Of aquifers and agency

Healy, Adrian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5336-0147 2026. Of aquifers and agency. Hydrogeology Journal 10.1007/s10040-026-03059-6

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Abstract

In this essay I consider the role of agency in complex and adaptive socio-hydrogeological systems and, more particularly, the extent to which aquifers may, themselves, exhibit agency. Drawing on Barad’s (2007) concept of performative agency, I argue for a new characterisation that appreciates aquifers as part of a complex, adaptive and co-evolving more-than-human landscape with the capability to exert agency through performative intra-action. Acknowledging this agency of aquifers within socio-hydrogeological systems offers fresh insights regarding the emergence of water-sensitive urban/rural development pathways and opens up novel interdisciplinary research agendas

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	1435-0157
Funders:	UKRI FLF
Projects:	MR/X022943/1
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 December 2025
Date of Acceptance:	5 December 2025
Last Modified:	02 Jun 2026 14:57
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182973

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