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Andy Baker

@Andbaker@aus.social

mastodon 4.7.2

At work, a cave and groundwater scientist researching past climates, fires and groundwater recharge. Employed at UNSW Sydney, Australia, lives on unceded lands of the Kuring-gai and Darkinjung (the NSW Central Coast).

Also likely to post about wildlife, hiking, caving with the Kempsey Speleological Society, running, pets, books, and music.

957 Followers

303 Following

23 Posts

Joined November 05, 2022

Personal academic website:

https://andy-baker.org/about/

A groundwater explainer:

https://theconversation.com/how-quickly-does-groundwater-recharge-the-answer-is-found-deep-underground-230943

Academic publications:

https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?hl=en&user=CwsusnkAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&pagesize=100

A public lecture:

https://youtu.be/uqKxLAPkcm0?si=6vspBxHXG9cDTFwK

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 6d ago

Boosted by @kcarruthers@infosec.exchange

Come and work at UNSW in Sydney, Australia! We have a 2-year Research Associate position for a groundwater recharge modeller to join the Laureate Fellowship project ‘Caves and their stalagmites: linking climate to groundwater recharge’. The successful applicant will develop their research expertise through their contribution to a work package led by myself and Andreas Hartmann (TU Dresden) that will use groundwater recharge model simulations to investigate the climate processes that lead to relationships between climate and environmental change and groundwater recharge. The work involves integrating fire events into a global karst recharge model, investigating effects of wildfire on recharge volumes for the Black Summer fires, the last 100 yrs; and for future climates and environment change. For further details, please see: https://external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/543339/research-associate #academia #groundwater #UNSW ##academicjobs #research

external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 1mo ago

The Casuarina Track at Rumbulara. Conservation forest, lots of steps, wallabies, great #running if you like that sort of thing, and for me, it's a 5km loop run from home.

aus.social

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 1mo ago

90,000 people signed up for the #City2Surf, around 77,000 completed it. It was a beautiful Sydney day for running.

I had the flu a week before the run, and didn't push myself. And was very happy to complete the 14k in under 80 mins and also have a sprint finish.

Next for me is the Great North Run Trail Run and my first competitive trail run.

#running

aus.social

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 2mo ago

This is the last 10 years of the monthly Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). We're experiencing something new for the last decade. This is the atmospheric signal that El Nino is here in Australia.

Data from:
https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/soi/

Where you can explore the whole record since the 19th century. The Federation Drought had a more negative SOI. Will we get there in a few months? #climate #climatechange

bom.gov.au

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 1mo ago

Eurokarst 2026: Advancing our understanding of groundwater in karst regions

Eurokarst is the bi-annual meeting for international research in the hydrogeology of karst and carbonate reservoirs.

On 31 August - 4 September 2026, the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland is hosting, and we are bringing our Australian research to Europe, arguably the home of karst research.

Our presentations highlight how underground spaces such as caves, tunnels and mines, can be used to better understand when, where and why groundwater recharge event occur....

#caves #climate #hydrology #research #academia #groundwater

http://andy-baker.org/2026/08/24/eurokarst-2026-advancing-hydrogeology-in-karst-regions/

aus.social

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 2mo ago

Three new papers using caves as hydrological observatories

A short post, highlighting three papers published in recent weeks that I have had the fortune of contributing to. All use networks of drip loggers in caves to record water movement from the surface to the water table. First, ...

http://andy-baker.org/2026/08/07/three-new-papers-using-caves-as-hydrological-observatories/

#academia #groundwater #caves

andy-baker.org

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 2mo ago

A cluster hire here at UNSW Science, looking for cross-disciplinary Level B/C academics. Come and work in Sydney! https://www.unsw.edu.au/science/about-us/recruitment-science #academia

unsw.edu.au

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 3w ago

It was hard to leave the office yesterday
#academicchatter

aus.social

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

The second fieldtrip for the Australasian Quaternary Association 2026 conference in Sydney visited The Rocks, exploring the Hawkesbury Sandstone and Sydney as 'The Sandstone City'. Thanks to all the delegates for making this geoheritage walking tour so much fun to run. Now for the conference sessions, starting on Monday. #AQUA2026

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

PhD position open: The weather forecast for groundwater recharge events

Please share!

We are seeking a PhD researcher with expertise in groundwater, climatology or meteorology, interested in tackling the question:

• What weather events replenish groundwater and how do climate influences change this?

• Our aim is to provide regional stakeholders with the first weather forecast for groundwater recharge …

#Phd #academia

http://andy-baker.org/2026/04/23/phd-position-open-the-weather-forecast-for-groundwater-recharge-events/

aus.social

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

Two academic teaching jobs in my School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences at UNSW Sydney, to help colleagues manage some very large first year courses.

One to help with CLIM1001, first year climatology. The other with a first year science skills course.

Sorry, available funding means these are fixed-term positions only until 31/12/2026.

Please share.

https://external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/539822/lecturer-ef-climate

https://external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/539846/lecturer-education-focused-skills-in-science

#academia

external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

New research published in the Australian Journal of Earth Science - how old are the Twelve Apostles, famous limestone stacks on the south coast of Australia: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-04-24/how-victorias-twelve-apostles-formed-over-millions-of-years/106594348

#geology #Earthscience

abc.net.au

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 3mo ago

This weekend I'm supporting the Australasian Quaternary Association (AQUA) by leading 2 fieldtrips for the AQUA2026 conference being held in Sydney. One to the wonderful Wombeyan Caves on Saturday. And, 'The Sandstone City', a geoheritage walking tour in The Rocks, Sydney. You can read more here: https://aqua.org.au/conference/aqua-2026/aqua-2026-events/ #academia #Caves #geoheritage #sydney

aqua.org.au

AQUA 2026 Events – Australasian Quaternary Association (AQUA)

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@graham_knapp@hachyderm.io a view from Earth Sciences and Sydney: Domestic students have always been hard to recruit, jobs are abundant here (think well paid jobs in iron ore, critical minerals). International: very hard (almost imposssible, due to visa constraints) for regional universities, but the top universities such as UNSW attract really strong applicants (largely from India, SE Asia)

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

Boosted by @Dragofix@veganism.social

Statistical analysis using remote sensing data shows that: 'Pre‐Fire Fuel Conditions Are Dominant Drivers of Burn Severity in the 2025 Los Angeles County Fires" https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025AV002179 #wildfire #research #environment

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

Results from an analysis of websites offering this fraudulent 'services to academics:

Buying a first author slot can cost you anywhere from $56 to $5,600 – Retraction Watch
https://retractionwatch.com/2026/04/23/paper-mill-authorship-cost-advertisements-buytheby-dataset/

#academia #academicchatter

Retraction Watch

Buying a first author slot can cost you anywhere from $56 to $5,600

The market for fake authorship on a research paper has prices to match every budget, according to a new dataset compiled from thousands of advertisements on social media platforms and paper mill we…

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 6mo ago

An academic teaching position in Brisbane, Australia. I hear that more are likely to follow in the School of Environment, University of Queensland.

#academia #academicjobs

Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Geographical Information Science (GIS)
https://uq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/uqcareers/job/Lecturer-or-Senior-Lecturer-in-Geographical-Information-Science--GIS-_R-60383-1

aus.social

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@RedRobyn@mastodon.nz @sunguramy@flipping.rocks I found this too - top down ultrasound https://assets.cdn.thewebconsole.com/S3WEB6470/images/IOT-Water-Level-Sensor-Case-Study2024.pdf

assets.cdn.thewebconsole.com

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@sunguramy@flipping.rocks I'm not much help. We use Solinst water level loggers for groundwater research. They aren't cheap and also not Bluetooth, but last for 10 years and I would use them again.

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@RedRobyn@mastodon.nz @sunguramy@flipping.rocks camera and stage pole / staff sounds like a great low cost solution.

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 2mo ago

New AGU travel grants for post-doctoral to attend Fall Meetinh Original post: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:pvcshsfrjz64enky5wrlhbgf/post/3mrb2pab36h2r Crossposted with @openvibe@mastodon.social

Bluesky Social

AGU (American Geophysical Union) (@agu.org)

🚨 New for 2026! 🚨 Postdocs can now apply for the AGU26 Postdoctoral Travel Grant to help cover costs of attending the AGU Annual Meeting in person! 👉 Applications are due 12 August: spklr.io/63328EPNKE #AGU26 #Postdoc #Grant #ScienceFunding

Andy Baker @Andbaker@aus.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Yes, and it would vary site by site, depending on the geology, aquifer properties, climate, etc. Local groundwater management plans are typical. Often, over extraction cannot be quickly or easily reversed.