Community and Groundwater Science with Dr Tom Gleeson

Host Veena Srinivasan sits down with Dr Tom Gleeson, renowned hydrologist and Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada.

Dr Tom Gleeson shares his journey from a small-town experience with groundwater contamination to becoming a global leader in groundwater research. The conversation explores Tom’s early fieldwork in fractured rock aquifers, the challenges of modeling groundwater systems, and his pivotal role in developing global groundwater sustainability frameworks. Tom and Veena discuss the importance of context in water management and the need for both local and global perspectives.

This is Season 2, Episode 4 of the Water Data Podcast, a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. Veena Srinivasan is an award-winning socio-hydrologist as well as the founder and Executive Director of WELL Labs, a water systems research and innovation centre based in Bengaluru, India.

Dr Gleeson also delves into his recent work on community-based watershed monitoring and the power of citizen science, highlighting innovative projects that blend science, policy, and indigenous data governance. The episode concludes with a thought-provoking discussion on integrating art and emotion into science communication, emphasising that real change comes from engaging both the mind and the heart.

Suggested Readings:

1. More about Tom Gleeson: University Website | Lab Page | Linkedin | Google Scholar
2. Project 84,000 – Community Arts for the Love of Water and Fish. News articles: 1, 2
3. Bredehoeft, John D., Stephen S. Papadopulos, and Hilton H. Cooper. “Groundwater: The water budget myth.” Scientific basis of water resource management 51 (1982): 57.
4. Rodell, Matthew, and Bailing Li. “Changing intensity of hydroclimatic extreme events revealed by GRACE and GRACE-FO.” Nature Water 1, no. 3 (2023): 241-248.
5. Luijendijk, Elco, Tom Gleeson, and Nils Moosdorf. “Fresh groundwater discharge insignificant for the world’s oceans but important for coastal ecosystems.” Nature communications 11, no. 1 (2020): 1260.
6. Ferguson, Grant, and Tom Gleeson. “Vulnerability of coastal aquifers to groundwater use and climate change.” Nature climate change 2, no. 5 (2012): 342-345
7. Gleeson, Tom, Ella Martindale, Jennifer Shepherd, David Serrano, and Q’utxulenukhw Tim Kulchyski. “Situating place-based, community-engaged watershed research at Xwulqw’selu Sta’lo‘.” EarthArXiv eprints (2024): X5PH8T.
8. Gleeson, Tom. “Groundwater connected art: practicing arts-based research to enrich how hydrogeology engages people, place and other disciplines.” EarthArXiv eprints (2024): X5TB1P.
   

Subscribe to the Water Data Podcast on Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Drop us a note at welllabs.comms@ifmr.ac.in if you cannot find new episodes of the podcast on your favourite app.

Related Posts

Related Posts