December 17, 2012
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's spring semester water seminar will feature more than a dozen lectures covering a variety of timely water-related topics.
The free public lectures begin Jan. 16 and continue weekly through April 24, except for March 20, during spring break. The 14 lectures are Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the first floor auditorium of Hardin Hall, northeast corner of North 33rd and Holdrege streets, UNL East Campus.
"Weekly topics run the gamut of timely and provocative water and water-related subjects, which broadens the scope of the lecture series and ensures that there are at least one or two lectures that anyone interested in water can relate to and have interest in," said Nebraska Water Center assistant director Lorrie Benson, who organizes the annual series. The NWC is part of the University of Nebraska's Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute.
Andrea Brookfield of the University of Kansas opens the lecture series with a talk on integrating hydrologic models, building new tools for managing water.
"Modeling is an essential and critical tool, both for water quantity and quality, for current and future water management, so it's not unusual to use the lecture series to increase our knowledge of the latest practices in that field," Benson said.
Other speakers and lectures include a talk on estimating and measuring global precipitation in the 21st century by George Huffman of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Feb. 6; the new local politics of water by Megan Mullin of Temple University on Feb. 20; and adaptive governance of urban watersheds by Ahjond Garmestani of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on March 6.
Invasive species is another issue of increasing importance in managing water and water systems and David Strayer of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies will speak on the effects of the Zebra Mussel invasion on aquatic ecosystems in the Hudson River and other areas on March 13. Zebra Mussels are a persistent and increasing threat to many Nebraska and Iowa ecosystems, as well.
On April 10, Jeremy Weiss of the University of Arizona will address the ramifications of recent variations in low temperature and moisture constraints on vegetation in the southwestern U.S.
Later in the month, Steven Peterson of the U.S. Geological Survey will address the High Plains groundwater availability study and how abundant groundwater in the High Plains aquifer region doesn't necessarily mean abundant surface water.
Other speakers in the series hail from the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Iowa.
The complete January through April schedule appears below and is posted online at watercenter.unl.edu. Videos of most lectures, along with speaker PowerPoint presentations, will also be posted at that web address within a few days after the lecture.
