The Project
DeltAs (Evaluating delta-wide changes in geogenic arsenic (As) contamination under anthropogenic pressures) is a 4-year Sinergia project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Summary
Arsenic (As) is a toxic element. Consumption of groundwater with elevated As levels poses serious health risks, affecting 90-220 million people worldwide, with most living in South and Southeast Asia. Arsenic gets into groundwater mainly through natural processes occurring in aquifers. Results from small-scale field studies suggest that human perturbations such as groundwater pumping also influence As distributions in groundwater aquifers. However, there is still a lack of detailed studies documenting these changes over time and it is unknown how pumping affects As distributions over larger scales.
Our project team, including experts from Switzerland as well as Vietnam and the US, integrates knowledge from different research fields to study causes and changes in As contamination patterns over time in the Mekong and Red River Deltas in Vietnam. These areas, where people are affected by As-contaminated groundwaters, are quickly changing due to urban growth and changes in water management and climate. These changes could significantly impact the spread of As.