The IAEA is calling on research organizations to join a new Coordinated Research Project (CRP) it is launching to improve the understanding of the impact of convective rain events on surface water and groundwater resources using isotopes.
Scientists
predict that climate change will modify rainfall patterns in different regions
across the world. Flooding and soil erosion impair water quality of drinking
water reservoirs. Furthermore, convective rain events probably contribute less
to the recharge of aquifers, however, it is not yet clear if this applies to
all climate regions and topographical settings. Therefore, integrated water
resource management (IWRM) requires a better understanding of the impact of
such events on surface and groundwaters.
Water
isotopes have proven to be ideal tracers of water movement from the rain drop
to the spring, well, river or reservoir. However, convective rain events might
challenge our data collection and interpretation techniques since they occur
within few kilometres and often comprise the annual isotopic variation of the
site in one event.
The
four year-long new CRP puts forward an innovative approach of high frequency
sampling of rain events, sampling of the saturated and unsaturated zone, a
suite of isotopes (including stable and radiogenic water isotopes, sulphur-35
and radon-222), in combination with high frequency sensors at the outlet of the
catchment. The CRP will revisit the application of isotopes in catchment
hydrology on short time scales provoked by convective rain events and provide
recommendations for (1) high frequency and event-based sampling of water
isotopes, (2) application of short lived radioisotopes, and (3) the combination
of isotopes with concentration–discharge relationships obtained by high
frequency water quality sensors.
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Source: IAEA