Locating the subsurface heterogeneities using the 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratio and the trace elements, Dalhousie, South Australia
Date
2008
Authors
Abu Risha, U.A.
Clark, I.F.
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Conference paper
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IAHR International Groundwater Symposium. Flow and Transport in Heterogeneous Subsurface Formations: Theory, Modelling & Applications, 2008, pp.471-478
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IAHR International Groundwater Symposium. Flow and Transport in Heterogeneous Subsurface Formations: Theory, Modelling & Applications (18 Jun 2008 - 20 Jun 2008 : Istanbul, Turkey)
Abstract
Locating the subsurface heterogeneities is important for studying groundwater flow and evolution. In many cases, the traditional hydrochemical techniques have failed to identify such heterogeneities. This study presents a useful tool to locate them using the groundwater 87Sr/86Sr ratios and trace elements. These tracers enabled, for the first time, the discrimination between two groundwater masses in the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) main aquifer in Dalhousie, South Australia. The first mass exists in the uplifted shallow part of the aquifer in the Dalhousie Anticline. It has radiogenic (high) 87Sr/86Srratios (0.7151262 to 0.7184) and contains a set of the light rare earth elements (LREE). The second mass exists in the deeper part of the aquifer and has low87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7093 to 0.7097). None of the LREE was detected in this mass. These differences between the two water masses reflect the heterogeneous nature of the aquifer rocks. Mixing between the two masses is evident through the linear relationships between the 87Sr/86Sr ratios and theconcentration of Cl, Sr, and other trace elements.
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Copyright 2008 The Authors