bNovate’s BactoSense analysers are giving scientists live insight into Mount Fuji’s vast volcanic aquifer, helping secure safe drinking water and industrial supply in one of Japan’s most seismic regions.
Annually, 2.2 billion tons of rain and snowfall seep through the multi-layered lava gaps of this emblematic stratovolcano to become clean springs and well water.
A team led by Prof. Dr Oliver Schilling (an Assistant Professor of Hydrogeology at the University of Basel), has been combining advanced tracer science with sophisticated mathematical models to understand the complex hydrogeology of the volcanic groundwater system. Changes in the microbial composition of the drinking water well are now continuously monitored with BactoSense.
For the great many people who rely on the source of Mount Fuji’s water, including numerous industries, Prof. Schilling (together with Dr. Stephanie Musy, Dr. Yama Tomonaga & PhD student Friederike Currle) is working hard to understand the evolution and behaviour of the aquifer in the region to ensure its safeguarding.
Co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, BactoSense is helping provide key answers.
Pivotal technology to guarantee the safety of drinking water
Prof. Schilling explains:
“The water quality issues at Mount Fuji are not as much a question of hygiene, but of agricultural and industrial pollution, and the steadily declining water levels in certain areas within the catchment,” he said.
“Nonetheless, due to the intense seismic activity in the region and the increased frequency of torrential rainfall events, monitoring of the microbial load with BactoSense’s online flow cytometry will undoubtedly become a pivotal technology to guarantee the safety of drinking water in the Fuji catchment.”
In the team’s first study, they searched for patterns that could demonstrate whether there was a significant contribution of:
- Groundwater from more than 100-metre-depth.
- Confined aquifer to the shallow.
- Unconfined groundwater and springs at the southwestern foot of Mount Fuji.
For this, they combined several different tracer techniques, namely the analysis of helium isotopes (to identify deep water enriched with mantle gases), vanadium (to identify deep water with its long and deep flow path), and microbial eDNA (Extracellular DNA) to identify extremophile microbes adapted to life at considerable depths/pressures.
With these measurements, they could identify springs and shallow wells that received substantial deep groundwater inflow. Some of the wells most affected by deep groundwater were the larger wells used for drinking water.
Continuous microbial monitoring
Prof. Schilling continued:
“As this is one of Japan’s most active seismic regions, we expect seasonal variations in deep groundwater upwelling and changes associated with seismic events such as earthquakes. For this purpose, we employ online flow cytometry alongside online dissolved (noble) gas measurements.
“We continuously monitor the changes in the microbial composition in the drinking water well with BactoSense. We also conduct repeated spatial measurement campaigns where we sample different springs and wells for many hydrological tracers, including microbial eDNA. The eDNA samples are then analysed on BactoSense via next-generation sequencing to match the flow cytometry fingerprints to metagenomic/phylogenetic information.”
Resilient drinking water management
Prof. Schilling added:
“So far, we have had a great experience with BactoSense. It is robust and transportable. With BactoSense’s continuous microbial monitoring, the team can detect deep groundwater pulses after earthquakes.
“We particularly like the ability to control the instrument remotely. It was set up in the drinking water well house within one day of work and has been running smoothly ever since. It is a good model for other volcanic islands and coastal volcanic regions. Such systems are still seldom studied in hydrogeological terms. Our findings will help to develop monitoring techniques and protocols critical for sustainable and resilient drinking water management in volcanic areas. The project shows how real-time microbial insight can protect critical water sources in complex geology worldwide.”
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