Aquifers in the arid alluvial basins of the southwestern U.S. are recharged predominantly by infiltration from streams within the basins and by water entering along the margins of the basins from surrounding mountains (mountain -front recharge). The Tucson Basin of Southeastern Arizona is such a basin. The Santa Catalina Mountains form the northern boundary of this basin and receive more than twice as much precipitation (about 70 cm/yr) as the basin does (about 30 cm/yr). In this study environmental isotopes were employed to investigate the migration of precipitation basinward through joints and fractures. Water samples were obtained from springs in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Stable isotopes and thermonuclear bomb-produced tritium enabled qualitative characterizations of flow paths and flow velocities. Stable isotopic measurements fail to display a direct altitude effect. Tritium values indicate that although a few springs discharge pre-bomb water, most springs discharge waters from the 1960's or later.

<div> <p>Despite its location in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada, the Panamint Range within Death Valley National Park, CA hosts a complex aquifer system that supports numerous springs. These springs, in turn, support unique groundwater-dependent ecological communities. Spring emergences range in elevation from 2434 m above sea level (within the mountain block) to 77 m below sea level (in the adjacent basins). Waters were collected from representative Panamint Range springs and analyzed for environmental isotopes and geochemical tracers to address the following questions: 1) What is the primary source of recharge for the springs? How much recharge occurs on the Panamint Range? 2) What groundwater flowpaths and geologic units support springflow generation? and 3) What are the residence times of the springs? The stable isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) of spring water and precipitation indicate that localized high-elevation snowmelt is the dominant source of recharge to these perennial springs, though recharge from rainfall is not wholly insignificant. Geochemical evolution was evaluated using principle component analysis to compare the concentrations of all major spring cations and anions in a multidimensional space and group them according to dominant geochemical signatures. These resulting geochemical groups are controlled primarily by topography. The Noonday Dolomite and other carbonate units in the range are identified as the water-bearing units in the mountain block based on the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of spring waters and rock samples. These units also offer higher hydraulic conductivities than other formations and are chemically similar. Radiocarbon- and ³H derived residence times of these spring waters range from modern to approximately 1840 years, with the shortest residence times at higher altitudes and Hanaupah Canyon and increasing residence times with decreasing altitude. This residence time-altitude relationship is likewise likely topography-driven though there are significant disparities in mountain block storage between the various canyons of the range resulting in variable residence times between drainages. Lower Warm Springs A and B, however, are the exceptions to this trend as they emerge at lower altitudes (750m above sea level) and are likely driven by the transport of groundwater to the surface along faults which increases both the temperature and groundwater residence times of waters from these springs. Benthic macroinvertebrates and benthic and planktonic microbes were also sampled for each spring studied. BMI and microbial community structure in the Panamint Range is likewise topography-controlled with more tolerant communities at lower elevations (within more chemically evolved waters) and less tolerant species in the unevolved waters at higher elevations.</p></div>

科学研究費補助金 研究種目:基盤研究(A)(2) 課題番号:07558177 研究代表者:菅井 秀郎 研究期間:1995-1997年度

Groundwater chemistry on the Niagara Peninsula has been identified as highly mineralized in comparison to groundwaters collected from the same bedrock formations elsewhere in southern Ontario. Three geochemical zones were discerned using hierarchical cluster analysis and other geochemical and isotopic methods. The Escarpment Zone, located along the Niagara and Onondaga Escarpments, is characterized by unconfined aquifer conditions, parameters reflective of surficial contaminants, including road salt, and elevated HCO3, DOC, NO3-, coliform bacteria and tritium. In contrast, in the Salina Zone thick, low-permeability sediments and gypsiferous bedrock results in highly mineralized groundwaters with Ca-SO4 geochemical facies and elevated S2-, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, SO42-, Cl-, Br-, Sr2+, NH4+ and CH4. The Guelph Zone contains the lowest electrical conductivity of the three zones and elevated F-. Outliers exist with groundwater geochemistry that differs from the local geochemical zone and the host aquifer. These sites have elevated SO42- (>1000 to 5200 mg/L) with depleted δ34SSO4 (-2.2 to 14.3‰ VCDT) signatures that differs starkly from Devonian and Silurian evaporites (~20 to 32 ‰) in the host formations. This exogenic SO4 was identified in a cross-formational northeast – southwest linear trend crossing three major groundwater flow systems. The lack of down-stream impact in these systems and tritium groundwater ages that are typically only decades old indicate a young, non-geological origin and implicate anthropogenic activities. Additionally, nine samples were identified with elevated methane concentrations and δ13CCH4 signatures within the thermogenic range. As thermogenic methane is not produced within shallow aquifers and would be short-lived in the presence of the ubiquitous sulfate, these samples imply recent upward migration of methane from depth through vertical conduits. Taken together, the evidence supports large-scale upward movement of fluids in the centre of the Niagara geochemical anomaly and more sporadic upward transport of gases over a wider area of the peninsula. The most likely vector is through corroded and leaking casings or boreholes of abandoned (century) gas wells that are common across the peninsula. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)