of Costa Rica: Caribbean Sea versus Eastern Pacific Ocean moisture sources. Quaternary Science Reviews, 131 (PartB):250-261 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.08.028).