Origin of14C in Icelandic Groundwater
Open accessAbstract
We report the first attempt to date Icelandic groundwater by the radiocarbon dating technique. We propose that boron concentrations of the water samples can be taken as a measure of the amount of dead CO 2 in the groundwater leached from rock. By assuming that the ratio of boron to CO 2 is the same in the rock and groundwater it is possible to correct the 14 C concentration for the contribution of rock-derived carbon in the groundwater and thus calculate the initial (undiluted)14 C concentration. When this correction is applied, the values for the cold and warm waters lie in the range 60 to 110 pMC, which is in accordance with the estimated residence time for the groundwater. We have also calculated the fractions of atmospheric and organic carbon in the water, based on the δ 13 C measurements, and the results agree well with the general hydrology and vegetational cover of the areas. Results from geothermal systems indicate that it is possible to use 14 C to estimate relative age differences of the water in a particular geothermal area.
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None of the three CO2 sources were directly measured during the CarbFix project, but δ13C CO2 values and concentrations for each can be tightly constrained using published data.
“None of these sources were directly measured during the CarbFix project, but we can tightly constrain δ 13 C CO2 values and concentrations for each using published data from Barry et al. (2014), Stefánsson et al. (2016) and Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al. (1995).”
From Reconstructing the temperature and origin of CO2 mineralisation in CarbFix calcite using clumped, carbon and oxygen isotopes (2024) · cites this paper as Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al. (1995)
The Introduction identifies atmospheric, organic-soil and rock-derived CO2 as sources in Icelandic groundwater, and the Results report calculated concentrations for the atmospheric and organic components. The Results give δ13C ranges for groundwater samples, not δ13C values for each source. The paper does not address whether the sources were measured during CarbFix or establish tight constraints for that project. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThere are three sources of CO2 in the CarbFix reservoir: injected, mineral and reservoir fluid.
“There are three sources of CO 2 in the CarbFix reservoir: injected, mineral and reservoir fluid.”
From Reconstructing the temperature and origin of CO2 mineralisation in CarbFix calcite using clumped, carbon and oxygen isotopes (2024) · cites this paper as Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al. (1995)
The Introduction identifies CO₂ leached from rock as a source of carbon in Icelandic groundwater, which supports the mineral-derived component in a general sense. It identifies the other sources as atmospheric and organic soil CO₂; it does not establish injected CO₂ or reservoir fluid as sources in the CarbFix reservoir. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA value of -3.5‰ is used for pre-existing calcite and lithogenic CO2, derived from Icelandic groundwater tracing and mantle degassing studies.
“Given this, we use a value of -3.5‰ for pre-existing calcite and lithogenic CO 2 , derived from the Icelandic groundwater tracing and mantle degassing studies of Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al. (1995) and Stefánsson et al. (2016) respectively.”
From Reconstructing the temperature and origin of CO2 mineralisation in CarbFix calcite using clumped, carbon and oxygen isotopes (2024) · cites this paper as Sveinbjörnsdóttir et al. (1995)
The Results section uses −4‰ as the typical δ¹³C value for calcite in Icelandic basaltic rock, and the Conclusion reports an extrapolated value of −5‰ for rock-derived carbon in borehole samples. This supports using the groundwater study to inform a calcite isotope value, but our copy does not give the cited −3.5‰ value. The separate mantle-degassing study is outside this verdict. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Sveinbjörnsdóttir, Á. E., Heinemeier, J., & Arnórsson, S.
- Affiliations
- Aarhus University (DK)
- University of Iceland (IS)
- ORCID
- Heinemeier, Jan
- Venue
- Radiocarbon
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1995
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 551-565
- ISSN
- 0033-8222 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-5755
- OpenAlex
- W2491063255
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Radiocarbon (publishedVersion)
- UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Karst Systems and Hydrogeology
- Keywords
- boron, dead carbon, groundwater residence time, stable carbon isotopes, geothermal systems, groundwater age
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