Speaker
Description
Measurements of water isotopes are often used to infer water resident times in a catchment and to estimate the thickness of aquifer storage zones. Because isotopic variants of water (e.g., D₂O, H₂¹⁸O) are generally assumed to behave identically to water molecules (H₂O), they are often considered to be fully representative of actual water movement and are preferred over inert chemical tracers in many catchment studies. However, laboratory experiments presented here show that water isotopes move through porous media systems in essentially the same way as inert chemical tracers. The very process of tagging water molecules—implicit in any isotope measurement—effectively yields measurements representative of movement as a chemical tracer. The experimental measurements are then analyzed by comparing apparent mean water and mean tracer velocities, and then evaluating whether Fickian or non-Fickian (anomalous) transport models apply. For both isotopes and inert chemical tracers, the measured mean tracer velocity does not always match the apparent mean velocity of the water itself. Recognizing this inequality is crucial when assessing catchment characteristics. For instance, incorporating anomalous transport behavior of water isotopes can substantially lower estimates of aquifer storage thickness across an entire watershed.
| Country | Israel |
|---|---|
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