Laboratory's Frontiers in Science Lecture series continues; northern New Mexico groundwater is focus

Contact: Steve Sandoval, steves@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9206 (03-135)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Sept. 25, 2003 -- Los Alamos National Laboratory's Frontiers in Science Public Lecture Series continues on Oct. 2 with a lecture on the groundwater of Northern New Mexico.

The talk will be presented in Los Alamos, Española, Taos, Santa Fe and Albuquerque by Elizabeth Keating of the Laboratory's Hydrology, Geochemistry and Geology Group.

Free and open to the public, each lecture is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The first lecture is at Los Alamos High School's Duane Smith Auditorium. Additional lectures are scheduled for Oct. 9 at the Taos Convention Center, 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.

Keating will discuss the origins of the water we drink and how fast the groundwater resource is being depleted.

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.

"Our research focuses on the Española Basin and uses 3-D mathematical computer models of groundwater flow to interpret these various hydrogeologic data and to suggest possible future scenarios in local ground water basins," said Keating. "This research is one important component of our collective effort to protect this precious resource."

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 Laboratory 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 Los Alamos' Nuclear Physics Group, 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.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, developing technical solutions to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.