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Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
Sources and processes affecting sulfate in a karstic groundwater system of the Franconian Alb, Southern Germany.
Environ. Sci. Technol. 39, 7118-7125 (2005)
Chemical and isotope analyses on groundwater sulfate and 3H measurements on groundwater were used to determine the sulfate sources and sulfur transformation processes in a heterogeneous karst aquifer of the Franconian Alb, southern Germany. Sulfate was found to be derived from atmospheric deposition. Young groundwater was characterized by high sulfate concentrations and δ34S values similar to those of recent atmospheric sulfate deposition. However, the δ18O values of groundwater SO42- were depleted by several per mil with respect to those of atmospheric deposition. This isotopic shift is indicative of mineralization of carbon-bonded S in the vadose zone of the karst system. In groundwater with mean residence times of more than 60 years, a trend of increasing δ34S values and δ18O values with decreasing sulfate concentrations was observed. This trend could not be solely explained by preindustrial atmospheric sulfate deposition with higher δ34S values, and hence, we conclude that bacterial (dissimilatory) sulfate reduction in the porous matrix of the karst aquifer must have occurred. This process has the potential to contribute to long-term biodegradation of contaminants in the porous rock matrix representing the dominant water reservoir of the fissured porous karst aquifer.
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Publication type
Article: Journal article
Document type
Scientific Article
ISSN (print) / ISBN
0013-936X
e-ISSN
1520-5851
Quellenangaben
Volume: 39,
Issue: 18,
Pages: 7118-7125
Publisher
ACS
Publishing Place
Washington, DC
Non-patent literature
Publications
Reviewing status
Peer reviewed
Institute(s)
Institute of Groundwater Ecology (IGOE)