Justin Huntington

Dr. Justin Huntington is a Research Professor of Hydrology at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno, Nevada, with a joint affiliation in the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences at the University of Nevada Reno. His work focuses on remote sensing applications for water resource management, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions of the western United States.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Hydrologic Sciences, University of Nevada Reno (2011)
• M.S. in Hydrologic Sciences, University of Nevada Reno (2003)
• B.S. in Environmental Sciences/Hydrology, University of Nevada Reno (2000)

Huntington's research spans remote sensing, evapotranspiration, irrigation, drought, hydrologic modeling, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. He develops operational tools using satellite data (particularly Landsat) and cloud computing platforms like Climate Engine to translate scientific findings into water management applications. His work emphasizes stakeholder engagement to address real-world challenges in water rights, climate change impacts, and consumptive use estimation. As a member of the 2018-2023 Landsat Science Team, he contributes to advancing earth observation capabilities for hydrologic applications.

Recent publications reveal a strong trend toward integrated remote sensing approaches for continental-scale water monitoring, with significant focus on OpenET satellite-based evapotranspiration products, reservoir evaporation modeling, and groundwater-surface water interactions. His research demonstrates increasing integration of machine learning, multi-sensor data fusion, and field-scale applications to address water scarcity in the western U.S.

His projects receive primary funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, NASA, western state water agencies, and private sector partners. Huntington actively collaborates with federal, state, and tribal entities including the Navajo Nation on drought monitoring initiatives.

Based in DRI's Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Huntington leads research teams developing operational tools like Climate Engine for cloud-based analysis of climate and remote sensing data. His group maintains strong partnerships with water management agencies across the western U.S. to implement satellite-derived water use data in operational decision-making contexts.