Geohydrologist
A geohydrologist is a person who scientifically investigates the occurrence and exploitation possibilities of water in different geological formations and evaluates underground water resources by means of geophysical techniques. In order to enjoy this career, you should be interested in the subject of water resources, the physical and mathematical sciences and be very computer literate. You must also like working outdoors in all kinds of weather and be a methodical, accurate type of person who can understand statistical analyses.This is not a boring career - water is essential to every form of life and many towns in South Africa depend entirely on ground water which is a very risky thing to do. Many years ago, a town in a valley near Worcester in the Cape Province had to import water after the main river dried up. This was a normally lush area with a strongly flowing river and no-one had previously bothered to look for alternative water supplies. With squatter camps and new townships springing up all over the place, the discovery of new, untapped resources is becoming more urgent. There are vast underground lakes waiting to be found and you would have to trot all over the place like a person on a treasure hunt. You would not be issued with a divining rod but with sophisticated measuring equipment.
An 8000-year-old cave painting in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa shows someone using what looks remarkably like a water-divining rod. The Baroness de Beausoleil, of Nice, was the first person known to have used dowsing for water-divining in the 17th century and David Baker, of the British Pipeline Agency at Norwich used divining rods to locate underground obstacles in 1987. The physicist, Albert Einstein thought that the answer lay in electromagnetism so do not totally rule out old fashioned methods!
About 97% of the earth's water (an estimated 326 million cubic miles of water exist on earth) lies in oceans and 2.15% is held in ice caps. The remainder is spread over an area ranging from 3 miles beneath the earth's surface to 7 miles up in the atmosphere. Rivers and streams account for a mere 0,0001% or 300 cubic miles. Other surface water totals some 55,000 cubic miles and is divided between inland seas and fresh and saltwater lakes. The earth has a reserve supply of about 200,000 cubic miles of water below the surface. The water in the upper layer, called the aeration zone, clings to soil and rocks and is absorbed by plants or returns to the air through evaporation. No wonder drinking water is a valuable commodity! Half the darn stuff lies under our feet. It would be your job to find and utilise this water. If people can drill for oil which is a natural but necessary pollutant, why has no-one expended the same amount of energy and money on drilling for water?
Pot-holers have reported many new sites which you would probably also have to investigate and their input is very valuable to any geohydrologist. Mines do not like finding water reserves that impede their progress but the discovery of water need not be a disaster, it could be a blessing in disguise. What do we need more, diamonds or water?