The Groundwater Resources Association of California has awarded Professor T.N. Narasimhan with its Lifetime Achievement Award for 2009 for his contributions in the field of groundwater hydrology.
"This award is presented annually to individuals for their exemplary contributions to the groundwater industry and for contributions that have been in the spirit of the Groundwater Resources Association's mission and organization objectives. Individuals who receive the Lifetime Achievement Award have dedicated their lives to the groundwater industry and have been pioneers in their field of expertise," the citation reads.
The honor will be conferred on October 7, 2009 at Sacramento during the 18th Annual Conference of GRA and the concurrent 27th Biennial Groundwater Conference of the Center for Water Resources, University of California.
Previous recipients of this award from UC Berkeley include David K. Todd of Civil Engineering, and Luna B. Leopold of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
A study prepared by Berkeley Economic Consulting, under the direction of David Sunding, professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, outlines the statewide economic and water supply implications of ongoing water pumping restrictions imposed by federal courts in California to protect the Delta smelt. In early December, 2008, environmental and sport-fishing groups filed suit to force the complete and total shutdown of delta water pumping operations.
According to the study, statewide economic impacts can exceed $1 billion per year during drought years such as those currently facing the state, and may well exceed $3 billion should the state enter a prolonged dry period. Additionally, the report documents the severe water supply implications of the Court's orders. Even during average and wet periods the Court imposed restrictions exacerbate ongoing drought conditions by limiting the ability of water managers to replenish water storage facilities and groundwater reserves. The net result is a significant additional blow to the state economy and a greatly reduced ability to respond to severe drought and other emergencies.
"The export restrictions imposed in a effort to conserve the Delta smelt clearly add significant new risks to California's water supply system," said Sunding. "The water pumping restrictions not only worsen the current drought, they also ensure that water rationing, fallowed farm land and economic dislocation will be the norm. The study highlights the unsustainable nature of the state's current water system. Rather than a series of court-imposed restrictions aimed at individual species, California would benefit from a more comprehensive fix for the delta."
Everyone relies on the water cycle, but how does it really work? This episode of KQED's science program Quest focuses on UC Berkeley scientists, including Inez Fung, professor of environmental science, policy and management, and their project to learn how global warming is affecting our fresh water supply.
BERKELEY – A new analysis of Martian soil data, geoscientists suggests that there was once enough water in the planet's atmosphere for a light drizzle or dew to hit the ground, leaving tell-tale signs of its interaction with the planet's surface.
The study's conclusion breaks from the more dominant view that the liquid water that once existed during the red planet's infancy came mainly in the form of upwelling groundwater rather than rain.
To come up with their conclusions, the researchers used published measurements of soil from Mars that were taken by various NASA missions: Viking 1, Viking 2, Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunity. These five missions provided information on soil from widely distant sites surveyed between 1976 and 2006.
Continue reading "Martian air once had moisture, new soil analysis says " »
The U.S. Forest Service has dedicated the first new experimental forest in California in 40 years. The Sagehen Forest is in the Lake Tahoe Basin, eight miles outside of Truckee. Bay Area ABC affiliate KGO-7 looks at what it is all about.
Continue reading "California's New Experimental Forest (with video)" »
Inez Fung, co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment, and her research team have received $1.6 million from the W.M. Keck Foundation to establish the Keck HydroWatch Center at UC Berkeley.
Research undertaken at the HydroWatch Center will help scientists better understand the water cycle and predict its changes. Their aim is to dramatically expand the observations of all aspects of the water cycle by developing cost-effective, rapid-response, and accurate sensors and techniques to monitor water quality, quantity, and pathways.
Continue reading "With $1.6 million grant, new HydroWatch Center seeks full view of Earth's water cycle" »
