Registration for the 5th GfGD Annual Conference is now open! Aimed at geoscientists at all stages of their career, the theme this year is “Cities: Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Development”. Urbanisation is a development mega-trend, associated with both major challenges but also significant opportunities for delivering the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. “More ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
Humanitarian groundwater projects; notes on motivations from the academic world
Post by Margaret Shanafield, ARC DECRA Senior Hydrogeology/Hydrology Researcher at Flinders University, in Australia. You can follow Margaret on Twitter at @shanagland. ___________________________________________________________ What led me down the slippery slope into a career in hydrology and then hydrogeology, was a desire to combine my love of traveling with a desire to have a deeper relations ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
Good groundwater management makes for good neighbors
Post by Samuel Zipper, postdoctoral fellow at both McGill University and the University of Victoria, in Canada. You can follow Sam on Twitter at @ZipperSam. ___________________________________________________________ Dedicated Water Underground readers know that this blog is not just about water science, but also some of the more cultural impacts of groundwater. Keeping in that tradition, today’s ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
Of Karst! – short episodes about karst
Episode 2: Dissolving rock? (or, how karst evolves). Post by Andreas Hartmann, Lecturer in Hydrology at the University of Freiburg (Universität Freiburg), in Germany. You can follow Andreas on twitter at @sub_heterogenty. Didn’t get to read Episode 1? Click this link here to do so! ___________________________________________________________ In the previous episode, I introduced karst by show ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
Groundwater & Education – Part One
Post by Viviana Re, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pavia (Università di Pavia), in Italy. You can follow Viviana on Twitter at @biralnas. Part one of a two part series on groundwater and education by Viviana. ___________________________________________________________ Education /ɛdjʊˈkeɪʃ(ə)n The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or univer ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
What is the difference between ‘water withdrawal’ and ‘water consumption’, and why do we need to know?
Post by Inge de Graaf, University of Freiburg, Environmental Hydrological Systems group ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Last week I had to teach my first class in global hydrology. When I showed the global trend on increasing demands and withdrawals (see Figure) I needed to explain the different terms as sometimes the ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
How prehistoric water pit stops may have driven human evolution
Post by Matthew Robert Bennett, Bournemouth University and Mark O Cuthbert, Cardiff University Our ancient ancestors seem to have survived some pretty harsh arid spells in East Africa’s Rift Valley over five million years. Quite how they kept going has long been a mystery, given the lack of water to drink. Now, new research shows that they may have been able to survive on a small networks of sprin ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
GfGD Strategy 2017-2021: Championing Sustainable Development
Today we publish the GfGD Strategy (2017-2021), outlining our vision and the key objectives that will shape our work over the next 5-years. In 2015, the international community agreed the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals aim to eradicate global poverty, promote sustainable consumption patterns, and facilitate sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development and envir ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
Is highway de-icing ‘a-salting’ our aquifers?
Post by Mark Cuthbert, Cardiff University, and Michael Rivett, GroundH20 plus Ltd; University of Strathclyde. If you live in a cold climate, have you ever wondered where all the de-icing salt (or ‘grit’ as we call it in the UK) that gets spread on the roads in winter time ends up, aside from that accumulating salty grime that coats your car? As you might expect, most of the salt gets washed off th ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Geology for Global Development – Our Story, Our Future
Geology for Global Development (GfGD) is a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number: 1165663). As we prepare to launch our 5-year strategy (2017-2021) on Monday 12th June, we believe it is helpful to reflect on our story to-date, and share some highlights. Tanzania: The start of our story Kagera is a beautiful region of Tanzania, bordering Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Lake Victoria. ...[Read More]