Baseline Study of Oxygen 18 and Deuterium in the Roswell, New Mexico, Groundwater Basin

摘要

The isotopic ratios of deuterium and oxygen 18 were measured in precipitation, surface, and ground water samples from the Roswell Artesian ground water basin in south-central New Mexico. The narrow range of D and 180 indicates mixing effects which are ascribed to one or more of the following factors: long ground water flow paths; large temperature fluctuations affecting which overwhelm the influence of elevation on precipitation; two sources of atmospheric moisture; interaquifer leakage; and recharge from intermittent streams with the flow-length expanding and contracting over large distances. It is concluded that a more precise definition of circulation patterns on the basis of stable isotope differences will require a much greater sampling frequency in both space and time.