Environmental Isotopes

From groundwater dating to climate effects on lakes

The main activities of the Environmental Isotopes Group are high sensitive transient (biogeochemically conservative) tracer analytics (noble gas mass spectrometry, GC-MS, GC-ECD), the application of environmental tracer methods in groundwater and lakes (tritium, noble gases, SF₆, CFCs, radon) and numerical methods of data analysis and modelling of aquatic systems.

Examples from our current research:

• Determining the natural dynamics of water bodies (groundwater dating, water exchange in lakes and oceans.)
• Using noble gases to study gas/water-exchange processes at methane bubbles in the sediments and the water column of lakes and oceans.
• Gas exchange in the unsaturated zone and at the groundwater table, especially, excess air formation.
• Assesment of pollutant transport and degradation in contaminated aquifers.
• Time series analyses in groundwater and surface water.

More details can be found in the methods and projects sections. We also offer tracer analyses on a commercial basis. Refer to our guidelines for external projects, price list and the manual for water sampling for further information.

Our Noble Gas Laboratory is located at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ) and operated in collaboration with the Institute of Isotope Geochemistry and Mineral Resources (IGMR).

The Transient Tracers Laboratory (SF₆, CFCs and noble gases) of our group is located at Eawag in Dübendorf.