Carbon-14, Tritium, Stable Isotope and Chemical Measurements on Thermal Waters from the Tauranga Region

摘要

The chemical compositions of groundwater from the Tauranga region are affected to varying degrees by reducing conditions due to buried organic matter. The levels of some dissolved constituents are also affected by mixing with sea water contained within the rocks and by rock-water interaction. Dissolved gas compositions range from oxygen-bearing to methane-bearing reflecting the varying redox conditions. Excess air may be present but further experiments are necessary to confirm this. Apparent ages deduced from carbon-14 measurements (corrected using 12C dilution and 13C fractionation methods) range from 2-25,000 years, suggesting that some of the waters were recharged during late Pleistocene or early Holocene time. delta D and delta 18 O values of the oldest waters are slightly more negative than those of younger samples; this may indicate recharge during a cooler climate, in agreement with the 14C ages. Very low but significantly non-zero tritium contents (TR=(0.007-0.059) +- 0.007) were measured using the high tritium-enrichment facilities at INS and the very low-background counters at the University of Bern. The tritium is thought to derive from contamination or nuclear reactions in the aquifer rocks rather than from recharge water. (Atomindex citation 17:024166)