Biography
Niamh O'Sullivan is an MSc researcher working within the groundwater research spoke of iCRAG. Niamh graduated with a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of Limerick in 2019 before joining ICRAG in October 2019 under the supervision of Dr John Weatherill, Dr Jean O’Dwyer of UCC and Dr Tiernan Henry at NUI Galway.
Arsenic immediate toxicity to humans in drinking water has made it a major concern worldwide. It is currently a major widespread issue of chronic exposure in areas such as Bangladesh, West Bengal, and India and other parts of Asia, recent investigations in Ireland have indicated that Ireland’s extensive thin and often vulnerable aquifers have Potentially toxic elements levels that habitually exceed the World Health Organisations limit. For Arsenic the current WHO limit is 10ug/l in drinking water.
Technical description
Arsenic presence in water has been linked to a number of geochemical conditions including the source of As, flow paths, redox states and microbial activity. The aim of the project is to develop a monitoring network in a first order stream where EPA testing has indicated a natural elevation of PTEs (AS, Al, U, Zn) in the groundwater, in an area dominated by agriculture activity, specifically livestock grazing. Groundwater modelling (PHREEQC) and 3D UV-via fluorescence spectroscopy (FEEM-PARAFAC) will be used to attempt to identify the environmental risks posed by heavy DOM introduction on PTE transfer from bedrock minerals to stream networks through the Hyporheic zone
Role
- Postgraduate Researcher
Institution
- UCC
Research Area
- Earth System Change
Expertise
- Connected Waters
