Oxygen-isotope composition of ground water and secondary minerals in Columbia Plateau basalts: Implications for the paleohydrology of the Pasco Basin

Journal Article · Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1989 · Geology; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0606:OICOGW>2.3.CO;2· OSTI ID:7159127

Hearn, Jr, P P; Evans, J R ^[1]; Steinkampf, W C ^[2]; Horton, D G ^[3]; Solomon, G C ^[4]; White, L D ^[5]

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1. Geological Survey, Reston, VA (USA)
2. Geological Survey, Denver, CO (USA)
3. Westinghouse Hanford Operations, Richland, WA (USA)
4. Converse Environmental, Pasadena, CA (USA)
5. Geological Survey, Menlo Park CA (USA)

Concentrations of {sup 18}O and deuterium in ground waters beneath the Handford Reservation, Washington State, suggest that the meteoric waters recharging the basalt aquifers have been progressively depleted in these isotopes since at least Pleistocene time. This conclusion is supported by oxygen-isotope analyses of low-temperature secondary minerals filing vugs and fractures in the basalts, which are used to approximate the {sup 18}O content of ground water at the time the mineral assemblage formed. A fossil profile of {delta}{sup 18}O values projected for ground water in a 1500 m vertical section beneath the reservation suggest that the vertical mixing of shallow and deep ground water indicated by present-day hydrochemical data was also occurring during Neogene time. These data also suggest that a unidirectional depletion of {sup 18}O and deuterium recorded in Pleistocene ground waters may have extended considerably further back in time. This shift is tentatively attributed to the orographic depletion of {sup 18}O associated with the progressive uplift of the Cascade Range since the middle Miocene.

• OSTI ID: 7159127
• Journal Information: Geology; (USA), Vol. 17:7; ISSN 0091-7613
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
58 GEOSCIENCES
GROUND WATER
ISOTOPE RATIO
HANFORD RESERVATION
AQUIFERS
BASALT
CASCADE MOUNTAINS
DEPTH
DEUTERIUM
FOSSILS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
HYDROLOGY
METEORIC WATER
MINERALOGY
OROGENESIS
OXYGEN 18
PLEISTOCENE EPOCH
RECHARGE
CENOZOIC ERA
DIMENSIONS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
IGNEOUS ROCKS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MOUNTAINS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN ISOTOPES
QUATERNARY PERIOD
ROCKS
STABLE ISOTOPES
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VOLCANIC ROCKS
WATER
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