GROUNDWATER TRACING TECHNIQUES

BY, V.SANATH KUMAR

INTRODUCTION
The fundamental idea of the tracer technique is simple and clear ,that is, water is marked with the aid of a tracer and its propagation is followed. They often require fewer assumptions about hydrogeological conditions than do hypothetical or numerical simulations. They can be more reliable. It was initially developed for the investigation of karst aquifers

OBJECTIVE
To obtain empirical data related to ground water recharge, flow direction, flow rates, flow destinations, and flowsystem boundaries. To identify active conduits. To analyze the significance of ground water to human life.

Example:- Florida boasts the highest concentration of springs on the planet. People drank the water without treatment. But Florida's spring water quality has been declining markedly for more than 10 years, with the most notable problem being increasing nitrates.

TRACING METHODS
In general, tracing can be divided into two categories:
label tracing and pulse tracing LABEL TRACING: Using tracers as labels, allows for identification of specific waters or plumes. PULSE TRACING:

Pulse tracing involves sending an identifiable signal through part of a ground water flow system at concentrations significantly above background.

TYPES OF TRACERS
Ground water tracers can be divided into two types: natural tracers and

artificial tracers.
NATURAL TRACERS: Naturally occurring isotopes are the most common natural tracers used in ground water investigations. These include isotopes of common elements such as carbon,

oxygen,
hydrogen, and isotopes of radioactive elements, such as tritium

1.NATURAL TRACERS
Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen are ideal tracers of water sources and movement because they are the two constituents of the water molecule and the ratios of each element tend to stay constant as long as the water has not experienced freezing or evaporation. Oxygen isotopes include O16, O17, and O18 and hydrogen isotopes include protium (1H), deuterium (2H), and tritium (3H).

2.ARTIFICIAL TRACERS

Artificial tracers are those introduced into the ground water flow system either purposely as part of a designed tracer test or inadvertently as a spill. To serve as a suitable tracer, a substance must be nontoxic to humans and the ecosystem. either absent from the ground water system or present at very low, near-constant levels. soluble in water with the resultant solution having nearly the same density as water

2.ARTIFICIAL TRACERS

The artificial tracers used are Salts(chloride, bromide etc.) Organic Dyes CFC (CFC 11,CFC 12 and CFC 13)

MISCELLANEOUS TRACING METHODS

Fiber Optic Flourimeter Analytical Methods Darcys law Thiess Equation

Semi-Analytical Methods
Seismic Refraction method Nuclear method and Electro-magnetic method.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages
Application and monitoring can be designed in a controlled way. Disadvantages Tracer tests can have overheads in terms of cost and time, particularly when investigating longer or slower groundwater flow paths. Requires careful planning and design with some pre-test knowledge of hydrogeology.

Tracers can be used to assess the significance of local geological features on stream-aquifer connectivity.

Seepage can be assessed either qualitatively or quantitatively .

Unanticipated short travel times can lead to high tracer concentrations being released to watercourses and potentially into public water supplies.

Tracers can provide direct evidence for the movement of water from one point to another.

Dyes can have complex chemical interactions which tend to be pHdependent or can be selectively sorbed with geological material.

CONCLUSION
Groundwater, in its natural state, contains environmental isotopes and conclusions may be drawn from the distribution variations. The distribution of the stable isotopes, deuterium and oxygen-18, of groundwater correlated with average isotopic data of precipitation define the origin and movement of subsurface waters. The use of isotope techniques which complement hydrochemical and hydrogeological studies should be encouraged in both surface water and groundwater resource development.

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