Groundwater chemistry
Groundwater chemistry provides information on whether an aquifer is contaminated (e.g. by agricultural nitrogen), low in oxygen and therefore unlikely to support certain types of stygofauna, and what resources are available for, or potential products, of microbial metabolic processes.
For this study, groundwater samples were collected to determine chemical parameters alongside biological information. We used these samples to measured the concentration of key elements and compounds, such as:
- Nitrogen compounds (nitrate, nitrite, ammonium)
- Dissolved oxygen
- Sulfate
- Phosphate
- Dissolved organic carbon
- Trace elements
Other parameters, such as pH and temperature, were measured directly using field probes.
