Episode 1 – A different introduction to karst by Andreas Hartmann, Lecturer in Hydrology at the University of Freiburg Usually, textbooks or lectures start with the theoretical background and basic knowledge of the topic they try to cover. Writing my first contribution to the Water Underground blog I want to take advantage of this less formal environment. I will introduce karst as I and many othe ...[Read More]
We’d like to bring your attention to two new publications, relevant to the theme of this blog. These publications share some common themes, including emphasising the significant role for geoscientists in sustainable development, and enhancing the skills training of geoscientists to support effective and positive engagement. For further information on either of these articles, please contact ...[Read More]
Last week I gave a ‘blue drinks’ presentation for a networking evening for the Victoria chapter of the Canadian Water Resources Association entitled “How much groundwater is on earth?” based on our paper from Nature Geoscience last year. Since the night was hosted at Philips Brewery, an awesome local brewery (who makes Blue Buck, the perfect blue drink, and lots of other g ...[Read More]
Fourth year and graduate students led a fun mini-conference during class in Groundwater Hydrology (CIVE 445, Civil Engineering at University of Victoria) yesterday. Local consulting and government hydrogeologists joined, making the students both nervous and excited to be presenting to professionals with up to forty years of groundwater experience. The presentations were the culmination of a term-l ...[Read More]
We hope you have a great world water day! May you sip a cool, refreshing glass of renewable groundwater and feel excited to make the world a better, more sustainable place.
by Tara Forstner, University of Victoria I recently wrote a term paper for one of my graduate classes on the limitations of the water table fluctuation (WTF) method, and I have to say, WTF! Techniques using groundwater level fluctuations as a means of calculating recharge are very common. With observation well hydrographs and precipitation data, this method can be applied quite simply, requiring n ...[Read More]
by Matthew Currell, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Australia As part of its recent ‘war on pollution’, the Chinese Central Government released a major policy on water pollution control and clean-up, called the ‘10-point water plan’ in 2015. The plan aims to deal once and for all with China’s chronic water quality problems. China’s water quality deficiencies became widely recognised around ...[Read More]
Hydrogeologists are a diverse group, in part because we come to this discipline from so many different paths. We come from different academic programs in engineering, geological sciences and environmental sciences. These differences in backgrounds create a diversity of perspectives, which enriches hydrogeology and allows for dynamic collaborations. Engineers and geophysicists are known for brin ...[Read More]
By: Sam Zipper, Postdoctoral Fellow, McGill University/University of Victoria When people think of groundwater in agricultural landscapes, pumping and irrigation are usually the first thing that comes to mind. However, groundwater can have a more subtle but extremely important impact on crop production when we decide to leave it underground: When there is shallow groundwater beneath an agricultura ...[Read More]
Post by WaterUnderground contributors Elco Luijendijk and Stefan Peters from the University of Göttingen, in Germany. After my first ever scientific presentation, someone in the audience asked a question that caught me off guard: “Where does the groundwater come from?”. “Ehm, from rainfall”, I answered. The answer seemed obvious at the time. However, we did not realize at the time that this is a ...[Read More]
