Mary-Belle Cruz Ayala's Conference Summary

Mary-Belle Cruz Ayala's Conference Summary

    

     Mary-Belle Cruz Ayala
     Ph.D. Student
     Arid Lands Resource Sciences GIDP

     Conference Summary
     The 10th International Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge (ISMAR 10)
     Madrid, Spain

 

I received the Herbert E. Carter Award to partially cover the cost associated with my travel to participate in the 10th International Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge (ISMAR 10). Managed Aquifer Recharge is a concept that refers to diverse methods to augment groundwater resources when water is available and to recover the water in the future when it is required. ISMAR 10 was held in Madrid, Spain (May 20th-24th) and it is recognized as the foremost conference regarding aquifer recharge in the world. This year’s theme was “Managed Aquifer Recharge to Solve the Global Water Crisis.” Researchers, students, consultants, government officials from 56 countries attended ISMAR 10.

I presented the first paper of my dissertation, named “Use of Managed Aquifer Recharge to Improve Water Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of México” in Session 3. New Regional/Local Case Studies-MAR in Developing Countries. I received feedback from the audience and had the opportunity to discuss my results and next steps with Dr. Peter Dillon, one of the most outstanding researchers working on MAR.

In addition to my presentation, I attended two workshops:

  • MAR site suitability mapping. Utilization of spatial analysis techniques for the identification of potential MAR areas: challenges and opportunities.
  • Sustainable MAR in developing countries. Developing managed aquifer recharge in Latin America

As a graduate student, participating in the ISMAR 10 was an excellent opportunity to discuss my results with colleagues from other countries, meet with researchers who have vast experience in the field and identify new possibilities for research. For instance, I learned from a MAR program developed in Chile how Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be used in conjunction with multicriteria analysis. I would like to explore in the future the use of GIS tools to characterize optimal areas for MAR in México.