Synopsis: Isotope Studies for Improved Water Resource Management 

Water is a valuable resource in California, under pressure from population growth, poor historical management and climate change.  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been developing state-of-the-art analytical techniques for several decades, to support science-based water resource management in California.

For example, threats of contamination of groundwater by agricultural land use or point sources can be evaluated from groundwater travel times determined by tritium-helium or other age tracers.  Isotopic analyses of nitrate and co-contaminants can further reveal sources, pathways and geotechnical processes affecting contaminants in groundwater.

Another example is the development by LLNL of a benchtop Noble Gas Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometer, greatly reducing the cost and turnaround time compared to traditional noble gas mass spectrometry.  The NG-MIMS made it economically feasible to use xenon as a tracer in managed aquifer recharge and aquifer storage and recovery projects.

These and other examples illustrate the benefit of isotope and noble gas tracer studies for water resources research and site characterization.

Biography of Speaker: Dr. Ate Visser, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Dr. Ate Visser is a research scientist in the Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division, with expertise in isotope hydrology.  He received his PhD from Utrecht University (The Netherlands) in 2009 and his MS in Physical Geography from the University of Amsterdam.  After one year at the Dutch Geological Survey and research institute Deltares, he joined LLNL as a postdoc in 2010.  Dr. Ate Visser studies the sustainability of water resources by applying environmental tracers in a variety of hydrological systems to investigate sources, pathways and travel times of water. The focus is on combining multiple environmental tracers to calculate water travel time distributions. He manages the environmental Noble Gas Mass Spectrometry laboratory of the Nuclear and Chemical Sciences division at LLNL. His work involves developing new tracers for hydrological research and applying these tracers to urgent water resource questions.

Date: Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (registration/networking from 11:30 a.m. to noon)

Where: Firehouse Restaurant, 1112 2nd Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Menu: 

• Blackened Chicken Sandwich - warm brie cheese, red bell pepper relish, pickled cabbage celery salt Aioli
• Grilled Steak and Prawn Salad - mixed endive lettuce, blue cheese, smoked tomato garlic crutons, red wine dressing
• Local Pesto Pasta (vegetarian option) - daily pasta, local basil pesto, pine nuts, asiago cheese

Cost:

• Members - $25.00 + $0.90 cc fee
• Non-Members - $35.00 + $1.10 cc fee
• Walk-ins - $40.00

Who We Are:

The Professional Environmental Marketing Association (PEMA) is an organization comprised of local and regional chapters whose membership is involved in business development, sales, marketing, and other related professional activities in the environmental field. The Sacramento California Chapter of PEMA operates in the greater Sacramento metropolitan area which includes Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, and San Joaquin counties.

Sacramento PEMA was founded as a marketing and networking organization in 1995 as an affiliate of the Northern California Chapter of PEMA. Networking encourages formation of business relationships, development of business and teaming opportunities, and exchange of ideas. Sacramento PEMA recently broadened its scope to provide technical and regulatory information of interest to its members.