Dr. Scott Jasechko, University of Calgary
Wednesday, Oct. 19
PACCAR room 202, 1:30 p.m.
WSU Pullman
Fates of solutes, nutrients and contaminants are regulated by the time that precipitation takes to travel through landscapes to reach surface waters and groundwater wells. However, the global 3D distribution of younger versus older water flowing in rivers or stored in groundwater aquifers is not known due to a longstanding focus on “average” or “mean” water ages vs age distributions.
We analyze global rain, snow, groundwater and streamflow isotope contents to partition fractions of younger versus older water in global rivers and aquifer systems. We show that ~35% of global runoff is generated by a microscopic fraction (<0.01%) of global groundwater storage, meaning that biogeochemical processes taking place in these aquifer-stream connectivity hotspots will have disproportionately large impacts on stream water quality.
Sponsor:
CEREO – The Center for Environmental Research, Education and Outreach (http://cereo.wsu.edu/)
or check our online calendar for all environmental talks and events happening around campus: http://cereo.wsu.edu/seminars/
