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How to trap greenhouse carbon gas and bury it deep below ground in salty aquifers.
:: 22 May, 2007
Not many people see isotope hydrologists on the front line of the fight against climate change. But they are -- studying how to trap greenhouse carbon gas and bury it deep below ground in salty aquifers. The work is one topic being reviewed at the IAEA, when world experts in isotope hydrology meet 21-25 May in Vienna at an international symposium.
Over 280 participants will attend the International Symposium on Advances in Isotope Hydrology and Its Role in Sustainable Water Resources Development. Studies on carbon trapping and other topics from over 60 countries will be presented.
Carbon trapping -- or sequestration in technical terms -- is an emerging research area to combat global warming. It refers to natural or artificial processes that remove carbon from the atmosphere, to reduce or slow rising emissions through interaction with natural "sinks", mainly oceans, deep parts of the Earth´s crust, or plants. In some processes, the carbon dioxide is injected into an underground water source where it dissolves and remains in long-term storage. That´s where isotope hydrologists come in.
"Once the carbon dioxide is trapped in the water you want to make sure it stays put," says Brent Newman, a scientist in the IAEA´s Isotope Hydrology section. "That´s where isotope hydrology comes in. You use isotopes like carbon and oxygen to monitor if the carbon dioxide is leaking or flowing from the aquifer, and to assure the integrity of the aquifer is maintained. For carbon sequestration you need a brine aquifer where the water is thousands of years old. Isotope hydrology can tell you the age of the water. If it´s very old, then it´s unlikely the water is flowing out of the aquifer rapidly enough to be a problem. In addition, many brine aquifers have the capacity to absorb lots of carbon dioxide."
A range of other issues -- from water pollution to protection -- are on the symposium agenda. Participants will hear how isotope hydrology is being used to help countries protect their drinking water. In the Abidjan area of Côte d´Ivoire over recent years, the main source of groundwater quickly became contaminated. Using nitrogen isotopes, hydrologists identified urban sewage as the main contributor contaminating the groundwater.
In an area of Uganda where people are reliant on springwater for their drinking supply, scientists used isotopes to track where the springs were recharged, Mr. K. M. Kulkarni, an Isotope Hydrologist at the IAEA said. "Originally it was thought the water came from large mountain lakes, but the isotopes showed it actually came from swamps in the mountains," he said. These swamps are now protected so that the springs can continue to be a sustainable source of water.
"The symposium is an opportunity to highlight new advances, major breakthroughs and discussions on isotope techniques that are being applied in the hydrological sciences across the world," the Head of IAEA Isotope Hydrology, Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal, said. "With its focus on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection, the symposium speaks to the many ways that science and technology are helping countries solve water-related problems," he said.
A newly developed laser isotope analyser -– that the IAEA helped to test and modify -– will be demonstrated during the five-day meeting. It is the size of a small table top, and one-fifth of the cost of the standard device. "It will give developing countries greater self-sufficiency to perform their own analysis of water samples," Mr. Aggarwal said.
Other topics on the Symposium´s agenda include surface water/groundwater interactions, new analytical approaches, coastal zone hydrology, wetlands, a variety of contamination problems, groundwater dynamics, land-atmosphere interactions, ecohydrology and waste disposal.
News Inside News :
About The Programme-
1. Background and Objectives
The quadrennial IAEA isotope hydrology symposia provide an international forum for a comprehensive review of the state of the art and recent advances in this field. The symposia also facilitate the transfer of information, knowledge and interactions between developed and developing countries.
Isotopes are increasingly being used to address many of the challenges in sustainable water resources management. The integration of these tools with classical methods and spatial information technologies has been growing rapidly over the past several years. These have provided unsurpassed capabilities to apply nuclear and geochemical techniques in complex hydrological systems.
The main objectives of this symposium are to:
Review the state of the art in isotope hydrology
Outline recent developments in the application of isotope techniques for water resources management
Identify future trends and developments for research and applications
2. List of Topics
The IAEA welcomes high-quality contributions that demonstrate the application of isotopes as an integrated part of water resources science and management practices, particularly in the following areas:
Analytical developments
Moisture Isotopes in the Biosphere and Atmosphere
Rivers and surface water
Development of deep groundwater resources
Isotope hydrology and ecosystems
Urbanization and water resources management
Water management in dry land agriculture and irrigation systems
Integration with economic, social and cultural aspects
Research frontiers and innovative applications
3. Symposium Format
Keynote speakers will be invited to present topical reviews or new developments and will be accompanied by plenary sessions. The majority of contributed papers will be in the form of poster presentations to facilitate discussion and interaction. Some technical sessions are also being planned in conjunction with a mid-conference cruise on the Danube River.
4. Papers and Posters
Contributions to the symposium are welcome, particularly those that address the topics outlined above.. All papers, apart from invited review papers, must present original work; they should not have been published elsewhere. All contributions, solicited and contributed, will be published in an edited proceedings volume (see below).
a) Submission of Abstracts
Persons who wish to present a paper or poster at the Symposium must submit a short abstract of 150 words (in English), together with the completed Form for Submission of a Paper(Form B), and the Participation Form (Form A) to the competent national authority for official transmission to the IAEA in time for them to be received by the IAEA by 1 October 2006 (. The abstract should also be sent electronically to the IAEA Scientific Secretariat, e-mail: ihs@iaea.org (See attached sample abstract).
The abstract will be considered by the Programme Committee only if the Participation Form A and Paper Submission Form B have been received by the IAEA through the official governmental channels.
(b) Acceptance of papers/posters
Authors will be informed whether their paper has been accepted by the Programme Committee on the basis of the abstract submitted. At the same time authors will be advised if it has been accepted for oral presentation or for presentation as a poster.
(c) Submission of Full Paper
The deadline for submission of the full paper is 15 March 2007.
The full paper(s) should be of maximum 6 pages except for invited papers that may be up to 8 pages. Instructions and templates for preparing papers will be available on the symposium website.
Potential contributors will need to submit papers by the deadline above. An edited conference proceedings volume is planned that will contain all contributions to IHS–2007 (invited and contributed) and will be published by the IAEA soon after the symposium.
5. Participation
All persons wishing to participate in the symposium are requested to register in advance online. In addition they must send a completed Participation Form (Form A) and if relevant, together with the Paper Submission Form (Form B) and the Grant Application Form (Form C) through the competent official authority (Ministry of Foreign Affairs or national atomic energy authority) to the IAEA. Participants will be accepted only if the Participation Form is transmitted through the competent official authority of a Member State of the IAEA or by an organization invited to participate.
Participants whose official designation has been received by the IAEA will receive further information on the Symposium approximately three months prior to the conference. This information will also be posted on the symposium website.
6. Expenditures
As a general rule, the IAEA does not pay the cost of attendance, i.e. travel and living expenses, of participants. However, limited funds are available to help meet the cost of attendance of selected specialists from IAEA Member States mainly from developing countries with low economic resources. In general, not more than one grant will be awarded to any one country. Multiple participations from any one country will be considered depending upon the availability of funds.
If governments wish to apply for a grant on behalf of one of their specialists, they should address specific requests to the IAEA to this effect. Governments should ensure that applications for grants:
(a) be submitted by 1 September 2006
(b) be accompanied by a duly completed and signed Grant Application(Form C)
Applications which do not comply with the conditions mentioned under (a) and (b) cannot be considered.
The grants awarded will be in the form of lump sums usually covering only part of the cost of attendance.
7. Distribution of Documents & Proceedings
A preliminary programme of the symposium will be posted on the conference website as soon as available. The final programme and a book of abstracts of will be printed by the IAEA for distribution at the Symposium. An edited conference proceedings volume is planned that will contain all contributions to IHS–2007 (invited and contributed) and will be published by the IAEA soon after the symposium.
8. Working Language
The working language of the meeting will be English. All communications, abstracts and papers must be sent to the IAEA in English.
9. Exhibition
A limited amount of space will be available for commercial vendors’ displays/exhibits during the Symposium. Interested parties should contact Mr. K.M. Kulkarni by e-mail: K.Kulkarni@iaea.org before 01 September 2006.
10. Accommodation
Detailed information on accommodation and other items will be sent directly to all designated participants approximately two to three months before the meeting.
11. Visa
Designated participants who require a visa to enter Austria (Schengen State), should submit the necessary applications to the nearest diplomatic or consular representative of Austria or any other consular authority of a Schengen partner State representing Austria as early as possible (please note that this procedure may take up to three weeks).
12. Symposium Secretariat
The address of the Secretariat is:
International Atomic Energy Agency
IAEA-CN-151
Vienna International Centre
P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5
A-1400, Vienna
Austria
Telephone No.: (+43)-1-2600 (0) plus extension Telefax No.: (+43)-1-26007
E mail: official.mail@iaea.org
For the scientific matters and paper submission, please contact Mr. K.M. Kulkarni, Isotope Hydrology Section, Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, (telephone extension 21758 and e-mail address: ihs@iaea.org). Symposium organization is provided by Ms. H. Schmid, Conference Service Section, Division of Conference and Document Services (telephone extension 21316 & ext. 21311, e-mail address: h.schmid@iaea.org).
13. Channels of Communication
The Participation Form, and if applicable, the Form for Submission of a Paper together with a copy of the abstract, and if applicable, the Grant Application Form, should be sent through the competent official authority (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, national atomic energy authority) to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Subsequent correspondence on scientific matters should be sent to Mr. K.M. Kulkarni, Isotope Hydrology Section and correspondence on administrative matters to Ms. H.Schmid, Conference Service Section.
14. Symposium website
Please visit the IAEA Symposium website regularly for new information:
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Meetings/Announcements.asp?ConfID=151
In The Images:
Collecting water samples for isotope measurements from an artesian well in Egypt. (Photo: D. Kinley/IAEA)
Release link: http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/hydrology.html
