GeoHealth Frontlines

Geohealth
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Science
  • Monthly

Hosted by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) GeoHealth communication and outreach committee, the series spotlights conversations with scientists, policymakers, and practitioners tackling the world’s most pressing environment–health challenges.

Episodes

  1. Aug 10

    EP4: Predicting Floods Before the Water Rises

    What happens when a river rises 37.5 feet in just three hours, and communities may have only minutes to escape? In our fourth episode, we welcome leading flood expert Dr. Nick Fang to examine the devastating July 2025 Texas Hill Country flood. He explains how extreme rainfall, steep terrain, and nighttime conditions created a perfect storm; how radar, modeling, and real-time data turn forecasts into lifesaving warnings; and why yesterday’s “100-year storm” may no longer describe tomorrow’s risk. From Hurricane Harvey to the future of rapidly growing Texas communities, this episode explores how science can help us prepare before the water rises. Guest: Dr. Nick Fang is the Robert S. Gooch Professor in Civil Engineering and the Director of the Water Engineering Research Center at The University of Texas at Arlington. With nearly two decades of experience, he is a leading expert in flood forecasting, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, urban hydrology, and resilient water infrastructure. He currently leads the academic council of the Interagency Flood Risk Management (InFRM) team, supporting collaboration among the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and National Weather Service (NWS) to advance flood-risk science, communication, and community resilience. (00:00) Introduction (01:13) How Did a Holiday Night Turn Deadly? (03:32) 37.5 Feet in Three Hours (05:18) Before an Alert Reaches Your Phone (07:05) How Accurate Are Flood Forecasts? (08:17) Only Minutes to Evacuate (09:01) Hurricane Harvey: Forecasts Save Lives (10:40) The Weakest Links in Warning Systems (12:01) The Places That Look Safe—but Aren’t (13:35) Can We Build Our Way Out? (15:06) The 100-Year Storm Is Changing (15:57) Building Resilience Before Next Flood Cover photo: Flooding of the Guadalupe River near Kerrville, Texas, July 5, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard / NIH).

    EP4: Predicting Floods Before the Water Rises

  2. May 27

    EP3. Modeling pollution gap

    In our third episode, we welcome Dr. Chris Tessum from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a leader in air quality modeling at the intersection of atmospheric science, environmental justice, and public health. Tune in as he shares his journey into GeoHealth, how a graduate class project grew into InMAP, one of the most widely used reduced-complexity air quality models. Also how his work revealed racial-ethnic inequities in air pollution exposure, and where machine learning is taking the field next. Guest: Dr. Christopher Tessum is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on modeling air pollution and its health impacts, quantifying inequalities and inequities in exposure, and developing tools to evaluate solutions. He has received early career awards from the U.S. EPA, NASA, and NSF, and is the recipient of the AGU GeoHealth Early Career Award. More about Dr. Tessum's group: https://tessumlab.cee.illinois.edu/ (00:00) Introduction to GeoHealth Frontlines (02:49) From mechanical engineering to environmental science: a winding path (07:47) Postdoc years and arriving at the University of Illinois (09:30) What are reduced-complexity air quality models? (10:40) The design philosophy behind InMAP (15:22) Origin story: the class project that became InMAP (20:16) How the research community uses (and sometimes misuses) InMAP (24:07) The 2019 PNAS paper on racial-ethnic inequities in air pollution exposure (28:28) Key finding: people of color exposed to ~50% more pollution than they cause (30:46) Public reactions, media coverage, and pushback to equity research (33:19) Why clean-air policies haven't closed the disparity gap (38:23) Machine learning and the next generation of air quality models (41:07) Growing the GeoHealth community and looking ahead

  3. Feb 18

    Ep2: Seeing Air Pollution from Space

    In our second episode, we welcome Professor Tracey Holloway from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a leader in air quality science at the intersection of satellites, policy, and public health. Tune in as she shares her journey into GeoHealth, how satellite observations can help us understand air pollution at scales relevant to people and decision-makers, and lessons from leading NASA’s Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (HAQAST) on translating science into real-world impact. Guest: Professor Tracey Holloway is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research advances air quality science to inform policy and public health. She has served as a two-time leader of NASA’s Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (HAQAST) and has been recognized as an AGU Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. More about Dr. Holloway's group: https://hollowaygroup.org/ (00:00) Introduction to GeoHealth Frontlines (02:08) Journey of an atmospheric scientist and public health researcher (07:22) From atmospheric science to public health (10:44) NASA HAQAST: connecting satellite data to public health (15:25) Lessons from science-stakeholder collaboration (18:40) Satellite data as a tool for air quality and health research (23:19) Designing satellites with health applications in mind (26:42) Energy systems and US air quality: a 50-year success story (31:08) Co-benefits of low-carbon energy transitions (34:58) Advice for early career scientists Episode cover image credit to Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics/NASA

    Ep2: Seeing Air Pollution from Space

  4. 11/14/2025

    EP1: The Dust We Breathe

    We’re thrilled to introduce GeoHealth Frontlines, a new podcast from the AGU GeoHealth Section. Hosted by the AGU GeoHealth communication and outreach committee, the series spotlights conversations with scientists, policymakers, and practitioners tackling the world’s most pressing environment-health challenges. In our first episode, we welcome Professor Daniel Tong from George Mason University — an expert in air quality and emissions modeling, chair of the WMO Sand and Dust Storms Advisory System, and current President of AGU GeoHealth. Tune in as he shares his journey, insights from the UN High-Level Meeting on Dust Storms, how desert dust affects global health and policy, and how you can get involved with AGU Geohealth. Guest: Professor Daniel Tong is an associate professor at Atmospheric, Oceanic & Earth Sciences Department in George Mason University. He has over 20 years of experience in emissions and air quality modeling. Among his many positions, he is the Chair of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Sand and Dust Storms Warning Advisory & Assessment System, and the current president of AGU Geohealth. (00:10) Introduction to GeoHealth Frontlines (01:46) Journey of a climate and health researcher (05:08) UN Sand and Dust Storm Meeting (07:24) Dust as a health threat (10:06) Dust and Valley fever (17:38) Scientist's tool to study dust (24:18) Is dust getting worse under climate change? (28:28) New dust sources (32:18) Getting involved in GeoHealth

    EP1: The Dust We Breathe
  • 4 Episodes

About

Hosted by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) GeoHealth communication and outreach committee, the series spotlights conversations with scientists, policymakers, and practitioners tackling the world’s most pressing environment–health challenges.

Information

  • Creator
    Geohealth
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Geohealth
  • Show Website
    GeoHealth Frontlines