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HIGH ARSENIC CONCENTRATIONS AND ENRICHED SULFUR AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES IN A FRACTURED-BEDROCK GROUND-WATER SYSTEM
Citation:
LIPFERT, G., W. C. SIDLE, A. S. REEVE, R. A. AYUSO, AND A. J. BOYCE. HIGH ARSENIC CONCENTRATIONS AND ENRICHED SULFUR AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES IN A FRACTURED-BEDROCK GROUND-WATER SYSTEM. CHEMICAL GEOLOGY. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 242(3-4):385-399, (2007).
Description:
Elevated arsenic concentrations are coincident with enriched sulfur and oxygen isotopes of sulfate in bedrock ground water within Kelly's Cove watershed, Northport, Maine, USA. Interpretation of the data is complicated by the lack of correlations between sulfate concentrations and either 34SSO4 or 18OSO4 values and between 34SSO4 and 18OSO4. High arsenic concentrations and enriched isotopes are associated with indicators of reducing conditions, such as Eh and %Fe(II), suggesting that the association enriched sulfate isotopes with high concentrations of arsenic is controlled by reducing conditions. The isotopic data at Kelly's Cove watershed is strikingly similar to that of Goose River watershed, also in coastal Maine, but the two watersheds have different bedrock formations and ground-water conditions. The similarity of sulfate isotope data from watersheds underlain by different rock types and with differing ground-water redox conditions implies consistent processes within fractured-bedrock ground-water systems.