Noble gases in groundwater

The concentration of dissolved noble gases in groundwater (a spring or a well) can be used to calculate the ambient intake temperature, if the recharge altitude is known or assumed. 

Effects of this nature should be borne in mind when addressing an inconsistency between reconstructed oceanic and continental temperatures, as pointed out by Stute et al. (1995a). The authors reported a temperature decrease of about 5°C during the last glacial maximum, as recorded by noble gases in groundwaters at several locations in temperate countries, whereas the corresponding temperature decrease of the ocean surface was... 

Noble gases in rainwater are in solubility equilibrium with air and, although we know of no investigations addressed to the question, there is no reason to believe any differently for river and lake water. Most work on meteoric water has thus been on groundwater, which is removed from contact with air, especially geothermal water (see review by Mazor, 1975). Matters of interest are the temperature at which the water was last equilibrated with air, whether it has behaved as a closed system since air equilibration, and indeed whether or not it is actually meteoric. 

Although extensive fractionation in the residual groundwater phase can occur in the opposite sense to that of the migrating phase, the absolute concentration of the fractionated noble gases in the water phase is very much reduced. 

Battani et al. (2000) argue that if groundwater is first equilibrated with an oil phase, the concentration of atmosphere-derived noble gases in the water phase will be reduced... 

NOBLE GASES IN ANCIENT GROUNDWATERS AND CRUSTAL DEGASSING... 

Kaufman S, Libby WF (1954) The natural distribution of tritium. Phys Rev 93 1337-1344 Kipfer R, Aeschbach-Hertig W, Peelers F, State M (2002) Noble gases in lakes and groundwaters. Rev Mineral Geochem 47 615-700... 

Klump, S., Kipfer, R., Cirpka, O.A. et al. (2006) Groundwater dynamics and arsenic mobilization in Bangladesh assessed using noble gases and tritium. Environmental Science and Technology, 40(1), 243-50. 

Andrew, J. N. (1991) Noble gases and radioelements in ground water. In Applied Groundwater Hydrology, R. A. Downing W. B. Wilkinson, Eds., pp. 243-65. Oxford Oxford... 

The solubility of the noble gases depends on a third parameter the concentration of dissolved ions in the water. The data in Fig. 13.1 are for salt-free water. Seawater, for example, dissolves 30% less. This effect has only seldom to be regarded in groundwater tracing, since recharge is in most cases relatively fresh. 

The scope of noble gas applications in groundwater studies is much greater than described thus far, but first we have to check the basic assumption that groundwater provides closed system conditions for dissolved atmospheric noble gases. 

Table 13.8 Noble Gases (cc STP/cc water) of Groundwaters in the Triassic Sandstone Aquifer in Eastern England Deduced Intake Temperatures (read from solubility curves, Fig. 13.1), and Radiogenic Hea...

The concentration of the atmospheric noble gases dissolved in groundwaters, coupled with the dating of the respective groundwaters, provides a most valuable method to reconstruct paleotemperatures. The work done so far in this field by various researchers (section 13.8) demonstrates the applicability of the method and thus opens a most promising field of research. The future of this field encompasses several tasks ... 

Mazor, E. (1972) Paleotemperatures and other hydrological parameters deduced from noble gases dissolved in groundwaters Jordan Rift Valley, Israel. Geochim. 

Mazor, E. (1992a) He as a semi-quantitative tool for groundwater dating in the range of 104 to 10s years. In Isotopes of Noble Gases as Tracers in Environmental Studies, IAEA, Vienna, 163-178. 

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