Tunisia has numerous thermo-mineral springs. Previous studies have shown that their chemical composition and occurrence are strongly influenced by the regional geology. However little work has been done so far to study the isotopic composition of volatiles associated with these geothermal manifestations. Here, we report on the results of an extensive survey of both natural hot springs and production wells across Tunisia, aimed at investigating the spatial distribution of thermal fluids' geochemical characteristics and He-C isotopic composition. The chemistry of the analyzed samples highlights the heterogeneity of the water mineralization processes in Tunisia, as a consequence of the complex geological and tectonic setting of the country. In terms of chemical composition, we are able to conclude, however, that dissolution of halite and gypsum plays a key control on groundwater chemistry. Helium and carbon isotope systematics confirm the prevalently crustal origin of the volatiles interacting with the aquifer systems, consistent with the absence of any recent magmatism. Most samples are characterized by crustal-type helium ( He ratio reaches 2.4 Ra (corresponding to 30% of mantle-derived helium) at the Ain Garci site, a CO 2 rich mineral spring located some 30 km south of the city of Zaghouan. This mantle signature is consistent with the fact that the Pelagian Block, to which Eastern Tunisia belongs, has been deeply affected by extensional and transtensional tectonics since the opening of the Tethys, a process which is still ongoing in the Sicily channel (Pantelleria Rift). As a whole however, our results show that the Italian mantle gas anomaly only marginally extends to Northwestern Africa.
International audienceBottled waters are increasingly popular in Tunisia. Most of them come from groundwaters, thus raising the question of the long-term availability of the mineral groundwater resources. Water collected from production springs or wells of eleven mineral waters of Tunisia among the main commercial brands were analyzed for tritium (3H), helium-3, SF6, CFCs and carbon-14. Tracer-tracer plots indicate that all of the groundwaters of our data set are a mixture of modern rainwater with older groundwater flow waters that are beyond the time-scale of the transient tracers. 14C data suggest that the age of these old waters, which constitute the main water reservoir, is of the order of radiocarbon half-life or more. Most of the studied sites have groundwater renewal times in the range 50–150 years. For the sites where tracer concentrations are the most diluted by old waters, this value logically increase to several centuries
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