Environmental isotope tracking of hydrological processes in the Pampa Plain of Argentina

In November 2004, the Isotope Hydrology Section of the IAEA in Vienna organized the first Research Coordination Meeting of the Coordinated Research Project on Isotopic Age and Composition of Streamflow as Indicators of Groundwater Sustainability, aiming at the use of isotopes for tracing the amount, pathways and age of the subsurface contribution of groundwater to rivers. Among the 16 research teams worldwide participating in this project from 2004 until 2010 is the Grupo de Hidrogeologia del Centro de Geologia de Costas y del Cuarternario de la Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, working together with the isotope laboratory of the Instituto Nacional de Geocronologia y Geologia Isotopica in Buenos Aires on the hydrology and hydrogeology of the Quequen Grande basin in the Pampa plain of Argentina. This article briefly describes our experience after two years and highlights the positive impact of the Agency's support on the water knowledge and management in the Quequen Grande basin