# Bridget Scanlon

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**Bridget R. Scanlon** (born 1959)[1] is an Irish and American [hydrogeologist](/source/Hydrogeology) known for her work on [groundwater depletion](/source/Overdrafting) and [groundwater recharging](/source/Groundwater_recharge), and of the [effects of climate change](/source/Effects_of_climate_change) and land usage patterns on groundwater.[2] She is a senior research scientist in the Bureau of Economic Geology at the [University of Texas at Austin](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Austin), where she is head of the Sustainable Water Resources Program.[3] Her research has included the use of [GRACE satellite](/source/GRACE_and_GRACE-FO) data to compare drought conditions in [Texas](/source/Texas) and [California](/source/California).[4]

## Education and career

Scanlon is originally from [County Kerry](/source/County_Kerry) in Ireland.[5] She earned a bachelor's degree in geology at [Trinity College Dublin](/source/Trinity_College_Dublin) in 1980,[6] and worked with the [Geological Survey of Ireland](/source/Geological_Survey_of_Ireland) before moving to the US for [graduate study](/source/Postgraduate_education).[5]

She earned a master's degree at the [University of Alabama](/source/University_of_Alabama) in 1983,[6] with a master's thesis based on her field work in the basin of the [River Maine](/source/River_Maine_(County_Kerry)) in Ireland,[5] and completed a [PhD](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) at the [University of Kentucky](/source/University_of_Kentucky) in 1985,[6] studying the [karst](/source/Karst) landscape of the inner [Bluegrass region](/source/Bluegrass_region) of [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky).[5]

After briefly working at a [consulting firm](/source/Consulting_firm), she joined the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin in 1987. Since 2004 she has also held an [adjunct](/source/Adjunct_professor) faculty position at the [University of Nebraska–Lincoln](/source/University_of_Nebraska%E2%80%93Lincoln).[6]

## Recognition

Scanlon became a Fellow of the [Geological Society of America](/source/Geological_Society_of_America) in 2005, and a Fellow of the [American Geophysical Union](/source/American_Geophysical_Union) in 2015.[6] She was elected a member of the [National Academy of Engineering](/source/National_Academy_of_Engineering) in 2016 "for contributions to the evaluation of groundwater recharge and aquifer depletion".[7] The same year, she was awarded the [M. King Hubbert Award](/source/M._King_Hubbert_Award) by the [National Ground Water Association](/source/National_Ground_Water_Association).[8] In 2023, Scanlon was elected as a [Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science](/source/Fellow_of_the_American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science).[9]

Scanlon was the 2007 Birdsall–Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer of the Geological Society of America,[6][10] which also gave her their 2019 [O. E. Meinzer Award](/source/Meinzer_Award).[6][11] The [National Ground Water Association](/source/National_Ground_Water_Association) gave Scanlon their 2016 M. King Hubbert Award.[12][3] The [International Association of Hydrogeologists](/source/International_Association_of_Hydrogeologists) gave her their 2018 Presidents' Award.[2][6]

Scanlon holds the William L. Fisher Endowed Chair in Geological Sciences.[3][6]

## Selected publications

Scanlon's Meinzer Award citation selected the following four papers of Scanlon for particular attention, noting their high citations. It stated that the first two made Scanlon "the leading global expert on groundwater recharge", while the second two demonstrated her more recent interest in climate change and [sustainability](/source/Sustainability), and included pioneering work in the water resources used by [hydraulic fracturing](/source/Hydraulic_fracturing):[11]

- Scanlon, Bridget R.; Healy, Richard W.; Cook, Peter G. (January 2002), "Choosing appropriate techniques for quantifying groundwater recharge", *[Hydrogeology Journal](/source/Hydrogeology_Journal)*. **10** (1): 18–39, [Bibcode:2002HydJ...10...18S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002HydJ...10...18S). [doi:10.1007/s10040-001-0176-2](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-001-0176-2). [S2CID 54188123](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:54188123)
- Scanlon, Bridget R.; Keese, Kelley E.; Flint, Alan L.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Gaye, Cheikh B.; Edmunds, W. Michael; Simmers, Ian (2006), "Global synthesis of groundwater recharge in semiarid and arid regions", *Hydrological Processes*. **20** (15): 3335–3370, [Bibcode:2006HyPr...20.3335S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006HyPr...20.3335S). [doi:10.1002/hyp.6335](https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6335). [S2CID 6150880](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:6150880)
- Scanlon, B. R.; Faunt, C. C.; Longuevergne, L.; Reedy, R. C.; Alley, W. M.; McGuire, V. L.; McMahon, P. B. (May 2012), "Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley", *[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America](/source/Proceedings_of_the_National_Academy_of_Sciences_of_the_United_States_of_America)*. **109** (24): 9320–9325, [Bibcode:2012PNAS..109.9320S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012PNAS..109.9320S). [doi:10.1073/pnas.1200311109](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1200311109). [PMC 3386121](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3386121). [PMID 22645352](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22645352)
- Nicot, Jean-Philippe & Scanlon, Bridget R. (March 2012), ["Water Use for Shale-Gas Production in Texas, U.S."](http://justonly.com/physci/ps107/lessons/articles/shale_gas.pdf), *[Environmental Science & Technology](/source/Environmental_Science_%26_Technology)*. **46** (6): 3580–3586, [Bibcode:2012EnST...46.3580N](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EnST...46.3580N). [doi:10.1021/es204602t](https://doi.org/10.1021/es204602t). [PMID 22385152](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22385152)

## References

1. Full name and birth year from [WorldCat Identities](https://www.worldcat.org/identities/np-scanlon,%20bridget%20rosaleen$1959/), accessed 2020-12-06

1. ["Presidents' Award, 2018: Dr Bridget R. Scanlon"](https://iah.org/about/awards/presidents-award-2018), International Association of Hydrogeologists, retrieved 2020-12-06

1. ["Bridget Scanlon Awarded Fisher Endowed Chair and NGWA Hubbert Award"](https://www.beg.utexas.edu/node/1597#:~:text=Bridget%20Scanlon%2C%20senior%20research%20scientist,which%20benefits%20the%20Fisher%20Chair.), Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, January 11, 2017, retrieved 2020-12-06

1. Ayala, Christine (June 2, 2015), ["The Q&A: Bridget R. Scanlon"](https://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/02/q-bridget-r-scanlon/), *[The Texas Tribune](/source/The_Texas_Tribune)*

1. ["Scientist Profile: Bridget Scanlon"](https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2017/11/scientist-profile-bridget-scanlon/), University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences, November 20, 2017, retrieved 2020-12-06

1. ["Curriculum vitae"](https://www.beg.utexas.edu/files/content/beg/people/resumes/scanlonb.pdf), December 6, 2020, retrieved 2020-12-06

1. ["Dr. Bridget R. Scanlon"](https://www.nae.edu/149825/Dr-Bridget-R-Scanlon), *Members*, National Academy of Engineering, retrieved 2020-12-06

1. ["M. King Hubbert Award recipients"](https://www.ngwa.org/members/awards/m-king-hubbert-award-recipients). *NGWA*. Retrieved 24 February 2026.

1. ["2023 AAAS Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)"](https://www.aaas.org/fellows/2023-fellows). *www.aaas.org*. Retrieved 2025-02-27.

1. ["List of past Birdsall-Dreiss Lecturers and respective Lecture(s)"](https://community.geosociety.org/hydrodivision/aboutus/birdsall-lectures/past), Geological Society of America, retrieved 2020-12-06

1. ["2019 O.E. Meinzer Award Presented to Bridget Scanlon"](https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/awards/GSA/Awards/2019/meinzer.aspx), Geological Society of America, retrieved 2020-12-06

1. ["M. King Hubbert Award recipients"](https://www.ngwa.org/members/awards/m-king-hubbert-award-recipients), National Ground Water Association, retrieved 2020-12-06

## External links

- [Home page](https://www.beg.utexas.edu/people/bridget-scanlon)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bridget Scanlon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_Scanlon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_Scanlon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.