Session: Threats to Groundwater Quality: Biogeochemical Triggers As Culprit or Savior Oral I (includes student competition)

Title: Threats to Groundwater Quality: Biogeochemical Triggers As Culprit or Savior Oral I (includes student competition)

Session Description: A vast array of contaminants threaten groundwater quality. Despite the high concentrations of contaminants within groundwater resulting from anthropogenic activity, the effects are typically local in scale. In contrast, naturally occurring contaminants (i.e., those of geogenic origin) are usually present at lower concentrations leading to chronic exposure and may affect groundwater quality on regional to sub-continental scales. Threats to groundwater quality come not just from surface-derived contaminants but from biogeochemical conditions as well. Here we seek studies that examine biogeochemical triggers that release contaminants of natural or anthropogenic in origin from soil or sediments that can ultimately jeopardize groundwater quality