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Spatial Variations of Radiocarbon in the Coastal Aquifer of Israel—Indicators of Open and Closed Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Debbie Bruce
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem 95501, Israel. Email: [email protected]. Brooklyn College and Graduate School of the City University of New York, c/o Northeastern Science Foundation, P.O. Box 746, Troy, New York 12181-0746, USA
Gerald M Friedman
Affiliation:
Brooklyn College and Graduate School of the City University of New York, c/o Northeastern Science Foundation, P.O. Box 746, Troy, New York 12181-0746, USA
Aaron Kaufman
Affiliation:
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Yoseph Yechieli
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem 95501, Israel. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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The spatial variation in radiocarbon concentration was studied in the Coastal Aquifer of Israel. Lower concentrations were found in the western section of the aquifer (55–70 pMC) as compared to the eastern section (80–100 pMC). Since no correlation was found between the tritium and radiocarbon values, these variations could not simply be explained by a difference in ages, or by a difference in the degree of old calcite dissolution as similar δ13C values were found throughout the aquifer. The results are best explained when viewing the differences in 14C values within the same coastal aquifer, where the eastern section of the aquifer is a more open system and the western section is a more closed system. In general, the age of the groundwater in the coastal aquifer was found to be less than 50 years old (14C >55 and measurable tritium).

Type
II. Our ‘Wet’ Environment
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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