Relation of carbon 14 concentrations to saline water contamination of coastal aquifers

Abstract

Naturally occurring stable or radioactive isotopes may be used in some places to identify the origin of saline water that contaminates some coastal aquifers. In a recent study to determine the origin of saline water in the Ocala Limestone aquifer near Brunswick, Georgia, the following sources were analyzed for C14 and deuterium concentrations: potable water from the Ocala Limestone, contaminated water from the Ocala Limestone, saune water from the underlying Claiborne Group, and nearby ocean water. The chloride concentration of the groundwater ranges from about 25 ppm in the potable water to more than 2000 ppm in the deeper part of the Claiborne Group. From an interpretation of piezometric maps and other hydrologic data, previous investigators had concluded that the source of the contaminating water was the Claiborne Group and not the nearby ocean. The essentially uniform range of low values of −965 to −987‰ of the modern standard (National Bureau Standard C14 oxalic acid) for the C14 activity of the groundwater samples (regardless of the degree of contamination) is in agreement with this conclusion. If recent ocean water, which had a C14 value of +285‰, were the source of contamination, the contaminated water would have had a C14 activity higher than the activity of the fresh water. Deuterium analyses are not inconsistent with the interpretation that water from the Claiborne Group, rather than recent ocean water, is the source of the contaminating water. The concurrence of the hydrologic and the isotopic data in this area where the hydrology is well known suggests that isotopic analysis may be used to identify the origin of water in different portions of a hydrologic environment.