Collection and on-site analyses of shallow groundwater from a piezometer borehole in Wadi Suq, Sultanate of Oman, to monitor groundwater contamination by acid mine drainage (photo H.N. Waber).
In our research we focus on the natural background concentrations of major and trace element concentrations in different near-surface groundwater types and – in combination with isotope investigations – relate these to seasonal and longer-term climatic variations. Knowledge about such natural background conditions greatly improved characterisation of point-source or disperse groundwater contamination. On a more local scale, we asses the chemical and isotopic conditions of near-surface groundwater to obtain baseline conditions for the infiltration into the deeper underground where it forms deep groundwater.
Collection of surface groundwater from a creek in the Doha mountains, Sultanate of Oman (photo H.N. Waber).
By combining information about geology, hydrochemistry, stable and radiogenic isotopes and hydrology with geochemical modelling strategies we aim at a more precise understanding of the natural near-surface groundwater environment and the definition of infiltration conditions of groundwater, which feeds into groundwater protection and management plans as deep disposal of radioactive waste and CO2.
