Isotope Ratiometer for Groundwater Analysis

Sufficient and safe water resources are the foundation of a society. With growing Earth population the protection of the limited resources becomes more challenging. Scientific assessment of groundwater vulnerability to depletion and pollution is required for optimized water-use and for intensification of crop production systems with the aim to achieve a sustainable agriculture. Isotope hydrology provides established methods to accomplish these tasks. The technology is presently limited to highly specialized laboratories with sophisticated equipment. A low-cost, compact, rugged, real-time, water isotope analyzer suitable to perform these measurement tasks will be developed on this project. Controlled and traceable influence of agricultural activities on groundwater will benefit the agricultural enterprises as well as the surrounding communities leading to responsible land use. This technology will allow detailed analysis of the cycling of water through the plant soil and how it is taken up by plants. It will help to trace the geographical origin of agricultural products. Water isotope analyzers provide important information for atmospheric sciences, allow reconstruction of animal migration routes, can reveal climate in ancient centuries and might find application in fighting global warming.