Information - HS43 Use of isotopes in river basin studies (co-sponsored by IAEA)
Event Information
A good management of rivers and river basins has key ecological and social
significance for vast human populations and requires a thorough
understanding of ground water and surface water as a single resource. For
several decades, studies of the interactions between ground water and
surface water in river basins were directed primarily at alluvial stream
and aquifer systems. Isotopes and artificial tracers have been essential to
assess water and solute fluxes and their origin and travel times, which are
difficult to observe and measure with confidence by conventional methods of
physical hydrology. In the last years the research on the ground water and
surface water interactions expanded to more complex studies of river basin
processes such as contamination and acidification pathways and alternation
of basin water balance and runoff formation due to development. With few
exceptions, however, these studies did not address the use of isotope
techniques beyond a small-scale basin, and they did not essentially address
the communication between research communities that employ physical,
chemical and isotopic techniques. There is a substantial need to discuss
how various isotopes of water and solutes can be applied in studies of
heterogeneous river basins at larger scales. The purpose of this session is
twofold: first, to share our current results and ideas on the value of
isotopes for understanding water fluxes at the larger river basin scale and
addressing major basin management activities, and second, to discuss what
is the novel and unique contribution of isotopes to river basin studies and
river basin management activities.
Preliminary List of Solicited Speakers
Co-Sponsorship
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