Groundwater weathering rates from U- and Th-series nuclides

Abstract

The transport of U, Th, Ra and Rn nuclides of the ^(238)U and ^(232)Th- decay series has been investigated in a large sandy confined aquifer in New Mexico. Groundwater data are compared with a model of weathering of aquifer grains and interaction with surface coatings, to constrain important physico-chemical parameters that occur within the aquifer, principally weathering rates, α-recoil effects, adsorption desorption characteristics, and irreversible precipitation (Tricca et al 2001).

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