TY - JOUR
T1 - Tritium Tracers of Rapid Surface Water Ingression into Arsenic-bearing Aquifers in the Lower Mekong Basin, Cambodia
AU - Richards, Laura
AU - Sültenfuß, Jürgen
AU - Ballentine, Christopher J
AU - Magnone, Daniel
AU - van Dongen, B E
AU - Sovann, Chansopheaktra
AU - Polya, David
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Arsenic (As) contamination of groundwaters in South and Southeast Asia is a major threat to public health in these areas. Understanding the source and age of the groundwaters is critically important to understanding the controls on As mobilization in these aquifers. Using tritium (3H) and noble gas (He and Ne) signatures, model groundwater ages and dominant hydrological controls were identified in a transect oriented broadly parallel to inferred groundwater flowpaths in Kandal Province, Cambodia in the lower Mekong Basin. Apparent 3H-3He ages showed that most groundwaters are modern (< 55 years), indicating relatively fast recharge even in the absence of large-scale groundwater abstraction. The age-depth relationship indicates a strong vertical component of groundwater flow and allows for recharge rates to be estimated. Vertical and horizontal flow velocities are heterogeneous and site-specific. The conceptual framework will be used to better understand As mobilization and subsequent transport with these and similar aquifers.
AB - Arsenic (As) contamination of groundwaters in South and Southeast Asia is a major threat to public health in these areas. Understanding the source and age of the groundwaters is critically important to understanding the controls on As mobilization in these aquifers. Using tritium (3H) and noble gas (He and Ne) signatures, model groundwater ages and dominant hydrological controls were identified in a transect oriented broadly parallel to inferred groundwater flowpaths in Kandal Province, Cambodia in the lower Mekong Basin. Apparent 3H-3He ages showed that most groundwaters are modern (< 55 years), indicating relatively fast recharge even in the absence of large-scale groundwater abstraction. The age-depth relationship indicates a strong vertical component of groundwater flow and allows for recharge rates to be estimated. Vertical and horizontal flow velocities are heterogeneous and site-specific. The conceptual framework will be used to better understand As mobilization and subsequent transport with these and similar aquifers.
U2 - 10.1016/j.proeps.2017.01.055
DO - 10.1016/j.proeps.2017.01.055
M3 - Special issue
SN - 1878-5220
VL - 17
SP - 845
EP - 848
JO - Procedia: Earth and Planetary Science
JF - Procedia: Earth and Planetary Science
ER -