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HydroTraP Group Research Topics

The HydroTraP group deals with the experimental development, methodical improvement and practical application of tracer and proxy methods in the hydrosphere (groundwater, lakes, and oceans) as well as in climate archives (speleothems, glaciers, and aquifers).

 

Our central tools are stable and radioactive isotopes of the noble gases (3He, 4He, main isotopes of Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe sowie 39Ar, 81Kr, 85Kr, 222Rn). Often we use the noble gases in combination with classical methods of isotope hydrology (2H, 18O, 3H and 14C) or with transient environmental tracers (SF6, CFCs).

Information on many of our current and completed research projects can be found on the pages of DFG (GEPRIS Project Details on W. Aeschbach). Many projects are connected to thte innovative development of Dating by Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA).

Current research projects

 

  • The Arctic Ocean 2020 - Ventilation timescales, anthropogenic carbon and variability in a changing environment
     
  • Novel age determination of alpine glaciers by 39Ar-ATTA (ArTTA-ICE)
     
Sampling at a groundwater well

Completed research projects

Table

Systematic improvement of 39Ar Atom Trap Trace Analysis and its application to derive a millennial paleotemperature record from groundwater
ArTTA-10mL: An instrument for 39Ar-dating of small ice and water samples
Fluid inclusion water isotopes in speleothems using CRDS – understanding carbonate d18O responses
Deep reservoir analysis and characterization of the Earth’s surface (TRACE)
Age determination of water with atom optical single atom detection of 39Ar
Dynamics of reactive and inert gases in soil air and groundwater in the context of noble gases as environmental tracers
Determination of groundwater recharge rates in the North China Plain using environmental tracers and groundwater models
Establishment and exploration of a gas ion source for micro-scale radiocarbon dating of glaciers and groundwater
Age and recharge rate of groundwater reserves in Jordan
Global change and the energy system: Assessing options and their impacts – the physical perspective
Noble gas thermometry on fluid inclusions in speleothems: Optimization and application of a new method for paleoclimate reconstruction
Studying imprints of climatic and environmental change in a regional aquifer system in an arid part of India using noble gases and other environmental tracers
Recharge, timescale of groundwater flow, and geochemical evolution of the groundwater system in the Najd area, Dhofer Governorate, Sultanate of Oman
Advancing the use of noble gases as paleoclimate indicators – project of our EU Marie-Curie fellow Laszlo Palcsu
Determining the water exchange between groundwater and quarry ponds with 222-Radon
Groundwater hydrology of reclamation areas near the south-western Nile Delta, Egypt
Noble gas paleoclimate study in the North China Plain
Groundwater hydrology of the Odenwald region, Germany

Deutsch

Prof. Werner Aeschabch