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Estimation of Groundwater Residence Time Using Radiocarbon and Stable Isotope Ratio in Dissolved Inorganic Carbon and Soil CO2

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2024

Rahul Kumar Agrawal Open the ORCID record for Rahul Kumar Agrawal [Opens in a new window] ,
Ranjan Kumar Mohanty ,
Ajayeta Rathi ,
Shreya Mehta ,
M G Yadava ,
Sanjeev Kumar  and
Amzad H Laskar Open the ORCID record for Amzad H Laskar [Opens in a new window]
Rahul Kumar Agrawal
Affiliation:
Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, India
Ranjan Kumar Mohanty
Affiliation:
Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India
Ajayeta Rathi
Affiliation:
Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, India
Shreya Mehta
Affiliation:
Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, India
M G Yadava
Affiliation:
Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India
Sanjeev Kumar
Affiliation:
Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India
Amzad H Laskar*
Affiliation:
Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India
*
Corresponding author: Amzad H Laskar; Email: amzad@prl.res.in
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Abstract

Estimation of residence time of groundwater, particularly in regions with inadequate surface waters are very important for formulating sustainable groundwater management policies. We developed a technique for extracting dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) quantitatively from water for measuring its 14C contents and presented the analytical details here. We also measured stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) in soil CO2 and groundwater DIC to correct the groundwater 14C ages. In addition, 14C in soil CO2 were measured for making necessary correction in the initial activity of the recharging water. The corrected 14C contents in the groundwater samples were used to estimate their residence times employing Lumped Parameter Models (LPM), a set of mathematical models to account for the processes that take place during transport from the recharge to the sampling spots. We present a case study focused on the calculation of radiocarbon ages and residence times for a groundwater sample collected from the campus of Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The study also includes estimations of groundwater residence times using previously measured 14C ages of groundwater samples from Gujarat, India. Various factors controlling the groundwater ages in the LPM and their applicability are discussed.

Keywords

dissolved inorganic carbongroundwaterlumped parameter modelsradiocarbonresidence time
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 66 , Issue 2 , April 2024 , pp. 249 - 266
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of University of Arizona

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