MEGHÍVÓ

Május 8. – Radioactivity of rocks + groundwater = natural radioactivity of groundwater

Erőss Anita, az ELTE TTK Általános és Alkalmazott Földtani Tanszék tudományos munkatársának angol nyelvű előadása a Litoszféra Fluidum Kutató Laboratórium szervezésében.

Időpont: 2023.05.08. 17:00 - 18:00

Helyszín: ELTE TTK Lágymányosi Campus, Déli Tömb (1117 Budapest, Pázmány P. stny. 1/C) Sztrókay terem (00-708), továbbá Zoom közvetítés

A részvétel ingyenes, de regisztrációhoz kötött

Regisztráció (személyes és online részvétel esetén is): https://forms.gle/m66c1qgR5TDzebu66

Abstract: Groundwater quality continuously evolves through rock-water interactions along the flow path as moving groundwater interacts with its environment. The natural geological and geochemical environment, in addition to providing beneficial mineral content and bioessential elements to groundwater, may also give rise to undesirable or toxic properties through an excess of various elements. Groundwater may also contain different natural radioactive isotopes, from non-detectable levels to concentrations of concern for human health. Despite its impact on human health, there is a data bias in many regions worldwide regarding the presence of natural radioisotopes in groundwater. In response to global changes the growing use of groundwater resources for drinking purposes and in the food industry calls for careful evaluation of this aspect.

Following the Council Directive 2013/51/EURATOM, which lays down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption, a nationwide overview became available recently based on the screening of waterworks in the last years. The applied gross measurements, however, do not provide information about which radioisotope causes the occasionally measured elevated value. If there are further nuclide-specific measurements, the origin of the identified radionuclides still remains unclear, which is a considerable difficulty in finding the appropriate risk management method.

Within the József and Erzsébet Tóth Endowed Hydrogeology Chair, the small research group led by Anita is focusing on the natural uranium, radium and radon content of groundwater. They use these radionuclides as natural tracers of groundwater flow systems and vice versa, the Tóthian hydraulic approach to explain the occurrence of radionuclides, e.g. in drinking water supply systems. They run a laboratory where they use an innovative measurement technique based on Nucfilm discs, which is only available at ELTE in Hungary. In her presentation, several case studies will illustrate the scientific and practical relevance of this research direction.

About the lecturer: Anita Erőss, senior researcher at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), graduated in 2001 in geology. During her PhD studies she spent several years abroad and acquired knowledge mainly in groundwater geochemistry and karst hydrogeology. She received her PhD degree in 2010 in hydrogeology. After her PhD degree, she started to work as a research assistant in multidisciplinary research projects at ELTE. She started her own research projects in 2013 in the frame of postdoctoral scholarships of the National Excellence Programme and a post-doc grant from the National Research and Innovation Fund. She received numerous awards for her research work: in 2011 she won the Young Karst Researcher Prize of the Karst Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeologists; in 2015 she received the “Promising Researcher of the Eötvös Loránd University” Prize. In 2022 she received the János Bolyai research scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Besides the supervision of BSc and MSc theses, she also mentored student research works (TDK) and research programs within the frame of the New National Excellence Programme. Since 2010 she has been the leader of the Student Research Council of Geology Students, and since 2012, she is one of the leaders of the Geoscience Seminar Group of the Bolyai College of ELTE. Together with her PhD students, Katalin Hegedűs-Csondor (already received her degree in 2021) and Petra Baják (4th year PhD student), involving also MSc students, they expanded the Tóthian basin hydraulics by using it in the natural radioactivity research field and established a novel research direction within this.

About the organizer: Since the formation of the Lithosphere Fluid Research Laboratory (LRG) in 1998, the group led by Csaba Szabó published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications, 25 PhD theses and more than 50 TDK and OTDK winning student theses. In their scientific work, the students of the LRG cover broad areas of geochemistry of the lithosphere and its fluids, such as fluid and melt inclusions in various geological environments, petrology of the lower crust and the upper mantle, geological storage of CO2 and H2, the source and fate of radon, or environmental and urban geochemistry of former industrial centers. The LRG initiated this seminar series in 2019, to invite former student of the laboratory (who are now accomplished scientists) to present their research to the next generation of geochemists.

To participate (in person or online) please register on the following link:

https://forms.gle/m66c1qgR5TDzebu66