College of Geosciences
  College of Geosciences    University of Oklahoma

College of Geosciences
Department of Geography
The University of Oklahoma
Sarkeys Energy Center, Room 638
100 East Boyd Street
Norman, Oklahoma 73019-1008, U.S.A.
(405) 325-0540 office
E-mail:

Aondover Tarhule

Areas of Research and Professional Expertise:

  • Hydrology and water resources.
  • Climate and hydrologic variability (statistical analysis and reconstruction).
  • Climate and hydrologic variability (Societal impacts, adaptation and coping strategies, including climate forecast information and use).
  • Floods and Droughts.
  • Subsurface imaging (Geophysical Methods).

Education:

Ph.D. Geography McMaster University, Hamilton (Ontario, Canada) 1997.
      Dissertation: Droughts, Rainfall and Rural Water Supply in Northern Nigeria.

M.Sc. Geography, McMaster University, Hamilton (Ontario, Canada) 1993. 
      Thesis : Analysis of Streamflow Drought in Northern Nigeria.

M.Sc. Environmental and Resources Planning University of Jos, Nigeria, 1991.     
      Thesis: Rural Water Resources planning and development in Nigeria.

B.Sc. Geography (First Class Honors), University of Jos, Nigeria, 1988.
      Project: The magnitude and frequency of floods in Kwara State, Nigeria.


Teaching

Regular Courses
Geog 1114: Introduction to Physical Geography
Geog 3023: Principles of Physical Geography
Geog 4293/5293: Hydrologic Science
Geog 6210: Seminar on Water and Conflicts (Every other year)

Courses I teach irregularly
Geog 3853: Geography of Africa
Geog: 3930: Field Course
Geog 3980: Water and Society (New Course)
Geog 6210 (AP course): Resources and Environmental Geography of Africa


Professional History:

Associate Professor (tenured), College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, University of Oklahoma, July 2005 to present.

Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Oklahoma, Norman. Sept. 1999 to June 2005.

Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Canadian Science Advisory Research Council), Department of Geography, Queens University, Kingston (Ontario, Canada), 1998.

Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Rockefeller Foundation) and Lecturer; Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos, Nigeria, 1997-98.

Graduate Assistant Department of Geography, McMaster University, Hamilton (Ontario, Canada). 1991-1997.

Graduate Assistant Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos, Nigeria, 1989-1991.

 

Honors and Synergistic Activities:

Technical Program Review
Invited Technical Program Reviewer (NOAA/OAR) CIASTA, DRI, Reno, Nevada May 13-14, 2004.

Invited Program Reviewer (NOAA/OAR) CIRES, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. November 2003.

Awards, Honors, distinguished service
Recipient: Scholar-Teacher Award, College of Geosciences, Jan 2005 (for Excellence in Teaching and the innovative use of research for teaching).

Co-Chair, College of Geosciences Transition Committee, 2005

Invited Research Fellow, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, 2003-2006.

Member (Awards Committee): Water Resources Specialty Group, Association of American Geographers (2003-present)
 
Presidents Distinguished Faculty Mentoring Program, The University of Oklahoma, 2003 to 2007.

Faculty sponsor: Undergraduate club, Department of Geography, University of Oklahoma (2006-present).



Other Regular Review Activities:
Agencies
National Science Foundation, NSF
U.S. Department of Energy, DoE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, NOAA
National Geographic Society, NGS.
National Institute for Water Resources, NIWR

Journals and Publishers
Journal of Applied Meteorology
Climatic Change
Journal of Hydrology
Journal of International and Applied Climatology
Physical Geography
Oxford University Press


Grants, Awards, and Contracts:

Hydroclimatic Reconstruction of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer in Southern Oklahoma using tree rings, $25,148. Funded by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, July 2004-July, 2005 (Sole PI).
Springs in time: Comparison of Present and Historical Flows. Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute, $25,000. March 2004-February, 2005 (PI, with Elizabeth Bergey).
High-Resolution Paleoclimatic Records from Tree Rings in the Soudan Sahel of West Africa, $100,500. Funded by the NSF-Earth Systems History, March 2004 – August 2006 (Sole PI).
Instrumentation and Equipment for Undergraduate Field Laboratory and Fieldwork Curriculum in Geography, $100,028. Funded by NSF (CCLI-A & I). April 15, 2002-April 14, 2005 (PI, with May Yuan, Bruce Hoagland, Hans-Joachim Spaeth, Sally Gros, and Rozemarijn Tarhule-Lips).
Integrated Subsurface Imaging Techniques for Detecting Cavities in the Karst Environments of Oklahoma", $49,650. Funded by Oklahoma Transportation Center. May 1, 2002-September 30, 2002 (PI, with Thomas Dewers, Roger Young, Alan Witten, and Todd Halihan (OSU)).
Resistivity Tomographic Imaging and Visualization of Groundwater in Karst Systems”. Funded by Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute, $18,000, July 2001-September 2003 (PI, with Thomas Dewers and Rozemarijn Tarhule-Lips).
Resistivity Tomographic Imaging and Visualization of Groundwater in Karst Systems”, $32,000. Funded by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), July 2001-September 2004 (PI, with Thomas Dewers and Rozemarijn Tarhule-Lipsa0.
Water Resources of the Eastern Basin of the West Banks' Mountain Aquifer, $100,000. Funded by USAID, November 2000- October, 2002 (Bret Wallach (PI), with Aondover Tarhule, Baxter Vieux and Robert Nairn).
Application of Tree-rings Analysis for Hydro-climatic Reconstruction in the Sahel, $7,670; NSF-Paleoclimate Program May 2001-April 2002 (PI, with Malcolm Hughes).
Application of Tree-rings Analysis for Hydro-climatic Reconstruction in the Sahel, $42,000, NSF-Paleoclimate Program, May 1999-April 2002 (Malcolm Hughes (PI) with Aondover Tarhule (Co-PI)).
University of Oklahoma , International Faculty Travel Grant, 2002
Vice President for Research, University of Oklahoma Release Funds ($11,900), 2000, (PI, with Peter Lamb).
Junior Faculty Research Fellowship, University of Oklahoma ($6000), 2000 (sole PI).
Queens University Science Advisory Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellowship ($25,000), 1998-1999.
Queens University Faculty travel grant ($3,000), 1999
Rockefeller Foundation Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, ($32,000), 1997-1998.
Rockefeller Foundation Sub-Saharan African Dissertation Internship Award ($20,000),    1994


Publications:

Tarhule, A., Z. Saley-Bana, and P.J Lamb (in review) Rainwatch: A Prototype GIS for Rainfall Monitoring in West Africa. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Tarhule, A. (forthcoming). Drought and Desertification in the Sahel. World Water Atlas, International Geographical Union Commission for Water Sustainability (Invited contribution)

Zume, J. and A. Tarhule (2007). Simulating the impacts of groundwater pumping on stream-aquifer dynamics in semi-arid northwestern Oklahoma, USA. Hydrogeology Journal. Available online at DOI 10.1007/s10040-007-0268-8.

Tarhule, A. (2007). Climate Information for Development: An Integrated Dissemination Model. Africa Development, Vol XXXII, No. 4, pp. 145-156.

Zume, J., A. Tarhule (2006). Precipitation and streamflow variability in Northwestern Oklahoma, 1894-2003. Physical Geography, v.27, 1-17.

Zume, J., A.Tarhule, and S. Christenson (2006). Subsurface imaging of a closed municipal solid waste landfill near Norman, Oklahoma. Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation 26(2), 62-69.

Tarhule A. (2005). Damaging rainfall and floods: The other Sahel Disasters. Climate Change, 72 (3), October, 355-377. DOI:10.1007/s10584-005-6792-4.

Tarhule, A. (2005). Water Resources Scarcity in West Africa: The Imperatives of Regional Cooperation. Water in the Jordan Valley : Technical Solutions & Regional Cooperation. In K. David Hambright, F. Jamil Ragep, and Joseph Ginat, (Eds.) “Water in the Middle East: Cooperation and Technological Solutions in the Jordan Valley” Sussex Academic Press.

Tarhule, A. and S.W. Leavitt (2004) Comparison of Stable - Carbon Isotope Composition in Annual Rings of Isorberlinia doka, Daniella oliveri, and Tamarindus indica and West African Climate, Dendrochronologia,22, 61-70.

Tarhule A. (2005). Sahel . McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Available online here.

Tarhule, Aondover and Peter J. Lamb (2003). Climate research and seasonal forecasting for West Africans: Perceptions, Dissemination and Use? Bulletin of the American Meteorological Socitey, 84(12), 1741-1759.

Tarhule A., T. Dewers, R. Young, A. Witten, and T. Halihan, (2003). Integrated Subsurface Imaging Techniques for Detecting Cavities in the Gypsum Karst of Oklahoma . Oklahoma Geological Survey , Circular 109, 77-83.

Miller, G., T. Dewers, and A. Tarhule (2003).Laser Positioning and 3-Dimensional Digital Mapping of Gypsum Karst, Western Oklahoma, USA . Oklahoma Geological Survey, Circular 109, 71-75.

Tarhule, Aondover and M. Hughes (2002). Tree ring research in West Africa: need and potential. Tree ring Research, 58(1), 35-50.

Tarhule, Aondover 2002: Environment and Conflict in West Africa. In (Max G. Manwaring, ed): Environmental security and global stability: Problems and responses. Lexington Books, 51-83.

Tarhule, Aondover and M-k. Woo (2002). Adaptations to the dynamics of rural water supply from natural sources: a village example in semi-arid Nigeria. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 7, 215-237.

Tarhule, A. and Tarhule-Lips Roosmarijn (2001). Discontinuities in precipitation series in the West African Sahel. Physical Geography, 22(5), 430-448

Tarhule, A. and Woo, M-K (1998) Changes in rainfall characteristics in northern Nigeria, International Journal of Climatology, 18, 1261-1271.

Tarhule, A. and Woo, M-K (1999) Reply to comment on "Towards an interpretation of historical droughts in northern Nigeria", Climatic Change, 41, 261-262

Tarhule, A. and Woo, M-K (1997) Towards an interpretation of historical droughts in northern Nigeria, Climatic Change, 37, 601-616.

Tarhule, A. and Woo, M-K. 1997: Characteristics and use of shallow wells in a stream fadama: a case study in northern Nigeria, Applied Geography, 17, 29-42.

Woo, M-K. and Tarhule, A. (1994) Streamflow droughts of northern Nigerian rivers, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 39, 19-34.

Major Reports
Tarhule A and E. Bergey 2006. Springs in time: Comparison of present and historical flows. Annual Report submitted to the Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute. 70 pp. Research report, Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute.

Tarhule A. Hydroclimatic Reconstruction of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer in Oklahoma. Draft of Final Research Report submitted to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 43 pp.


Conference Presentations:
2007:
Tarhule, A, Zakari Saley Bana, Peter J. Lamb, 2007.  RAINWATCH: A Geographic Information System for Rainfall Monitoring in Niger. Paper presented at the 2nd AMMA international Conference held in in Karlsruhe, Germany, 26th - 30th of November 2007.
Tarhule, A., Zakari Saley Bana, Peter J. Lamb. RAINWATCH: A Geographic Information System for Rainfall Monitoring in Niger. Paper presented at the African Center for Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD), Niamey, Republic of Niger, December 2007.
Tarhule, A, 2007.  (Invited Presentation): Towards a drought monitoring system in Nigeria. Paper presented at the first Nigerian-USA international drought workshop held at Abubakar Tafawa Barewa University of Science and Technology, Bauchi, Bauchi State, Nigeria, November 11-18, 2007.
Tarhule, A., 2007.  Hydroclimatic reconstruction of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer. Presented at the Technical Peer Review Team, Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer Study, Oklahoma Water Board, October, 2007.
Tarhule, A., 2007. Status of groundwater use, exploration and policy in Nigeria. Paper presented at the National Groundwater Association (NGWA) Water Summit held at the Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 29-May 3rd, 2007.
Zume, Joseph and Aondover Tarhule, 2007. Sensitivity of a shallow aquifer to climate variability and groundwater pumping on the United States southern Great Plains. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), San Francisco, California, 2007

2006:
Zume, J and A. Tarhule. 2006 Simulating the effects of aquifer pumping on groundwater levels and streamflow in Northwestern Oklahoma. Paper Presented at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the AAG, Chicago, Illinois.
Tarhule, A. 2006. Hydroclimatic reconstruction of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer using tree rings. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Oklahoma City, August 9, 2006.
Tarhule, A. I. Bouzou, and M. Engels. 2006. Towards tree-ring proxy climate records
for the west african sahel savanna zone. Paper presented at the International Tree-ring Conference, Friendship Hotel, Beijing China, June 10-17.
Baze, L, B. Paris, J. Robertson, and A. Tarhule. Diameter-Age relationship for Quercus Stellata in Central Oklahoma. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Chicago, Illinois, March 7-11.

2005:
Tarhule A., 2005. Hydroclimatic reconstruction of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer using tree rings. Presented at Oklahoma Water 2005. Meeting of the Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute, Tulsa, September 27-28.
Tarhule A., 2005. Wet and Dry rainfall regimes and years in the Sahel: Identifying the causes from empirical records. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Denver Colorado, March 7-11.
Tarhule A., and I. Bouzou 2005. Towards High-Resolution Tree-Ring Proxy Climate Records
for the West African Sahel Savanna Zone. First International Conference of AMMA, Dakar. November 28-Dec. 4.
Tarhule A., 2005. Sahel Floods and Droughts: Lessons for Disaster Mitigation. Invited Presentation, OU-Mesonet International Workshop: Decision making in weather impacted disasters, October 18, 2005. University of Oklahoma.

2004:
Tarhule, A., 2004. Implementation of field laboratory and field work curriculum in physical geography and geotechniques. Invited poster presentation at the NSF/AAAS conference on Invention and Impact: Building excellence in undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Education. April 16-18, Crystal City, Virginia.
Tarhule, A. 2004. Emerging challenges and Opportunities to Geographic Fieldwork:
Lessons from Geographic Fieldwork Experience at the University of Oklahoma. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Association of American Geographers, Stephen F. Austin University, Nacodoches, Texas, November 12-13.
Tarhule A., 2004. Climate information from tropical tree rings: Have we looked enough? Invited Poster presented at the International Conference on Tree Rings and Climate: Sahrpening the Focus. Laboratory for tree ring research, University of Arizona, Tucson . April 5-9.
Tarhule A., 2004. Heavy and extreme rainfall in Niger, West Africa. Paper presented at the 100 Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Philadelphia , March 14-19.
Zume, J. A. Tarhule, and S. Christenson, 2004. Surface imaging of a closed municipal solid waste landfill in Norman, Oklahoma . Paper presented at the 100 Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Philadelphia , March 14-19.
Turney, R. and A. Tarhule, 2004. Student experiences in Inquiry-Guided learning in Geography at the University of Oklahoma . Poster presentation at the 100 Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Philadelphia , March 14-19.
Currens, S. and A. Tarhule, 2004. Tornado signal in tree-rings in Oklahoma. Poster presentation at the 100 Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Philadelphia, March 14-19.
Mark Faulkner, Aondover Tarhule and Elizabeth Bergey, 2004. Springs in Time: Comparison of Present and Historical Flows. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Association of American Geographers, Stephen F. Austin University, Nacodoches, Texas, November 12-13.

2003:
Tarhule A., 2003. Climate research and seasonal forecasting for West Africans: Perceptions, Dissemination and Use . NOAA Review of CIMMS, October 15-16, 2003.
Tarhule A., 2003. The hydrology of the Red River . Paper presented at the Red River Symposium organized by the Southwestern Association of Naturalists (SWAN), University of Oklahoma , April 19-22.
Turney, R. and A. Tarhule, 2003. Inquiry-Guided learning in Geography at the University of Oklahoma . Poster presentation at the Annual meeting of SWAAG, Oklahoma State University , Stillwater , October, 2003.
Tarhule A., 2003. The response of stable–carbon isotope to climatic variability in West African tree rings. Paper presented at the 99 th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in New Orleans , Louisiana , March 4-8 th .
Zume, J. and A. Tarhule, 2003. Wavelength transformation of West Africa Rainfall . Paper presented at the 99 th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in New Orleans , Louisiana , March 4-8 th .

2002:
Tarhule, A., T. Halihan, T. Dewers, R. Young, and A. Witten, 2002. Integrated subsurface imaging techniques for detecting cavities in Oklahoma evaporite karst. Annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Denver , October 26-30.
Zume, J., A. Tarhule and S. Christenson, 2002. Resistivity/Conductivity anomalies at the Norman landfill site . Annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Denver , October 26-30.
Galen, M., T. Dewers, and A. Tarhule, 2002. Laser positioning and 3-d mapping of Western Oklahoma karst. Annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Denver , October 26-30.
Tarhule, A., 2002. The Potential for Tree Ring Analysis in Semi-arid West Africa . 6 th International Conference on Dendrochronology. University of Laval, Quebec City , Quebec , Canada . August 21-28.
Tarhule, A., B. Wallach and T. Dewers, 2002. Progress Report: Report of the Partnership between the University of Oklahoma and Bethlehem University , PA. Presented at the meeting of the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation for Development (USAID), The WaterGate Hotel, Washington D.C., August 11-14.

2001:
Tarhule, A., 2001. Water Resources Scarcity in West Africa : The Imperatives of Regional Cooperation. Water in the Jordan Valley : Technical Solutions & Regional Cooperation. Paper presented at the conference organized by the International Programs Center , The University of Oklahoma, Nov. 13-14, 2001, University of Oklahoma
Tarhule, A., 2001. Application of Electrical Resistivity Method to Map Shallow Alluvial Aquifers. 97 th Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers Convention , Feb 28-March 3, New York City , New York , U.S.A
Hoagland, Bruce and A. Tarhule, 2001. Trees on the edge: composition and age of a Pinus ponderosa stand in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, SWAG Meeting, Forts Worth, Texas, Nov. 13-14, 2001.

2000:
Tarhule, A., 2000. Subsurface imaging using high resolution electrical resistivity tomography. Invited Guest speaker: Oklahoma State University Department of Geography colloquium series, December 4 th .
Tarhule, A. and Woo, M.-K., 2000. Hydrology of village wells in Sahelian Nigeria. Paper presented at the 29 th Annual meeting of the International Geographic Union , August 9-13, Seoul , Korea .
Tarhule, A., 2000. The potential and travails of dendrochronological analysis in the Sahel Savanna, West Africa . Paper presented at the 29 th Annual meeting of the International Geographic Union , August 9-13, Seoul , Korea .
Tarhule, A. and R. Tarhule-Lips, 2000. Wet and dry years in the Sahel : what are they? Paper presented at the 96 th Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers Convention , April 4-8, Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , U.S.A.

Before 1998
Tarhule, Aondover (1998) Hydro-geologic investigations of a fadama (alluvial) aquifer in northeastern Nigeria. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Geological Society of America, October 26-29. Metro-Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Tarhule, Aondover (1998) An investigation of the water resources potential of a fadama (alluvial aquifer in northeastern Nigeria. Paper presented at the 94th Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers Convention, March 25-29, Boston Massachusetts, USA. 
Woo, M-K. and Tarhule, A. (1998) Coping with drought: Sources of rural water supply for a village in semi-arid Nigeria. Paper presented at the International Geographical Union. Study Group on Environmental Change and Extreme Hydrological Events, August 28-29, 1998. Centro de Estudos Geograficos, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Tarhule, Aondover and Woo, M-K. (1996) Hydrological and Agricultural Implications of Rainfall Trends in northern Nigeria. Paper presented at the International Conference on Tropical Meteorology, Climatology and Hydrology, May 22-24, Brussels, Belgium.
Tarhule, Aondover and Woo, M-K. (1995) The Role of Shallow Ground Water in Semi-Arid Environments: Case Study of north-eastern Nigeria. Paper presented at the International Symposium on African Drought, July 31 - August 4, ICTP, Trieste, Italy.
Tarhule, Aondover and Woo, M-K. (1993) Streamflow drought in northern Nigeria. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers, Ontario Division (CAGONT) and the East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (ELDAAG), University of Windsor, October 29-31.
 Tarhule, Aondover and Woo, M-K. (1993) Analysis of streamflow drought in northern Nigeria. Paper presented at the first Annual McMaster/University at Buffalo Graduate Conference in Geography, March 5-6, University of Buffalo, New York.

Collaborations in last 48 months:
Steve Leavitt (LTRR, Tucson); Mike Engels (Geology and Geophysics, OU); Scott Christenson (U.S.G.S., Oklahoma City), Noel Osborne (Oklahoma Water Resources Board); Ibrahim Bozou (Abdou Moumouni University, Niger);Thomas Dewers (Geology and Geophysics, OU); Todd Halihan (Geology, OSU); Bruce Hoagland (Geography, OU); Malcolm Hughes (LTRR, Tucson); Hans Joachim-Spaeth (Geography, OU); Peter Lamb (Meteorology, OU); Robert Nairn (Environmental Engineering, OU); Roosmarijn Tarhule-Lips (Geography, OU); Bret Wallach (Geography, OU); Alan Witten (Geology and Geophysics, OU); Ming-ko Woo (Geography and Geology; McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada); Baxter Vieux (Engineering, OU); Roger Young (Geology and Geophysics, OU); May Yuan (Geography, OU).

Graduate Student Advisees:
Ph.D. students (3), M.Sc. (3).
Membership on student committees, 21 total.

Membership in Professional Organizations:
American Association of Geographers (AAG).
Geological Society of America (GSA).
National Groundwater Association (USA).
International Association of Hydrological Sciences.
American Geophysical Union.