Isotope Signs (<sup>234</sup>U/<sup>238</sup>U, <sup>2</sup>H, <sup>18</sup>O) of Groundwater: An Investigation of the Existence of Paleo-Permafrost in European Russia (Pre-Volga Region)

oleh: Evgeny Yakovlev, Igor Tokarev, Sergey Zykov, Stanislav Iglovsky, Nikolay Ivanchenko

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-07-01

Deskripsi

The isotopic (<sup>234</sup>U/<sup>238</sup>U, <sup>2</sup>H, <sup>18</sup>O) and chemical composition of groundwater on the right bank of the Volga River along the middle reach (European Russia) was studied down to a depth of 400 m. These data allow diagnosis of the presence of a three-component mixture. The first component is modern/young fresh recharge water of the Holocene age. It has the isotopic composition of water δ<sup>18</sup>O → −12.9 ‰ and δ<sup>2</sup>H → −90 ‰, close to modern precipitations, and the equilibrium isotopic composition of uranium <sup>234</sup>U/<sup>238</sup>U → 1 (by activity). The second component is slightly salted water of the late or postglacial period with δ<sup>18</sup>O → −17.0 ‰ and δ<sup>2</sup>H → −119 ‰, and a small excess of uranium-234 <sup>234</sup>U/<sup>238</sup>U ≈ 4. The third component is meltwater formed as result of permafrost thawing. It is brackish water with δ<sup>18</sup>O ≈ −15.0 ‰ and δ<sup>2</sup>H ≈ −110 ‰, and a maximum excess of uranium-234 <sup>234</sup>U/<sup>238</sup>U ≈ 15.7. The salinity of this water is associated with an increase of the SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>, Ca<sup>2+</sup> and Na<sup>+</sup> content, and this may be due to the presence of gypsum in water-bearing sediments, because the solubility of sulfates increases at near-zero temperature. We explain the huge excess of uranium-234 by its accumulation in the mineral lattice during the glacial age and quick leaching after thawing of permafrost.