Abstract
Using the Severnaya Dvina Basin as an example, it is shown that information on the distribution of natural U isotopes in aquifers can be applied for practical estimation of the duration of interaction between groundwater and host rocks (age of groundwater). The proposed calculation method includes preliminary determination of the generalized calculated parameter (probability of the transfer of 234U excess to water) based on geological benchmarks, hydrodynamic calculations, and paleohydrogeological reconstructions. It is assumed that this probability is constant for aquifers composed of homogeneous rocks with certain lithological composition and oxidizing conditions for U. The obtained correlations are valid for a model, where water entering the aquifer lacks U. If it contains such U, the “transport” time, which is equivalent to the timing of respective concentrations and isotopic ratios in the aquifer unit, is determined and estimates of the “water-rock” interaction in the aquifer unit are corrected.
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Original Russian Text © A.I. Malov, 2013, published in Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, 2013, No. 3, pp. 274–285.
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Malov, A.I. Application of geological benchmarks for determining groundwater residence time in the aquifer based on uranium isotope data: Evidence from the Severnaya Dvina Basin. Lithol Miner Resour 48, 254–265 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S002449021303005X
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S002449021303005X