E39: Tourism, Sargassum, and Water Quality in the Cenotes of Quintana Roo Mexico with Courtney Gallaher and Emely Hernandez

Courtney Gallaher is a jointly appointed associate professor in the Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences and the Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Northern Illinois University. Her fields of studies include Women in science, Sustainable agriculture and food systems and Environmental management and sustainability.

Emely Hernandez is a master’s student in Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences at Northern Illinois University who researches how tourism impacts water quality in Quintana Roo Mexico. She also does some work in the field of environmental sustainability and is an advocate for advancing minorities in STEM.

Listen to the episode to hear about:

• Introduction (5:44)
• What sargassum is to Courtney and Emely (7:15)
• How tourists in Quintana Roo react to sargassum (10:04)
• What cenotes are (12:24)
• Anthropogenic impacts on the cenotes (16:35)
• Contaminates in groundwater (19:25)
• Tourism and water quality in the cenotes (22:45)
• Tourism’s vs sargassum’s contamination effects (27:12)
• Suggestions to reduce tourism’s effect on groundwater quality (29:50)
• Women and minorities in STEM (33:58)
• Debrief (44:17)

Transcript

Learn more about Courtney and Emely:
֍ Northern Illinois University Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences

֍ LinkedIn, Emely Hernandez

֍ Courtney Gallaher, Associate Professor, Ph.D.

֍ Poster on Tourist Perception of Sargassum

֍ Paper on Tourist Perception of Sargassum

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