Deciphering Naturally Occurring Pb Contamination Impacting Drinking Water Wells: Shaker Village Catchment, Maine

摘要

Trace Pb concentrations in groundwater within glacial deposits across Maine fluctuate considerably. Deciphering the distribution and sources of naturally occurring Pb in groundwater with only the use of conventional anomaly identification techniques presents a challenge. In a representative catchment, a coupled Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) model conditioned by 46 boreholes permits a visualization of a complex of ancient braided stream channels, possibly containing recurrent elevated groundwater Pb over 15 μg L~(-1). Stable Pb isotopes are reported to aid the source definition of dispersed groundwater Pb in the outwash deposits.