Archive for category: 2022

An exclusive river water quality modelling masterclass based on 14 lectures with free software, practical session, support notes and papers by OWN Member Prof. Paul Whitehead with Guest Presentations from Industry and Academia is going to be running soon.

For more information and access to the course go to Oxford Molecular Biosensors (click on video introduction) or contact Paul Whitehead ( paul.whitehead@ouce.ox.ac.uk) Oxford and Water Resource Associates.

See the accompanying poster for more detailed information.

OXFORD – July 2022

The AGU (American Geophysical Union) Fall meeting will be held in Chicago and online from 12-16 December 2022. The AGU Fall meeting is the world’s most prominent Earth and space science event, bringing together research communities to advance science and create impact. This year the theme of the meeting is ‘Science leads the future.’ OWN members and collaborators are convening two sessions that focus on pathways for better science-based decision-making. One session will focus on the nexus of water, health and climate change. The second focuses on citizen science water quality monitoring.

Abstract submission is open! Any questions about the sessions can be directed to OWN co-chair Dr Saskia Nowicki (saskia.nowicki@ouce.ox.ac.uk). Note that the conference is hybrid, so presenters will have the option to present in-person or online. The conference registration fee will be waived for residents of lower-income and lower-middle-income countries.

GeoHealth Session GH022 – Water and health in a volatile climate: science-based strategies for equitable well-being in a water secure future
Deadline for abstract submissions: Aug 3.
Submit here: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm22/prelim.cgi/Session/160329

Session description: Global health is inextricably linked to water security, which is jeopardised by climate change. Research is needed to understand the severity and distribution of health risks as water demand and contamination pressures are compounded by the intensifying water cycle. Reliance on groundwater, for example, is central in climate-resilient water supply strategies. Yet groundwater geochemistry, salinity, and pollution risks are not sufficiently evidenced nor accounted for in policy – particularly in lower income settings. This session seeks interdisciplinary research that focuses on the complex intersection of climate change, water (in)security, and health. Following the AGU22 ‘Science Leads the Future’ theme, research presented in this session will support the inclusion of water-related health risk management in key global agendas: for example, those that focus on climate-resilient water services, net zero energy transitions, adaptation financing, and biodiversity restoration. Presentations will also indicate research priorities by outlining the limitations of evidence in this space.

Convened by OWN Co-chair Dr Saskia Nowicki from the University of Oxford, REACH programme collaborators Dr Florence Tanui from the University of Nairobi, Dr Behailu Birhanu from Addis Ababa University, and Dr May Sule from Cranfield University.

Innovation Session – Technologies & Approaches for Decentralized Water Quality Monitoring with Citizen Engagement.
Deadline for abstract submissions: Aug 17.
Link to session description and to submit is here: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm22/prelim.cgi/Session/158916

Session Description: Many citizens have a close relationship with their local water bodies, e.g. they use them for drinking water for themselves and their livestock, for crop irrigation, and for fishing as a source of food or recreation. Therefore, engaging citizens in monitoring their local water bodies can provide them with the knowledge and information to take an active role in preserving water quality at community level, and at national and regional level by providing additional data and information that can support policy and management. Despite significant progress and increased prevalence of citizen science projects for water management, mixed results are still observed. A large question is whether data acquired via CS programs can be of substantial enough quality to serve different purposes from regulatory surveillance to operational decision-making. For CS to be useful, rigor as well as data-validation tools need to be incorporated. Elements of participant social identity (e.g., their motivation for participation), and contextual knowledge (e.g., of the research program itself) can shape participation and resulting data outcomes). As such, the success of the data collection is not solely dependent on the technology, but also on the recruiting strategy and program structure. The aim of the hereby proposed session is to explore technological and institutional success factors to guide the development of decentralized water quality monitoring programs that engage citizens.

Convened by José Monge Castro, a student in the University of Oxford’s MSc Water Science, Policy and Management programme, OWN Co-chair Dr. Saskia Nowicki, and Javier Mateo-Sagasta from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).