The groundwater velocity can be determined by measuring the time spent by water to reach the system as recharge/discharge water – tool may the measurement of a chemical component that found in the water. The analysis of stable isotopes (δ2H and δ18O) may have significant role in the evaluation of groundwater velocity. Can somebody explain in detail?
maybe book " isotopes in palaeoenvironmental research volume10 edited by Melanie J.Leng" useful for you
Isotopes can be used to determine the "mean residence time" or ‘age’ of water in a catchment is the average time water spends in the subsurface system before it reaches a designated point along its flowpath. Stable isotopes (like 2H and 18O) as well as radioactive isotopes (tritium, krypton-85) can be used for the determination of the mean residence time. For the tritium dating is used an input peak (bomb tritium transported with the precipitation into the groundwater, bomb tests started in the 1950s and ended 1963) to determine the marked precipitation in the aquifer. The tritium method is based on the comparison of the input value from precipitation and the value in the groundwater. Practically groundwater can be "dated" with tritium which was formed in the last 55 years. The principle of the stable isotope dating (like 2H, 18O) is generally comparable in terms of an input value from the precipitation which is correlated with the respective marking in the groundwater. Practically it is more complicated, because with 2H an 18O are "dated" the young and fast components based on the measurement of the phase shift. That means in practice that the sampling must be very tightly in order to "catch" the respective peak of the precipitation in the groundwater. Usually 2H an 18O are used for the "dating" of water components which have a mean residence time of months. Regarding 2H there is also another approach for the determination of the groundwater flow: as 2H is an ideal tracer, it can be used as artificial tracer in tracer tests in catchments. I attached some documents and material for further explanation, including the material of Hydroisotop where I worked a while.
Dear Dr. Petra Schneider - You have provided very good information on the application of isotopes in groundwater studies. I will go through the attachments in detail. Many thanks to you - Regards
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