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Earth Sciences > Geochemistry

Geochemistry

Desert varnish shines as environmental monitoring tool
March 31 — A University of California researcher working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in collaboration with earth scientists from the University of Nevada and Eastern Washington University, has discovered that desert varnish may be an ideal passive environmental monitor for atmospherically-deposited heavy and potentially toxic metals, including radionuclides.

Vast nitrogen reserves hidden beneath desert soils
November 7 — A University of California scientist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory in collaboration with researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the University of Nevada, the University of Arkansas and Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev., has recently found evidence that there may be significantly more amounts of nitrogen, in the form of nitrates, than previously estimated in desert landscapes. The discovery of these vast subsoil nitrate reservoirs could have implications for groundwater quality in arid/semi-arid environments worldwide, as mobilization of the nitrates could adversely affect drinking water supplies.

Laboratory works on Romanian environmental site
July 18 — Researchers from the National Nuclear Security Administration's Los Alamos National Laboratory are collaborating with scientists from the Romanian Institute of Nuclear Research to assist the Romanian government in establishing an effective shallow-land disposal site for the disposition of low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes. The proposed disposal site is located near the town of Cernavoda along the Danube River, in southeastern Romania.