February talk explores the “river’s’ liver”

Yakima Valley College, in collaboration with the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy, will continue its 2023 Winter Talk Series with a presentation exploring the hidden world and work of the ”river’s liver” this February. The series explores current issues related to the Yakima Valley region’s environment and ecosystems and features guest lecturers who are subject matter experts in a variety of disciplines. Admission is free and open to the community.

The River’s Liver – Exploring the Hidden World and Work of the Hyporheic Zone
Presenter: Vanessa Garayburu, earth scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 • 7:00 p.m. • Register for this virtual talk

Rivers are fundamental to global biogeochemical cycles. The area below the river, known as the hyporheic zone, is home to a high diversity of very active microbes that can generate greenhouse gasses and help filter river water by removing contaminants, similar to the role a human’s liver plays. At Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Garayburu-Carusu seeks to understand mechanisms and drivers of hyporheic zone activity across multiple scales with the goal of integrating them into global scale models to predict the behavior of our changing planet.

Garayburu-Caruso is a key contributor in subsurface biogeochemical science and is involved in research associated with carbon chemistry and historical contingencies. She is also the chemistry team lead for the Worldwide Hydrobiogeochemistry Observation Network for Dynamic River Systems. Garayburu-Caruso has extensive experience studying the biogeochemistry of groundwater/surface water interaction zones, particularly using geochemical analytical methods and instrumentation.

For more information contact Suzana Celestine at 509.574.4869 / scelestine@yvcc.edu.

Press Release Contacts:
Dustin Wunderlich / 509.574.6870 / dwunderlich@yvcc.edu
Stefanie Menard / 509.574.4646 / smenard@yvcc.edu