Nebraska Network
for Isotopes in
Precipitation

Justin Smith Morrill
Scholars
Program

to the Groundwater Chemistry Laboratory homepage!

Analytical Services:

Our Philosophy

"Every Groundwater Tells a Story"...and here at the Groundwater Chemistry Laboratory we are "listening" to those stories, and using them to help us better understand and manage Nebraska's groundwater resources. Groundwater studies are incomplete until you understand both the physical and chemical dynamics of the system. In groundwater studies, the physical characteristics of the flow system tells you the potential for groundwater to move from one place to another. Chemistry tells you where it went and what it did along the way. This area of research, known as hydrogeochemistry, allows researchers to determine the time and source of recharge, estimate how long the water has been in the aquifer (residence time), identify the mineralogy of the aquifer materials, examine the degree of mixing between waters of various sources and evaluate what types of biological and chemical processes have occurred during the water's journey through the system. This information provides a broad, more regionally extensive understanding of groundwater systems. Furthermore, this improved knowledge can be used to create more comprehensive management and conservation plans, and more equitable groundwater/surface water regulations.

Our Mission

The Groundwater Chemistry Laboratory serves as a research and teaching facility for scientists and students with an interest in hydrogeochemistry. Our researchers believe in a holistic approach to groundwater studies, and we emphasize both the physical and chemical aspects of groundwater in our research and teaching.

               Dionex DX-120 Ion Chromatograph                                                                  Varian Cary 50 dual-beam UV-Visible Spectrometer

Varian 220FS Atomic Absorption Spectrometer equipped  with a SPS-5/SIPS automated sample injection system and a GTA-110, graphite furnace and a VGA-77 vapor generation unit for cation and trace metal analysis.

Analytical Services

The lab is equipped to perform major ion (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, SO₄, HCO₃), minor ion (F, Br, PO₄, NO₃) and trace metal analysis (Fe, Mn, Rb, Cu, etc). Our focus is primarily on processing water samples, but we are involved in several research projects for which we analyze an acid or base matrix.

Location

016 Hardin Hall
3310 Holdredge Street
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0996

Cooperating Facilities

To provide a complete set of services to those interested in using the full spectrum of geochemical tools including stable (¹⁸O, ²H, ¹³C, ³⁴S, and ³⁷Cl), radiogenic (⁸⁷Sr) and radioactive isotopes (³H,¹⁴C, and ³⁷Cl), the Groundwater Chemistry Laboratory has established collaborative relationships with:

Environmental Isotope Laboratory (EIL) at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada

Dr. S. Fritz at Purdue University

Dr. C. Frost at the University of Wyoming
 

Copyright 2008 - F. Edwin Harvey, University of Nebraska - All Rights Reserved