Keynote, Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Climate Action (SDG 13)
Water resources and nutrient contamination in Jamaica’s freshwaters: application of environmental tracers Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith Department of Chemistry, The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica Global water resources have been under severe stress due to various factors including poor management, pollution and changes in rainfall patterns due to climate variability. The small islands of the Caribbean, such as Jamaica, have not been spared as prolonged periods of drought, extreme weather events and increased urbanisation have led to water shortages and impaired water quality. Sustainable management of these natural water resources requires an understanding of the dynamics of their physical behaviour and their chemical constituents. Environmental tracers have proven to be very effective tools for studying the transport and mixing of surface and subsurface water on regional and global scales. This talk will examine the use of stable and radioactive isotopes ( 2 H-H 2 O, 18 O-H 2 O, 3 H-H 2 O, 15 N-NO 3 ¯, 18 O- NO 3 ¯) as tracers in the investigation of surface and groundwater sources in three important watersheds in Jamaica: Kingston, Rio Cobre and Milk River. Land use in these watersheds is highly diversified, including residential communities (rural and urban), agriculture, mining and industrialised areas. In addition to decreasing freshwater availability due to prolonged droughts and increasing urbanisation, the freshwaters are prone to contamination. Thus, these isotope studies are combined with conventional hydrochemical analyses for major ions to examine pollutant contribution from the various sources. The analytical techniques used, the sources, pathways and fate of contaminants, and the implications of these findings for the sustainable management of Jamaica’s water resources will be discussed.
© The Author(s), 2023
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