GDAT – Rennes, 15-19 October 2012
The 2012 GDAT meeting dedicated to groundwater dating was held in Rennes from the 15 to 19 October 2012. The conference was a great success with the participation of nearly 60 researchers, engineers and PhD students from more than 25 research laboratories and 12 countries.
Conferences have explored the use of new compounds such as SF6 and CFC as a tool in the dating of recent groundwater, including in highly complex systems such as fractured aquifers or karst.
The results of the first intercomparison of dating methods conducted in February confirm the accuracy and robustness of the overall use of environmental tracers for groundwater dating.
During the common day with the H + network (Environmental Research Observatory) many questions about the meaning of “water age” in complex hydrogeological systems and their use in hydrogeological models have been discussed.
The last two days of the conference were devoted to an intercomparison exercise of datings methods on the Betton site with 23 participants representing nearly 20 international laboratories. This common sampling was also an opportunity for some laboratories to test new sampling and analytical material.
