Making Water Tracing Rock Solid: A national, geologic map-based visualization of water strontium isotope data

We aim to create an online map of strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) for water samples analyzed for/by the USGS on top of a national-scale geologic map. Strontium isotope ratios increase with age of underlying rocks, and are used to “map” surface and groundwater water sources. Rock strontium isotope ratios transfer unchanged into waters, and then by eating and drinking, into plants, animals, and people. They are globally applicable, and used by govt. and non-govt. agencies to trace material origins in hydrology, ecology, archaeology, and forensics. Currently, a fraction of the USGS’ published data is in the NWIS database. More is published in reports, maps, and articles of various vintage. We will compile, standardize, and serve the data in spatial relation to underlying geology, enhancing data discovery and predictive power in sourcing studies. Our map/database will become a scalable, updatable, nationwide resource to access existing data for area(s) of interest. This poster was presented at the 2024 July ESIP Meeting in Asheville, NC (July 22-26, 2024).