earth science week

Earth Science Week 2021 Contest Winners Announced

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) congratulates the winners and finalists of this year's Earth Science Week art, photo, essay, and video contests, whose creative submissions addressed the Earth Science Week 2021 theme of "Water Today and for the Future." Organized by AGI, Earth Science Week is an annual celebration and public awareness campaign reaching millions of people worldwide each year with information about geoscience.
 

Earth Science Week 2022 Theme Announced: 'Earth Science for a Sustainable World'

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce that the theme of Earth Science Week 2022 will be "Earth Science for a Sustainable World." The event, to be held October 9-15, 2022, will emphasize the essential role of Earth science in helping people make decisions that maintain and strengthen the planet's ability to support thriving life.

AGI Announces 'Water Today and for the Future' Webinar Series for Earth Science Week 2021

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In collaboration with presenting partners, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) invites educators, students, and all interested in the geosciences to participate in the "Water Today and for the Future" Webinar Series during Earth Science Week (October 10-16, 2021) and beyond.
 
The webinar series will cover an array of thought-provoking, timely topics relating to the Earth Science Week 2021 theme of "Water Today and for the Future." These webinars are being presented for a general public audience:

Perspectives on a Crucial Resource - The Importance and Vulnerability of Our Water Supplies

Thursday, October 14, 2021

This webinar is part of the Earth Science Week 2021 webinar series.

The need for having sustainable water is a key element in global resilience to climate change, as a shield against ecosystem loss, and as a defense against human deprivation and poverty. Water is essential to the health of all living things. With the onslaught of climate change, drought and exploding population growth, water is a valuable but very vulnerable resource. Water can be an element of peace, supporting security and abundance, or a source of transboundary conflict fueling political ambitions.

Groundwater, in particular, is the underpinning of irrigated agriculture and energy production and it therefore supports food security and economic development. Groundwater provides drinking water to at least 50% of the global population, and worldwide, approximately 2.5 billion people depend solely on groundwater resources to satisfy their basic daily water needs (UNESCO, 2012). In these times of Covid-19, groundwater also promotes hand washing in isolated rural communities. But it is a hidden resource and not well understood.

Examples from around the nation and world illustrate the importance, vulnerability, and changing aspects of water quantity and quality. Some potential solutions and stopgap measures are on the horizon to preserve our water resources, but the challenges are immense.

About the speaker

David Kreamer, Ph.D. is a Professor of Geoscience at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and serves as President of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH). Dave’s research includes work on water and international security, maintaining good water quality supply for people and ecosystems particularly in economically developing regions, combating environmental contamination, and water quality and quantity analysis and improvement. He has authored over 70 professional publications, recently co-authoring the 3rd Edition of the textbook “Contaminant Hydrogeology” and soon to be released 5th edition of “Applied Hydrogeology” (Waveland Press). David has served as a professional consultant/ expert witness, given over 150 invited presentations, has testified before the United States Congress, and addressed the United Nations General Assembly on water issues.

Groundwater Exploration in Response to Humanitarian Crises

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

This webinar is part of the Earth Science Week 2021 webinar series.

The number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), worldwide, is about 80 million. Most refugees are fleeing water-stressed and conflict-torn countries such as South Sudan, Somalia, and Syria. Generally, the host countries for refugee populations are also arid or semi-arid, such as Kenya, Chad, and Jordan. In the marginal landscapes where refugee camps are usually sited, groundwater is often the only practical source of water for drinking, cooking, and sanitation. A lack of access to adequate water supplies is directly tied to increasing occurrences of cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, trachoma, and other diseases. Today, with Covid-19 outbreaks already occurring in overcrowded refugee camps, improving hygiene is critical. A well-targeted geophysical exploration program can make the difference between a successful water supply program and one doomed to failure.

In this talk, I lead you on the geophysical search and then the discovery of water in a few of the refugee camps and conflict zones in East Africa. In each of these settings, the cause of human displacement is distinct, the geology and hydrogeology vary, the landscapes are strikingly different, but the need for water is equally desperate.

In one of the largest refugee camps in the world, in the Turkana desert of Kenya, seismic and resistivity surveys helped to increase the water supply to the camp and, simultaneously, a previously unrecognized public health crisis was addressed. In Northern Uganda, in the devastation left behind by Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army, village water supplies were restored following geophysical surveys and hydrochemical testing. More importantly, the local Ugandan crews were trained to carry on with this technical work. Finally, in the midst of a civil war in the world’s newest country, South Sudan, an emergency mission relying on resistivity surveys took advantage of a cessation of hostilities to find water in villages stranded by the conflict.

About the speaker

Water for Rohingya refugees, an escape tunnel from a Nazi death camp, Pablo Escobar’s billions of buried drug money, or Holocaust mass burials, Paul Bauman has searched for all of these and much more. Paul is the Technical Director of the Near Surface Geophysics group at BGC Engineering, based in Calgary. Paul has more than 35 years of geophysical exploration experience in the water resources, environmental, engineering, oil and gas, mining, and humanitarian and archaeology sectors. He has a BScE in Geological Engineering and a minor in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University, and an MSc in Hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo. Since the early 1990’s, Paul has directed water exploration programs in some of the most water-stressed locations on the planet including Yemen, post-tsunami Aceh, and refugee camps and conflict-affected areas in East Africa and Bangladesh. Some of these geophysical projects have been featured in movies and television documentaries by National Geographic, NOVA, the Discovery Network, and the History Channel.

Water Supply Issues in the Delaware River System: A tale of Tunnels, Transfers, Tumult, and Trout

Thursday, October 14, 2021

This webinar is part of the Earth Science Week 2021 webinar series.

Learn about the complex interplay of science, policy, and engineering that are involved in ensuring water for a large part of the northeastern United States.

About the speaker

Dr. David R. Wunsch is the Director and State Geologist of the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) and President of the American Geosciences Institute.

Earth Science and the International Year of Caves and Karst

Friday, October 15, 2021

This webinar is part of the Earth Science Week 2021 webinar series.

Cave research represents the essence of Earth science since it involves going into and directly studying the Earth itself. Caves, and the karst areas in which most form, are highly valuable yet vulnerable features. They provide water to about 700 million people but are the most easily contaminated of groundwater supplies. Additionally, they can collapse to create sinkholes, swallowing roads and buildings, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages annually in the US alone. Join this presentation, which is part of the celebration of the International Year of Caves and Karst, to explore caves and karst around the world and the many aspects of the Earth sciences they include.

About the speaker

Dr. George Veni is the Executive Director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) and an internationally recognized hydrogeologist specializing in caves and karst terrains. Prior to NCKRI, he owned and served as principal investigator of George Veni and Associates, conducting multidisciplinary environmental karst management studies for more than 20 years. He has conducted karst research throughout the United States and in several other countries. He has chaired 16 international and multidisciplinary karst conferences, been a member of the governing board of the International Union of Speleology since 2002, serving as President since 2017 and organizing the International Year of Caves and Karst in 2021. He has served as a doctoral committee advisor for geological, geographical, and biological dissertations at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Harokopio University in Greece, taught karst geoscience courses as an adjunct professor for Western Kentucky University for 12 years, and taught karst science and management workshops internationally for NCKRI since 2011. Three cave-dwelling species have been named in his honor. He has published and presented nearly 270 papers, including six books, on hydrogeology, biology, and environmental management in karst terrains.

AGI Announces Back-to-School Discounts

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) announces back-to-school discounts on publications and electronic resources for the fall 2021 semester to assist educators, students, and the wider geoscience community.

Our best-selling resources for educators and students are now discounted through October 15, 2021.

Earth Science Week 2021 Toolkit Available Now

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Geosciences Institute (AG) invites you to celebrate and help spread the word about Earth Science Week, an international celebration of the geosciences that promotes awareness of Earth and space science among students at all levels and members of the public. The Earth Science Week 2021 Toolkit is in stock now, and pre-orders are shipping to recipients.

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