Chemical Hydrogeology: Fifty Years of Advances, Breakthroughs, and Innovation

Abstract:

Chemical hydrogeology focuses on the composition, properties, and biogeochemical processes inherent to water in subsurface environments. Multiple avenues of research coalesced in the 1960’s to foment the development of chemical hydrogeology as a distinct field. In the intervening 50 years, chemical hydrogeology principles have been applied to innumerable issues and problems, and concomitantly, the field has continually experienced advances, breakthroughs, and innovations in theory, analysis, and application. An overarching theme to chemical hydrogeology in both theory and application is integration--- integration of disciplines (interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary), integration of approaches (theoretical, experimental, analytical), and integration of scales (spatial, temporal). Chemical hydrogeology has never been more relevant and more challenged as today, as we face critical issues related to for example water scarcity and availability of clean water, impacts of energy development, production and storage, and human interactions with ecosystem services. This presentation will illustrate recent advances in chemical hydrogeology, ranging from application of advanced imaging for characterization of pore-scale multiphase systems to integrated physical and biogeochemical assessments of field-scale contaminant transport.