In preparation for Wednesday March 31st's El Dia Del Agua, it seemed like a good idea to ask our keynote speaker - David Kreamer of the University of Nevada Las Vegas our 5 questions for hydrologists. Dave is an alum of the dpeartment receiving his MS in 1976 and his PhD in 1984 (I guess he just could not get enough). So without further ado here are Dave's answers.
1. Why the Dept of Hydrology and Water Resources?
I was rock climbing in the Catalina Mountains outside Tucson, and began conversing with another climber on a parallel route next to me. I told him that I was an undergraduate in Microbiology, minor chemistry (pre-med), but I was thinking more about the out-of-doors for a job choice. The climber, a guy named Ted Petronoff, said he was in hydrology, and he was doing work in the Grand Canyon on water quality. And by the way, there was a high amount of Shigella, (a type of bacteria that can cause digestive problems) in a side drainage to the Canyon, Kanab Creek, and would I be interested in rafting down the Colorado River taking water quality samples? After a couple of milliseconds thought, I said "sure", and asked him the name of his major professor in the Dept.
The next week I was in an office in the Hydro Dept. It didn't hurt that the U of Arizona has the best dept. in hydrology in the nation, and I am constantly happy about the circumstances, professors and people that shaped my career and life. I am grateful for the experiences, fellowship and training I received at Arizona.
2) Best hydrologic insight you have ever had?
I have several favorite hydrologic insights. As an invited, independent peer reviewer for Yucca Mountain I discovered that politically driven science wasn't always optimal. With the encouragement of Stan Davis, I offered suggestions for improvement of the scientific studies beng conducted. At a low level nuclear waste site in South Carolina I found out that I could make gaseous tracer tests work and be able to be modeled in the vadose zone. With the advice of Paul Hsieh, I put forward a gaseous diffusion model for those tracer tests, which in a strange way was analogous to the inverse, curve-match Theis equation. In the Grand Canyon I found that high uranium concentrations we discovered in spring water, coupled with unusual uranium disequilibrium ratios and other groundwater tracer values could start a major Superfund cleanup. And in Africa I realized that the quality of human life and ecosystem health could be advanced in some basic ways I didn't learn about in school.
3) Favorite thing about being a hydrologist?
My favorite thing about being a hydrologist is to do such varied work involving travel to new places, making a difference in the lives of others, figuring out hydrologic intellectual riddles, working in the lab, modeling on all scales, teaching, and being in beautiful outdoor areas. My favorite thing about being a professor is working with students - they're the best!
4. Why hydrophilanthropy?
I think every hydrologist I've met is proud that in some way they are working for the advancement of the world. For me, hydrophilanthropy is a way to extend academic studies to real-world and immediate, human and ecosystem benefit, while at the same time seeing the world through different eyes and fundamentally challenging you own pre-conceptions about the planet.
5) Favorite thing about Tucson?
I love Tucson and it's hard to choose. My favorite thing about Tucson perhaps might be some quiet, not-often-visited, pools in the polished granite canyons of the Santa Catalina Mountains where you can swim and linger next to saguaro forests.
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