One million year old groundwater in the Sahara revealed by krypton-81 and chlorine-36

Measurements of 81Kr/Kr in deep groundwater from the Nubian Aquifer (Egypt) were performed by a new laser-based atom-counting method. 81Kr ages range from \~2x10^5 to ~1x10^6 yr, correlate with 36Cl/Cl ratios, and are consistent with lateral flow of groundwater from a recharge area near the Uweinat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Sturchio, N. C, Du, X, Purtschert, R, Lehmann, B. E, Sultan, M, Patterson, L. J, Lu, Z. -T, Mueller, P, Bigler, T, Bailey, K, O'Connor, T. P, Young, L, Lorenzo, R, Becker, R, Alfy, Z. El, Kaliouby, B. El, Dawood, Y, Abdallah, A. M. A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 18.02.2004
Subjects
Physics - Atomic Physics
Physics - Geophysics
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Summary:Measurements of 81Kr/Kr in deep groundwater from the Nubian Aquifer (Egypt) were performed by a new laser-based atom-counting method. 81Kr ages range from \~2x10^5 to ~1x10^6 yr, correlate with 36Cl/Cl ratios, and are consistent with lateral flow of groundwater from a recharge area near the Uweinat Uplift in SW Egypt. Low delta-2H values of the 81Kr-dated groundwater reveal a recurrent Atlantic moisture source during Pleistocene pluvial periods. These results indicate that the 81Kr method for dating old groundwater is robust and such measurements can now be applied to a wide range of hydrologic problems.
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.physics/0402092