Carbon-13 in groundwater from English and Norwegian crystalline rock aquifers: a tool for deducing the origin of alkalinity?

Bottrell, S., Hipkins, E. V., Lane, J. M., Zegos, R. A., Banks, D. and Frengstad, B. S. (2019) Carbon-13 in groundwater from English and Norwegian crystalline rock aquifers: a tool for deducing the origin of alkalinity? Sustainable Water Resources Management, 5(1), pp. 267-287. (doi: 10.1007/s40899-017-0203-7)

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Abstract

The 13C signature is evaluated for various environmental compartments (vegetation, soils, soil gas, rock and groundwater) for three crystalline rock terrains in England and Norway. The data are used to evaluate the extent to which stable carbon isotopic data can be applied to deduce whether the alkalinity in crystalline bedrock groundwaters has its origin in hydrolysis of carbonate or silicate minerals by CO2. The resolution of this issue has profound implications for the role of weathering of crystalline rocks as a global sink for CO2. In the investigated English terrain (Isles of Scilly), groundwaters are hydrochemically immature and DIC is predominantly in the form of carbonic acid with a soil gas signature. In the Norwegian terrains, the evidence is not conclusive but is consistent with a significant fraction of the groundwater DIC being derived from silicate hydrolysis by CO2. A combined consideration of pH, alkalinity and carbon isotope data, plotted alongside theoretical evolutionary pathways on bivariate diagrams, strongly suggests real evolutionary pathways are likely to be hybrid, potentially involving both open and closed CO2 conditions.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Banks, Mr David
Authors: Bottrell, S., Hipkins, E. V., Lane, J. M., Zegos, R. A., Banks, D., and Frengstad, B. S.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
Journal Name:Sustainable Water Resources Management
Publisher:Springer
ISSN:2363-5037
ISSN (Online):2363-5045
Published Online:02 November 2017
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 The Authors
First Published:First published in Sustainable Water Resources Management 5(1):267-287
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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