Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
august 2013
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environment
New USGS report shows public supply well vulnerabilities
The U.S. Geological Survey released the results of a study designed to identify factors that affect the vulnerability of public water supply wells to contamination. More than one-third of the U.S. population gets its drinking water from these wells, and the study was done in response to evidence indicating low concentrations of contaminants in groundwater in many parts of the nation.
The report looks at water wells in ten regions across the U.S., four of which are highlighted in a video overview of the results. The study found that the source of a well’s recharge water, the geochemical conditions encountered by groundwater traveling to a well, and the age of the groundwater accessed by a well are important indicators of a well’s potential for contamination. The study also noted that water in some regions has preferential flow pathways – such as sinkholes in karst systems – which enable it to move quickly from the land surface to a well, decreasing the time available for contaminants to be degraded.
The study was done as part of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program, which provides nationwide information on water quality conditions, how those conditions change over time, and how they are affected by natural processes and human activities.
The full report can be accessed on the USGS website.
New study suggests warming patterns could cause sea level to rise 30-feet
A new study predicts that human-induced climate change may mimic similar conditions not seen for more than 115 thousand years. Published in Nature Geoscience, the new study has found that during the Eemian, a period of warming that preceded the last ice age approximately 127-116 thousand years ago, high temperatures caused sea levels to rise almost 30 feet. Although the exact timing is unclear, climate models now predict that we are on track to experience similar increases if we maintain current warming rates. If correct, this could have serious implications for coastal communities attempting to prepare for and mitigate against the effects of coastal erosion, storm surge, and flooding.
1987 Montreal Protocol helped soften climate change, study says
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was established in 1987 to reduce the production and use of certain compounds that erode sections of the Earth’s stratosphere, making us more vulnerable to radiation. Now, a new study published in the Journal of Climate concludes that the Montreal Protocol did more than just protect us from radiation; it also helped lessen the effects of climate change. The new research put out by scientists at New York University and Columbia University shows that the reduction in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) mandated by the Montreal Protocol also protected the planet from any major disruptions in global rainfall patterns, thereby reducing the effects of global warming and climate change.