Isotopes in Water and Environmental Management

What Are Isotopes and What Can Be Learned From Them?

Collecting water samples for isotope measurements from a well in Morocco.

Sampling soil from different depths in Senegal using a simple hand auger. From the soil sample, moisture can be extracted and measured for the stable isotope and tritium contents.

In exploiting geothermal energy resources, isotope techniques help to define the regions of high heat flow and the origins of fluids. Deep wells drilled to depths up to 3 km tap the reservoir to extract the steam and transport it to the power plant.

	Collecting water samples for isotope measurements from a well in Morocco.
	Sampling soil from different depths in Senegal using a simple hand auger. From the soil sample, moisture can be extracted and measured for the stable isotope and tritium contents.
	In exploiting geothermal energy resources, isotope techniques help to define the regions of high heat flow and the origins of fluids. Deep wells drilled to depths up to 3 km tap the reservoir to extract the steam and transport it to the power plant.