Organisation Outline:
The Hydrology & Environmental Geochemistry group addresses groundwater management and protection issues through research on the processes that control
groundwater flow and hydrochemistry. They work closely with the BGS and the Environment Agency, as well as many UK and world-wide consultancies.
The group combines expertise in theory, modelling, experimentation and field study. They undertake research in several fields: Groundwater resources
assessment; Geological factors influencing resource management; Natural chemical processes; Contaminant fate in aquifers; Groundwater-surface water
interactions; Karst system analysis; Fracture flow; Isotope hydrology and groundwater dating; Groundwater flow tracing; Risk assessment and Analytical
and mathematical modelling of groundwater.
Recent projects include development of a practicable method to delineate protection zones for fractured aquifers; formation of the Groundwater Tracing
Unit (GTU); interdisciplinary geomorphological-geochemical approaches to long-term fate of sediment-borne heavy metal pollution and a generic model
that explains worldwide severe arsenic pollution of groundwater (currently under predictive testing).
The Benfield Hazard Research Centre was established in 1997 to provide expert natural hazard risk assessment to the insurance industry. HGHRC is a major
player in the TROPICAL STORM RISK initiative, supported by the Met Office, NERC and the insurance industry.
The Reservoir Characterisation group established the Ainsa Project, funded by a consortium of seven oil companies, aimed at understanding deep-marine
sediment transport and deposition processes. Current research includes Exploration Seismology concentrated on developing techniques to map the lithological
properties and fluid content of hydrocarbon reservoirs.
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