| Title | Chemical and isotopic evidence of fragmented recharge areas for the carbonate aquifers of the Niagara Escarpment |
| Download | Download (whole publication) |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Priebe, E H; Frape, S K; Jackson, R E; Rudolph, D L; Burt, A K |
| Source | Regional-scale groundwater geoscience in southern Ontario: an Ontario Geological Survey, Geological Survey of Canada, and Conservation Ontario geoscientists open house; by Russell, H A J ; Ford, D; Priebe, E H; Holysh, S; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8363,
2018 p. 34, https://doi.org/10.4095/306568  Open
Access |
| Year | 2018 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Meeting | Regional-Scale Groundwater Geoscience in Southern Ontario: Open House; Guelph; CA; February 28 - March 1, 2018 |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is contained in Regional-scale groundwater
geoscience in southern Ontario: an Ontario Geological Survey, Geological Survey of Canada, and Conservation Ontario geoscientists open house |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Ontario |
| NTS | 30M/05; 40P/08NE; 30M/12; 30M/11NW; 30M/13; 30M/14; 30M/15NW; 30M/15NE; 30M/16NW; 30M/16NE; 31C/04SW; 31C/04NW; 31D/01; 31D/02; 31D/03; 31D/04; 31D/06; 40P/09SE; 40P/09NE; 40P/16SE; 40P/16NE |
| Area | Niagara Escarpment |
| Lat/Long WENS | -80.2500 -77.5000 44.5000 43.2500 |
| Subjects | hydrogeology; geochemistry; regional geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; groundwater; aquifers; groundwater resources; resource estimation; groundwater regimes; groundwater geochemistry; bedrock
geology; lithology; sedimentary rocks; carbonates; dolomites; karst topography; glacial deposits; isotopic studies; geochemical analyses; overburden thickness; tritium; strontium strontium ratios; calcium geochemistry; sulphate; pyrite;
hydrochemistry; Michigan Basin; Newmarket Till; Halton Till; Oak Ridges Moraine; Lockport Group; Water supply; Phanerozoic; Paleozoic; Silurian |
| Program | Groundwater Geoscience Aquifer Assessment & support to mapping |
| Released | 2018 02 16 |
| Abstract | The Early Silurian carbonate bedrock formations of the Michigan basin, southern Ontario, contain significant quantities of high-quality groundwater resources and provide the sole drinking water source
to many large municipalities and private residences. This investigation represents the first attempt to characterize these carbonate groundwater resources in their entirety. Although the bedrock formations are relatively flat-lying and regionally
extensive, suggesting ease of characterization, the systems are complex due to the influence of glacial sediment cover on recharge and the effect of karst on groundwater residence times. Recharge timing and controls are investigated with several
isotopic and geochemical indicators of recent recharge in groundwater, within the context of the sedimentary geology and sediment thickness of the study area. Spatial trends of tritium, and SF6 in groundwater, interpreted as representing recent
recharge (< 50 years), corroborate with aerobic redox chemistry in the carbonate groundwater systems underlying areas of thin or permeable sediment cover. Groundwater chemical evolution beyond recharge areas is assessed with general chemistry, the
redox profile and an investigation of water-rock interaction. A comparison of strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in bedrock and groundwater shows that long residence times are required for the isotopic signature of the rock to imprint on the
groundwater. Increasing Sr to Ca ratios along the groundwater flow path are likely resulting from incongruent dissolution of dolomite and the precipitation of calcite with evolution. Sulphur isotopic composition of sulphate (delta-34SSO4 and
delta-18OSO4) in groundwater shows isotopic evidence of pyrite oxidation in recharge areas, and a Silurian sulphur isotopic signature in areas of thick and low permeability sediments, well downgradient of identified recharge areas. For this
investigation, isotopic and hydrochemical tools have provided many essential lines of evidence, supporting the development of a conceptual model of recharge and groundwater evolution in this complex setting with many geological controls at play.
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| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Proceedings for a workshop in Guelph Ontario as part of the program S&T exchange. Abstracts have been contributed by Ontario Geological Survey, Ministry
of Environment and Climate Change, Conservation Authorities, Universities, private sector, and Unites States Geological Survey. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 306568 |
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