Podcast

Water Resources Podcast

Earth Sciences, Science, Technology

The Water Resources Podcast is designed to conduct interviews with experts to discuss challenges with water resources related to climate, such as droughts and floods, and overexploitation by humans. Potential solutions to these challenges are also discussed. Regions covered range from local to global scale, and approaches considered include satellite and ground-based monitoring, and global to regional modeling. The podcast is hosted by Bridget Scanlon, Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin.

The Water Resources Podcast is a production of the Bureau of Economic Geology, The Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin in partnership with the National Academy of Engineering. The podcast is supported by the Fisher Foundation.

Earth Sciences chart
#107
Episodes
85
Releases
Every two weeks
Typical length
47 min
On air since
2023
Latest episode
3 weeks ago

Episodes

85 episodes, newest first

  1. Adapting to Ogallala Aquifer Shortages in Texas using Direct to Market Agricultural Production

    Show notes

    Layton Schur discusses his direct marketing approach of 24 different vegetables and beef production to reduce groundwater use in the depleting High Plains Aquifer. Transcript and data available here: https://wrp.beg.utexas.edu/episode/adapting-to-groundwater-shortages-in-the-texas-high-plains-by-focusing-on-direct-to-market-agricultural-production

    1 hr 1 min
  2. Advancing Flood Monitoring and Forecasting in Texas

    Show notes

    David Maidment talks about flooding challenges in Texas and the U.S. and approaches to reduce flood hazards.

    56 min
  3. Challenges for Managing Water Resources in Chile

    Show notes

    Matías Taucare discusses various challenges, including megadrought since 2010 and groundwater over exploitation in Chile since 1990.

    44 min
  4. Managing Produced Water in the Texas Permian Basin Will Remain a Long-Term Challenge

    Show notes

    Katie Smye talks about advanced modeling and satellite-based monitoring for tracking produced water issues in the Permian Basin.

    53 min
  5. Assessing Potential for Beneficial Use of Produced Water in the Texas Permian Basin

    Show notes

    Shane Walker discusses advances in treating produced water for beneficial uses, including surface discharge and land application.

    47 min
  6. Sustainable Groundwater Management in the North China Plain

    Show notes

    Wolfgang Kinzelbach is a Professor Emeritus of Hydromechanics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich (Switzerland). His research focused on many aspects of hydrogeology, including modeling and monitoring of water quantity and quality. This podcast focuses on his work in China, including the North China Plain and the Tarim Basin.

    47 min
  7. Reservoir Evaporation Monitoring, Drought Index: Texas to Global Scales

    Show notes

    Huilin Gao discusses advances in reservoir monitoring using models and new remote sensing, providing daily evaporation rates for Texas, western U.S., and global scales.

    53 min
  8. Floods, Droughts, and Data: How Satellites Are Changing Hydrology

    Show notes

    Augusto Getirana discusses global flooding in 2025, the new SWOT satellite, advances in NASA modeling and flood work in Brazil.

    39 min
  9. Water-Electricity Nexus in the Western U.S.

    Show notes

    Nathalie Voisin discusses water-electricity interconnection, highlighting hydropower, hydropower droughts, grid reliability, and future of water-energy management.

    44 min
  10. Hydroclimatic Trends in the Western U.S.

    Show notes

    Dennis Lettenmaier discusses trends in snow, flooding, and drought in the Western U.S. with a focus on the Colorado River Basin.

    1 hr
  11. Tracking Water from Space: Tibetan Plateau, Mekong Basin, and North China Plain

    Show notes

    Di Long discusses his research on the water resources in the Tibetan Plateau Asian Water Tower, reservoirs in the Mekong Basin, and water storage recovery in the North China Plain.

    1 hr 1 min
  12. Monitoring Global Land Subsidence and Impacts

    Show notes

    Manoo Shirzaei discusses land subsidence in many regions globally, including Iran, California, Arizona, and U.S. Coast based on satellite data.

    51 min
  13. Recent Advances in AI/ML with Applications in Earth Sciences and Hydrology

    Show notes

    Alex Sun discusses the evolution of AI/ML over the past decades and resources for hydrology.

    46 min
  14. Agricultural Production in the Ukraine and Western Russia

    Show notes

    Sergii Skakun discusses historical, current, and projected future wheat production in the Ukraine and Russia using satellite date and modelling.

    42 min
  15. Updates on GRACE Satellite Missions and Applications for Flooding

    Show notes

    Jürgen Kusche discusses advances in GRACE satellites, applications for flood monitoring, and data assimilation with global hydrology models.

    47 min
  16. Increasing Resilience of Water Resources in San Antonio, Texas

    Show notes

    Karen Guz discusses water conservation and increasing supplies to meet the rising water needs for population growth and droughts in San Antonio.

    45 min
  17. Floods and Droughts in Texas

    Show notes

    John Nielsen-Gammon discusses climate extremes, including the July 4th flooding and 2011 drought, with insights into communicating risk.

    49 min
  18. Central Texas Flooding and Fatalities

    Show notes

    Hatim Sharif discusses recent central Texas flooding in Kerr County and San Antonio and flood fatalities.

    45 min
  19. Soil Health

    Show notes

    Nima Shokri discusses the importance of global soil health and its impacts on water resources, food security and sustainable development.

    46 min
  20. South African Lighthouse of Hope from Nature-Based Wastewater Treatment

    Show notes

    Kevin Winter discusses nature-based approaches to treating informal settlement discharge for use in agriculture and other sectors.

    1 hr 9 min