A Laboratory scientist is taking to the road as a way to educate the public about water usage in the Northern New Mexico area.
Elizabeth Keating of Hydrology, Geochemistry and Geology (EES-6) said she believes it's not too late for Northern New Mexico to change the way it uses its water.
In the first of four talks scheduled for different locations around the area as part of the Laboratory's Frontiers In Science lecture series, Keating referenced three main sources of underground water: the Taos, Española and Middle Rio Grande basins. "Our research focuses on the Española Basin and uses 3-D mathematical computer models of ground water flow to interpret these various hydrogeologic data and to suggest possible future scenarios in local ground water basins," she said. "This research is one important component of our collective effort to protect this precious resource."
At the Los Alamos lecture, Keating said most areas receive more water during some seasons and less during others. And yet, some regions never receive the requisite amount of water to adequately sustain vegetation and human life. Other regions sometimes receive more than what is needed, she said.
Keating expressed some concern that Albuquerque's new-found growth is depleting the Rio Grande Basin at a faster rate than other regions. She referred to stored groundwater as a savings account. Keating said it will probably take hundreds or thousands of years for the basin to be naturally restored. She said the rate is dependent on how much rain the area receives and how much is absorbed into the ground.
But she said the Taos basin has the least water usage in the area. Keating cited population density for the differences between Albuquerque and other areas.
Hydrogeology blends two earth sciences, hydrology and geology, to understand how water flows in aquifer rocks, to explain historical trends in water flow and to predict future trends in water quantity and quality, according to Keating.
Future lectures are scheduled for Oct. 22 at the New Mexico School for the Deaf in Santa Fe and Oct. 23 at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque. The lectures begin at 7:30 p.m., and are free and open to the public.
The public lecture series is intended to inform neighboring communities about the broad range of scientific and engineering research conducted at the Laboratory.
"We want to make people aware that the Lab researches global warming, AIDS, astrophysics, biophysics, materials, nuclear and particle physics and a number of important scientific issues facing the world, said Joseph Ginocchio of Nuclear Physics (T-16), coordinator of the lecture series and Laboratory Fellow.
Sponsored by the Laboratory Fellows and presented by Laboratory scientists, five lectures a year are planned. Each lecture will be presented in Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Taos to ensure that Northern New Mexico residents can attend.
For more information, visit the public lectures series Web site at http://stb.lanl.gov/program/frontiers.shtml online. Directions to the lecture locations also are available on the Web site.
