Sarah H. Ledford
@sledford.bsky.social
Urban hydrology- water and cities. Pretending to be a geographer these days. Associate professor of Geosciences in Atlanta. Izzo 🐾🌈 7-19-24
Many USGS gages across the country have stopped updating. Anyone know what’s going on? This shutdown related? They seemed to all stop 16 hours ago, at least in Georgia.
September 30, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Many USGS gages across the country have stopped updating. Anyone know what’s going on? This shutdown related? They seemed to all stop 16 hours ago, at least in Georgia.
Our first cohort of Community-Soil-Air-Water REU researchers just gave their final presentations to our community fellows, faculty, MS students, and other ecosystem members. These eight just killed it, digging into housing, soil contamination, urban heat island and energy burden, and flooding.
August 1, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Our first cohort of Community-Soil-Air-Water REU researchers just gave their final presentations to our community fellows, faculty, MS students, and other ecosystem members. These eight just killed it, digging into housing, soil contamination, urban heat island and energy burden, and flooding.
Peak Millennial sign.
June 14, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Peak Millennial sign.
So lucky to work with such amazing students. Everything is awful but we’ve got some wonderful ones in the world to help us all try and fix it.
May 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
So lucky to work with such amazing students. Everything is awful but we’ve got some wonderful ones in the world to help us all try and fix it.
Congratulations to Therese Kelly on successfully defending her MS thesis on “the metrics of organized abandonment: a critical examination of regulatory failure and the production of water pollution in the South River”. Who’d’ve thunk I’d be overseeing a critical geography thesis, but Therese made
April 8, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Congratulations to Therese Kelly on successfully defending her MS thesis on “the metrics of organized abandonment: a critical examination of regulatory failure and the production of water pollution in the South River”. Who’d’ve thunk I’d be overseeing a critical geography thesis, but Therese made
Join us for our first Community-Soil-Air-Water symposium on Friday, April 4, 2025 in Atlanta! Free registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
March 10, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Join us for our first Community-Soil-Air-Water symposium on Friday, April 4, 2025 in Atlanta! Free registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
If you’re in Cleveland, the Nela Park Christmas lights, celebrating 100 years of displays, are some of the best I remember.
December 23, 2024 at 1:50 AM
If you’re in Cleveland, the Nela Park Christmas lights, celebrating 100 years of displays, are some of the best I remember.
If you only knew, Outlook...
November 18, 2024 at 5:37 PM
If you only knew, Outlook...
Please join me in going 🤔 about my hotel lamp.
October 29, 2024 at 12:01 AM
Please join me in going 🤔 about my hotel lamp.
I forgot to take any pictures but thanks to Arial Shogren and the Alabama Water Institute for hosting me as their seminar speaker yesterday!
October 26, 2024 at 4:48 PM
I forgot to take any pictures but thanks to Arial Shogren and the Alabama Water Institute for hosting me as their seminar speaker yesterday!
Check. I’m a furious at the continued political and weapons support of the war in Gaza, but if you think the other guy would be any better…I strongly disagree.
October 17, 2024 at 7:37 PM
Check. I’m a furious at the continued political and weapons support of the war in Gaza, but if you think the other guy would be any better…I strongly disagree.
Over 9 inches of rain at my nearby gage in the SE part of Atlanta and I’m feeling endlessly lucky.
September 27, 2024 at 12:07 PM
Over 9 inches of rain at my nearby gage in the SE part of Atlanta and I’m feeling endlessly lucky.
Students went out yesterday and, unsurprisingly, found massive fish kills. We took more E. coli samples and will have those results soon. But the question remains: why was this mulch pile allowed to be in the City, putting our river (and firefighters) at risk. We know the answer.
September 10, 2024 at 12:35 PM
Students went out yesterday and, unsurprisingly, found massive fish kills. We took more E. coli samples and will have those results soon. But the question remains: why was this mulch pile allowed to be in the City, putting our river (and firefighters) at risk. We know the answer.
Low and behold, this giant pile of mulch spontaneously combusted on Thursday, 9/5, and here we are on Saturday, 9/7 and they still haven't been able to put it out. The fire command explains what's happening and promises to keep me abreast of what's going on so we can keep an eye on the river.
September 10, 2024 at 12:32 PM
Low and behold, this giant pile of mulch spontaneously combusted on Thursday, 9/5, and here we are on Saturday, 9/7 and they still haven't been able to put it out. The fire command explains what's happening and promises to keep me abreast of what's going on so we can keep an eye on the river.
Dissolved oxygen at this site has dropped to 2 mg/L. We hop in the car and drive to the site and as we go by, we go past about 8 firetrucks. We pull over and the kind firefighters take us into a site where we see...about a 3 story high pile of mulch being sprayed with firehoses.
September 10, 2024 at 12:30 PM
Dissolved oxygen at this site has dropped to 2 mg/L. We hop in the car and drive to the site and as we go by, we go past about 8 firetrucks. We pull over and the kind firefighters take us into a site where we see...about a 3 story high pile of mulch being sprayed with firehoses.
Instead, the water is black and smoky. Therese takes E. coli samples and starts their incubation. She calls me on Saturday morning and I bring up the local gage, which luckily measures water quality and discharge.
September 10, 2024 at 12:28 PM
Instead, the water is black and smoky. Therese takes E. coli samples and starts their incubation. She calls me on Saturday morning and I bring up the local gage, which luckily measures water quality and discharge.
River, which ends up in the Atlantic. This topography has been weaponized by white people, especially since 1865, to ensure the Black population lives in the floodplains, also the areas where sewage pools. In addition, Atlanta is highly segregated.
September 10, 2024 at 12:25 PM
River, which ends up in the Atlantic. This topography has been weaponized by white people, especially since 1865, to ensure the Black population lives in the floodplains, also the areas where sewage pools. In addition, Atlanta is highly segregated.
I said goodbye to Izzo suddenly and quickly about 6 weeks ago. It was too soon but it was the right decision. This first week back to teaching had been empty and quiet but, as I’m sure @darthbluesky.bsky.social would agree, he was a good pup.
September 1, 2024 at 11:11 PM
I said goodbye to Izzo suddenly and quickly about 6 weeks ago. It was too soon but it was the right decision. This first week back to teaching had been empty and quiet but, as I’m sure @darthbluesky.bsky.social would agree, he was a good pup.
I’m so lucky to be in an amazing department where 9 of the 21 faculty are women. Here’s six of us after our faculty retreat today!
August 22, 2024 at 9:44 PM
I’m so lucky to be in an amazing department where 9 of the 21 faculty are women. Here’s six of us after our faculty retreat today!
Let me tell you about how my summer field work collecting storm samples is going.
July 4, 2024 at 1:31 PM
Let me tell you about how my summer field work collecting storm samples is going.
Morning river check shows the gage may be under water soon.
June 27, 2024 at 1:23 PM
Morning river check shows the gage may be under water soon.
Starting off #WaterSciCon with high water.
June 23, 2024 at 9:41 PM
Starting off #WaterSciCon with high water.
Izzo and his greying face to boop.
June 13, 2024 at 1:33 AM
Izzo and his greying face to boop.
Sarah: starts field work in May when we’ve had 6 more inches of rain than normal. It involves storm chasing. Great!
Georgia weather: immediately stops raining.
Georgia weather: immediately stops raining.
June 11, 2024 at 8:04 PM
Sarah: starts field work in May when we’ve had 6 more inches of rain than normal. It involves storm chasing. Great!
Georgia weather: immediately stops raining.
Georgia weather: immediately stops raining.