WaterUnderground

Groundwater

From groundwater flow to groundwater glow: why does groundwater fluoresce in ultraviolet light?

19th February 2018
From groundwater flow to groundwater glow: why does groundwater fluoresce in ultraviolet light?

Post by Andy Baker, Professor researching groundwater, caves, past climate, organic carbon and more at the University of New South Wales, in Australia. __________________________________________________ We often come across items that glow after being exposed to ultraviolet light. Fluorescent stickers can be bought for the ceilings of bedrooms; fluorescent hands on analogue clocks and watches; flu ...[Read More]

A Tanzanian groundwater safari through the last 2 million years

5th January 2018
A Tanzanian groundwater safari through the last 2 million years

Post by Mark Cuthbert, Research Fellow and Lecturer at Cardiff University, in the United Kingdom, and by Gail Ashley, Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University, in the United States. _______________________________________________ During the dry season, Lake Masek in Northern Tanzania (see map) is a lovely place to be if you’re a hippo or a flamingo, but for humans it’s an inhospitable environ ...[Read More]

Want to contribute to IAHS’ discussion about 23 unsolved problems in hydrology?

21st December 2017
Want to contribute to IAHS’ discussion about 23 unsolved problems in hydrology?

Inspired by the famous list of unsolved math problems (hence the header image), the International Association of Hydrological Sciences has an interesting challenge for us all: define 23 unsolved problems in hydrology: The International Commission on Groundwater is going to submit a few problems via the LinkedIn forum. A few of us at Water Underground are going to put our thinking caps on and submi ...[Read More]

On the social responsibility of water scientists

15th December 2017
On the social responsibility of water scientists

Post by Viviana Re, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Pavia, in Italy. _______________________________________________ Should we feel a moral obligation to engage, if our work has real implications on society? As an environmental scientist, with a PhD in Analysis and Governance of Sustainable development, I grew up “multidisc ...[Read More]

An alternate career path for Groundwater Science-Engineering PhDs

12th December 2017
An alternate career path for Groundwater Science-Engineering PhDs

Post by Jim Roy, Research Scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada. _______________________________________________ A recent editorial in Nature highlighted the relative scarcity of academic positions available to graduating PhD students (Many junior scientists need to take a hard look at their job prospects; 25 October, 2017). It notes that “it has been evident for years that internatio ...[Read More]

AGU fall meeting New Orleans – what we’re most looking forward, to reduce your FOMO!

4th December 2017
AGU fall meeting New Orleans – what we’re most looking forward, to reduce your FOMO!

Two words: French Quarter. OK, well beyond that quite a few things… On Sunday the fun kicks off with the Hubbert Quorum (link) – a nice and informal meeting with lots of interaction. On Monday is Advances in Hydrologic Science by Early Career Scientists: A Discussion of the Publishing Process (TH13A; link) On Tuesday is Mars Underground: Subsurface Waters, Diagenesis, Hydrothermal/Meta ...[Read More]

Hydraulic fracturing close to groundwater wells

28th November 2017
Hydraulic fracturing close to groundwater wells

Post by Scott Jasechko, Assistant Professor of Water Resources with the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and by Debra Perrone, non-resident Fellow at Water in the West and an Assistant Professor, also at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the United States. _______________________________________________ In December ...[Read More]

Bedrock: A hydrogeologist’s devotional

17th November 2017
Bedrock: A hydrogeologist’s devotional

Post by Kevin Befus, Assistant Professor at the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Wyoming, in the United States. _______________________________________________ I want to share a book with you that has encouraged me through initial academic mires (I was only in graduate school for 7 years…) and inspired me to expand my perception and appreciation of the natural world. ...[Read More]

Community advice to young hydrologists, Part 1

10th November 2017
Community advice to young hydrologists, Part 1

We at Water Underground loved reading Young Hydrologic Society’s post titled “Community advice to young hydrologists” – an advice column written by a network of established scientists in the field. We appreciated the column so much, in fact, that we have decided to re-blog the post to you (with YHS’s consent, of course). We’ve split up their post by question, and have added in hyperlinks to all co ...[Read More]

Where does the water in streams come from when it rains?

31st October 2017
Where does the water in streams come from when it rains?

Post by Anne Jefferson, associate professor in the Department of Geology at Kent State University, in the United States. __________________________________________________ The title of this blog post might seem like a question with an obvious answer, or even a silly question to pose on a blog devoted to groundwater, but if you don’t see the connection between streamflow and underground water, you ...[Read More]