Hydrologic characterization of the Mary Murphy Mine and vicinity, Chaffe County, Colorado using multiple isotope tracers and dissolved solutes | Posted on:2008-08-26 | Degree:M.A | Type:Thesis | University:University of Colorado at Boulder | Candidate:Cordalis, Daniel | Full Text:PDF | GTID:2455390005480835 | Subject:Physical geography | Abstract/Summary: | | Fractured rock environments present great challenges to hydrologic characterization due to their structurally heterogeneity which severely limits the effectiveness of traditional approaches. Here we use a suite of environmental isotopes, oxygen-18 (delta18O), tritium (3H), sulfur-35 (35S), tritium/helium (3H/3He), and uranium (234U/238U) along side traditional geochemistry techniques to further characterize the Mary Murphy Mine site.; Hydrograph separation using delta18O showed that groundwater was the dominant contributor to Chalk Creek streamflow, as snowmelt peaked at 26% of contribution. The use of 35S as an independent tracer provided a similar result of 33% at peak snowmelt. 3H/ 3He dating showed apparent ages of near 4 years in monitoring wells near Chalk Creek.; North mine discharges showed the most depleted delta18O values in the mine, and also showed a shorter mean residence time than south discharges based on isotopic amplitude variations of 0.6 ‰ compared to 0.3 ‰. | Keywords/Search Tags: | Hydrologic characterization, Mary murphy | | Related items |
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