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July 2008 |
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Groundwater researcher granted international lectureshipFlagship scientist Dr Peter Cook has been tackling the scientific challenge of accurately measuring water which lies beneath the earth’s surface for the past 20 years. Now his quest to accurate estimate groundwater flows has seen him awarded a prestigious lectureship from the United States-based National Ground Water Association. Dr Cook, who leads the groundwater work in the flagship's Better Basin Futures theme, has been chosen as the 2009 Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecturer, an honour bestowed by the association which comprises of more than 14,500 US and international ground water professionals. It is the first time the lectureship has been granted to a researcher outside North America. Dr Cook, from CSIRO Land and Water’s Waite Laboratories in Adelaide, will focus his Darcy lecture on the use of environmental tracers to reduce uncertainty in groundwater flow estimation. Environmental tracers can reduce uncertainty of groundwater predictions in all environments, but are particularly valuable in highly variable systems. Dr Cook’s lecture will illustrate the potential of environmental tracers using field sites in North America and Australia, and discusses methods for bridging the gap between research and practice. From a PhD in groundwater recharge in Australia’s Mallee, Dr Cook’s interest in water has grown to include assessment of recharge to aquifers, measurement of groundwater flow rates, groundwater flow and solute transport in fractured rock aquifers, assessment of sustainable use of aquifers and isotope hydrology. Between 1992 and 1994, Dr Cook carried out postdoctoral research at the U.S. Department of Energy and University of Waterloo, Canada. He has co-written books on environmental tracers and ecohydrology. Dr Cook says the lectureship is a great honour, and represents an opportunity to visit a number of research institutions in America and talk with them about a range of groundwater issues. “The fact that it is the first time that an academic outside of North America has been chosen for this honour is a recognition of the important contribution that Australia has made in this field of research,” says Dr Cook. Dr Cook will present more than 30 lectures at universities and research institutes across North America during his lectureship. He will travel to the US from March to June next year, when he will be based at the US Geological Survey in Virginia. From September to October he will visit the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Contact: |
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