Stable-isotope studies of groundwaters in southeastern New Mexico
Oxygen-18/16 and deuterium/hydrogen ratio measurements have been made on groundwaters sampled according to specific field criteria applied during pump tests of the Rustler Formation (the uppermost Permian evaporite unit) in Nash Draw, a solution-subsidence valley west of the WIPP site in the northern Delaware Basin of southeastern New Mexico. Comparison of these data with similar measurements on other groundwaters from the northern Delaware Basin indicates two nonoverlapping populations of meteoric groundwaters in delta-0-18/delta-D space. Most of the Rustler waters in Nash Draw and at the WIPP site and older waters from the eastern two-thirds of the Capitan Limestone constitute one population, while unconfined groundwaters originating as observable modern surface recharge to alluvium, the near-surface Rustler in southwestern Nash Draw, and the Capitan in the Guadalupe Mountains (Carlsbad Caverns) constitute the other. The isotopic distinction suggests that Rustler groundwater in most of Nash Draw and at the WIPP site is not receiving significant modern meteoric recharge. A likely explanation for this distinction is that meteoric recharge to most of the Rustler and Capitan took place in the geologic past under climate conditions significantly different from the present. 25 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 6524459
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-85-1978C; CONF-8503189-1; ON: DE86002590
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Conference on the rustler formation, Carlsbad, NM, USA, 7 Mar 1985
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Fossil meteoric groundwaters in the Delaware Basin of southeastern New Mexico
Fossil meteoric groundwaters in the Delaware Basin of southeastern New Mexico
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