Isotopically‐depleted late Pleistocene groundwater in Columbia River Basalt aquifers: Evidence for recharge of glacial Lake Missoula floodwaters?

Brown, Kyle; McIntosh, Jennifer C.; Baker, Victor R.; Gosch, Damian

doi:10.1029/2010gl044992

Cited by 16 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Groundwater δ 2 H and δ 18 O results for the two samples are nearly identical. The low δ 18 O values for the groundwater samples from the B-Complex also fall within ranges for other isotopically-depleted Columbia River Basalt Aquifer groundwaters (Brown et al 2010). For comparison, isotope data for perched water samples and sediment pore water samples are also shown in Figure 2.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 58%

Letter Report: Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Analysis of B-Complex Groundwater Samples

Lee

Moran

Nims

et al. 2018

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 58%

Letter Report: Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Analysis of B-Complex Groundwater Samples

Lee

Moran

Nims

et al. 2018

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“…Aquifer charging during the Missoula outburst fl ood is recorded by depleted δ 18 O in deep groundwater within the Columbia River Basalt (Brown et al, 2010). Charging of the aquifer is thought to have occurred during ponding of ~1.2 × 10 12 m 3 of water in the Pasco Basin, behind the water gap near Wallula, Washington.…”

Section: Geologic Setting Of the Snake River Plainmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most features are eroded into the <609-k.y.-old vent 5371 lava fl ow (Skipp and Kuntz, 2009). Peak discharge estimates range from ~60,000 to ~30,000 m 3 /s, based on step back-water modeling and critical shear stress calculations respectively (Bartholomay et al, 1997a;Brown et al, 2010). After entering the Snake River Plain from the north, the Big Lost River terminates in a basaltic basin currently managed as a settling zone for fl oodwaters by the Idaho National Laboratory (Bennett, 1990).…”

Section: Big Lost River Floodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of outburst floods with basaltic aquifers on the Snake River Plain: Implications for Martian canyons

Amidon¹,

Clark²

2014

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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Idaho's Snake River Plain is underlain by a young sequence of basaltic lava fl ows that house one of the most conductive aquifers in the world and have been sculpted by at least three megafl oods in the last ~100 k.y. The timing and routing of these fl oods, and their interaction with the underlying aquifer, have taken on renewed signifi cance because they have carved amphitheater-headed dry canyons analogous to those found on Mars. In this study, we use cosmogenic 3 He and 21 Ne dating of fl ood-deposited boulders to show that the Big Lost River and Bonne ville fl oods were closely spaced in time at ca. 22.3 and ca. 17.5 ka, respectively. Most of the dry canyons record signifi cant erosion during the Big Lost River fl ood, despite its much smaller magnitude than the later Bonne ville fl ood. We explain this puzzling observation by proposing a composite erosion model in which erosion during the Big Lost River fl ood was partially accomplished by routing of fl oodwaters through the Snake River Plain aquifer. Topographic analysis shows that Big Lost River fl oodwaters ponded in the Terreton Basin, infi ltrated into the aquifer, and likely emerged as return fl ow in watersheds upstream of the dry canyons. We propose that sustained and focused erosion associated with return fl ow over months to years could explain the unique morphology of some dry canyons. Such a model also explains why most dry canyons are coincident with springs and surface watersheds, and it may provide a model for the way in which morphologically similar canyons evolved on Mars.

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“…Boron isotope ratios (δ 11 B) are useful in distinguishing urban salinity sources due to its high concentration in municipal wastewater and characteristic isotope ratios (e.g., Chetelat and Gaillardet, 2005). Strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) have been shown to be effective in distinguishing water-rock interaction from various types of sedimentary and crystalline rocks (e.g., Brown et al, 2010). Despite that there may be overlapping signatures of single isotope tracer of U, B, and Sr for different salinity sources, our study aims at demonstrating that a multipleisotope (U, B, and Sr) approach is a powerful tool in tracing and quantifying salinity inputs in arid rivers such as groundwater upwelling/pumping, agriculture, and urban activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Uranium, Boron, and Strontium Isotope Ratios (234U/238U, δ11B, 87Sr/86Sr) to Trace and Quantify Salinity Contributions to Rio Grande River in Southwestern United States

et al. 2021

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In semi-arid to arid regions, both anthropogenic sources (urban and agriculture) and deeper Critical Zone (groundwater with long flow paths and water residence times) may play an important role in controlling chemical exports to rivers. Here, we combined two anthropogenic isotope tracers: uranium isotope ratios (234U/238U) and boron isotope ratios (δ11B), with the 87Sr/86Sr ratios to identify and quantify multiple solute (salinity) sources in the Rio Grande river in southern New Mexico and western Texas. The Rio Grande river is a major source of freshwater for irrigation and municipal uses in southwestern United States. There has been a large disagreement about the dominant salinity sources to the Rio Grande and particularly significant sources are of anthropogenic (agriculture practices and shallow groundwater flows, groundwater pumping, and urban developments) and/or geological (natural groundwater upwelling) origins. Between 2014 and 2016, we collected monthly river samples at 15 locations along a 200-km stretch of the Rio Grande river from Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico to El Paso, Texas, as well as water samples from agricultural canals and drains, urban effluents and drains, and groundwater wells. Our study shows that due to the presence of localized and multiple salinity inputs, total dissolved solids (TDS) and isotope ratios of U, B, and Sr in the Rio Grande river show high spatial and temporal variability. Several agricultural, urban, and geological sources of salinity in the Rio Grande watershed have characteristic and distinguishable U, Sr, and B isotope signatures. However, due to the common issue of overlapping signatures as identified by previous tracer studies (such as δ18O, δD, δ34S), no single isotope tracer of U, Sr, or B isotopes was powerful enough to distinguish multiple salinity sources. Here, combining the multiple U, Sr, and B isotope and elemental signatures, we applied a multi-tracer mass balance approach to quantify the relative contributions of water mass from the identified various salinity end members along the 200-km stretch of the Rio Grande during different river flow seasons. Our results show that during irrigation (high river flow) seasons, the Rio Grande had uniform chemical and isotopic compositions, similar to the Elephant Butte reservoir where water is stored and well-mixed, reflecting the dominant contribution from shallow Critical Zone in headwater regions in temperate southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. In non-irrigation (low flow) seasons when the river water is stored at Elephant Butte reservoir, the Rio Grande river at many downstream locations showed heterogeneous chemical and isotopic compositions, reflecting variable inputs from upwelling of groundwater (deeper CZ), displacement of shallow groundwater, agricultural return flows, and urban effluents. Our study highlights the needs of using multi-tracer approach to investigate multiple solutes and salinity sources in rivers with complex geology and human impacts.

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Isotopically‐depleted late Pleistocene groundwater in Columbia River Basalt aquifers: Evidence for recharge of glacial Lake Missoula floodwaters?

Cited by 16 publications

References 50 publications

Letter Report: Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Analysis of B-Complex Groundwater Samples

Letter Report: Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Analysis of B-Complex Groundwater Samples

Interaction of outburst floods with basaltic aquifers on the Snake River Plain: Implications for Martian canyons

Combining Uranium, Boron, and Strontium Isotope Ratios (234U/238U, δ11B, 87Sr/86Sr) to Trace and Quantify Salinity Contributions to Rio Grande River in Southwestern United States

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