The Water Data Podcast
The Water Data Podcast
WELL Labs
25 Years of Watching Groundwater at the Kabini Critical Zone Observatory with Sekhar Muddu
1 hour 11 minutes Posted Sep 15, 2026 at 12:30 pm.
Introduction
Welcome to the Water Data Podcast
Sekhar Muddu’s journey
Building the Kabini Critical Zone Observatory
What is a Critical Zone Observatory?
Learnings from the past 25 years at the CZO
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How groundwater use changed
How aquifers recover after years of depletion
Check out the video episode
Watershed Recharge, Farmers and Groundwater Adaptation
Nitrate pollution in deep groundwater
Check out The WELL Labs show
Soil moisture monitoring and satellites
The future of Critical Zone science
Stay curious! Stay connected!
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Show notes
What can 25 years of observing the same watershed teach us about groundwater? Can intensive pumping make groundwater deeper in valleys than on hills? Can decades of depletion be reversed by just a few exceptionally wet years? And how does fertilizer applied at the surface end up contaminating groundwater tens of metres below? Professor Shekhar Muddu joins host Veena Srinivasan on the Water Data Podcast for a deep dive into the Kabini Critical Zone Observatory and what decades of field measure...