Abstract
Carbon 14 dating of groundwater can be used to help determine the transmissivity distributions of aquifers. This method may offer significant advantages, in certain respects, over traditional aquifer pumping test techniques. We have applied 14C dating to a hydraulic analysis of a multilayer aquifer system in the central San Juan Basin of New Mexico. After corrections for geochemical evolution of the solutes, the influence of dispersive processes on the 14C distribution was investigated. A model incorporating stochastic dispersion theory indicated that macroscopic dispersion exerted only a small influence on the measured 14C activities. The 14C‐derived transmis sivity distribution was used to construct a numerical flow model which was applied to an analysis of interaquifer leakage. The model showed that even though vertical flow between aquifers was significant, in this case it did not cause the 14C distribution to differ significantly from that predicted by a simple piston flow model. Carbon 14 can be used as a basis for detailed hydraulic evaluations of groundwater flow in areas where traditional well hydraulics methods are not practical.
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