Brewster Conant Jr
Biography
Brewster Conant, Jr. studies physical and contaminant hydrogeology. His primary interests are in groundwater–surface-water interactions and using innovative methods to determine conditions and fluxes at the interface.
Dr. Conant is also committed to improving undergraduate learning and teaching as well as professional training. He served as the department's first Teaching Fellow and created an Earth science communications course adopted by other UW departments
Research Interests
Groundwater-surface water interactions (streams, rivers, lakes)
Temperature-as-a-tracer techniques (especially thermal infrared survey methods) for determining groundwater discharges to surface water
Groundwater flow and contaminant transport
Field instrumentation and monitoring techniques for hydrogeological and hydrological studies
Assessing the effectiveness of agricultural best management practices on groundwater quality
Scholarly Research
Education
2001, Doctorate Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, Canada
1991, Master of Science Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, Canada
1984, Bachelor of Science (BSc) Geology-Physics/Mathematics, Brown University, Providence RI, United States
Awards
2012-2015 Faculty of Science Teaching Fellow
2011 Nominated by Region 5 for the national U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response National Notable Achievement Award
1999 Ontario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology
1998 Outstanding Student Paper Award. American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting
Professional Associations
Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO)
Geological Society of America (GSA)
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
Affiliations and Volunteer Work
Member, The Water Institute
Selected/Recent Publications
Wiebe, A.J., B. Conant Jr., D.L. Rudolph, and K. Korkka-Niemi, 2015. An approach to improve direct runoff estimates and reduce uncertainty in the calculated groundwater component in water balances of large lakes. Journal of Hydrology, v 531, p. 655-670. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.10.061
Frey, S.K., D.L. Rudolph, and B. Conant Jr., 2012. Bromide and chloride tracer movement in macroporous tile drained agricultural soil during an annual climatic cycle. Journal of Hydrology, v 460-461, p. 77-89.
Brookfield, A, E. Sudicky, Y-J Park, and B. Conant Jr., 2009. Thermal transport modelling in a fully-integrated surface/subsurface framework. Hydrological Processes, v. 23, no. 15, p. 2150 - 2164
Schmidt, C., B. Conant Jr., M.Bayer-Raich, and M. Schirmer, 2007. Evaluation and field-scale application of an analytical method to quantify groundwater discharge using mapped streambed temperatures, Journal of Hydrology, v 347, no. 3-4, p. 292-307. (doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.08.022)
Conant Jr., B., J.A. Cherry, and R.W. Gillham, 2004. A PCE groundwater plume discharging to a river: Influence of the streambed and near-river zone on contaminant distributions. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, v. 73, no. 1-4, 238-279.
Conant Jr., B., 2004. Delineating and quantifying ground-water discharge zones using streambed temperatures, Ground Water, v 42, no. 2, p. 243-257.
Conant Jr., B, S. Danielescu, H. Reeves, P. Coulibaly (2015, in review/public comment). Chapter 2: Groundwater-surface water interactions (GWSWI), in " Groundwater science relevant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: A status report." Prepared for the Great Lakes Executive Committee by the Annex 8 Subcommittee (under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement). p. 6-15.
Conant Jr., B., J.W. Roy, J. Patzke, C. Smith, L. Nicks (2015, in review/public comment). Chapter 3: Groundwater and Contaminants in the Great Lakes, in " Groundwater science relevant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: A status report." Prepared for the Great Lakes Executive Committee by the Annex 8 Subcommittee (under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement). p. 16-29.
Conant Jr., B., J. Jewinski, and J. Williams, 2015. A Course Template for Integrating Chinese Dual-Degree Students into a Science Program and Enhancing Their Communication Skills. The Western Conference on Science Education, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, July 7-10, 2015. (presenter)
Conant Jr., B., J. Witt, C. Bissonnette, R. Jayasundera, and W-K Liu ,2015. Challenges Associated With High School Students Transitioning to University Science – The View From Both Sides. University of Waterloo’s Opportunities and New Directions (OND) Teaching and Learning Conference, Waterloo, Ontario, April 30, 2015. (presenter)