Submarine groundwater discharge at Forsmark, Gulf of Bothnia, providedby Ra isotopes

• Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to the Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea, has been believed to be insignificant from hydrological models, yet geochemical investigations of SGD in this basin are limited. In this study, 223Ra, 224Ra, 226Ra, and 228Ra have been complemented by stable δ18O and d2H isotopes to characterize and quantify SGD rates from the coast of Forsmark, Sweden to Öregrundsgrepen Strait (Gulf of Bothnia). In shallow bays, SGD has been traced using relations between Ra, d2H and d18O isotopes and salinity. Zonal SGD from deformation zones, expressed as hydraulically conductive fractures, overlain by the Börstilåsen esker, a strip of conductive gravel sediment, have been traced through offshore 224Raxs and 226Ra trends. On the basis of a 224Raxs mass balance, the SGD flow rate ranges from (5.5 ± 3.0) · 103 m3 d-1 to (950 ± 520) · 103 m3 d-1. These rates are up to two orders of magnitude higher than those determined from local hydrological models, which consider only the fresh component of SGD. From the divergence between the hydrological and 224Raxs models, it is inferred that the site is influenced by a component of recirculated seawater.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geokemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geochemistry (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Submarine groundwater

Ra isotopes

Forsmark

Baltic Sea

The changing Earth

Den föränderliga jorden

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