Abstract
Laboratory and field experiments were conducted with helium as a ground-water tracer. Techniques were developed for the addition and extraction of helium from water. A mass spectrometer and a pressure-volume apparatus were used for helium measurements at concentrations in water ranging from 1.5 to 5.5×10−4 milligrams per liter. In the field investigation, flow was traced through a confined aquifer for a distance of 188 feet. Both laboratory and field experiments showed that helium traveled at a slightly lower velocity than chloride. The advantages of helium as a ground-water tracer are its safety, low cost, relative ease of analysis, low concentrations required, and chemical inertness. The disadvantages include the relatively large errors in analysis, difficulties of maintaining a constant recharge rate, time required to develop equilibrium conditions in unconfmed aquifers, and possible loss to the atmosphere in unconfined aquifers.
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