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Title: Field Degassing as a New Sampling Method for 14C Analyses in Old Groundwater

Journal Article · · Radiocarbon
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2017.64· OSTI ID:1405323
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [1];  [5]
  1. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States)
  2. Univ. of Bern, Bern (Switzerland)
  3. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States)
  4. Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem (Israel); Ben Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Sede Boqer (Israel)
  5. Ben Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Sede Boqer (Israel)
  6. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Anhui (China)
  7. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Anhui (China)
  8. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Radiocarbon (14C) activity in groundwater can be used to determine subsurface residence time up to ~40 kyr, providing crucial information on dynamic properties of groundwater and on paleoclimate. However, commonly applied sampling methods for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC-14C) are prone to low level of modern atmospheric contamination, resulting in underestimation of groundwater ages that cluster around 30–40 kyr. We extract CO2 gas from groundwater using a device originally developed for studies of noble gas radionuclides. Carbon is collected in the gas phase, eliminating the possibility of fostering microbial activities and aqueous chemical reactions during sample storage. This method collects CO2-14C and radiokrypton (81Kr and85Kr) samples simultaneously. The presence of any shorter-lived 85Kr is used to evaluate the degree of atmospheric contamination during sampling or mixing of young groundwater. Most groundwater samples showed lower CO2-14C activities than those of DIC-14C, presumably due to the absence of atmospheric contamination. Samples with 81Kr age exceeding 150 kyr have no detectable CO2-14C except where mixing sources of young groundwater is suspected. Furthermore these field data serve as confirmations for the reliability of the newly presented sample collection and CO2-14C method, and for the outstanding roles of radiokrypton isotopes in characterizing old groundwater.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP); National Science Foundation (NSF); United States - Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1405323
Journal Information:
Radiocarbon, Vol. 2017; ISSN 0033-8222
Publisher:
Cambridge University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 10 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

14 C‐Free Carbon Is a Major Contributor to Cellular Biomass in Geochemically Distinct Groundwater of Shallow Sedimentary Bedrock Aquifers journal March 2019
Radiokrypton unveils dual moisture sources of a deep desert aquifer journal July 2019
Radiokrypton unveils dual moisture sources of a deep desert aquifer text January 2019

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