Groundwater helium isotope characteristics and source identification in Leizhou Peninsula, southern China

IF 3.5 3区地球科学 Q1 GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS

Applied Geochemistry Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-26 DOI:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2026.106750

Shaoheng Li , Zuobing Liang , Werner Aeschbach , Dioni I. Cendón , Wen Wei , Qirui Wu , Di Tian , Rouyan Gong , Gang Zeng , Zaizhi Yang , Jianyao Chen , Linyao Dong

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Abstract

Helium isotopes, alongside radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating and the elemental ratio ²⁰Ne/⁴He, were employed to investigate groundwater evolution in the Leizhou Peninsula, southern China. Groundwater samples were categorized into two groups based on corrected ¹⁴C age: Group Ⅰ (modern recharge, >75pMC) and Group Ⅱ (older groundwater, 1-75 pMC) with ages ranging up to ∼29,000 years BP. Helium isotope analysis revealed distinct sources: Group Ⅰ exhibited elevated ³He/⁴He ratios (>1 Ra) and tritiogenic ³He, reflecting atmospheric dominance, while Group Ⅱ showed lower ³He/⁴He ratios (<1 Ra) and radiogenic ⁴He accumulation, consistent with prolonged groundwater residence time and water-rock interaction. A notable exception was a volcanic island sample with anomalously high ³He/⁴He (∼3 Ra) and helium concentrations, indicating a localized mantle-derived helium contribution. A ternary mixing model quantified helium sources, demonstrating increasing crustal contributions (1-52%) with groundwater age. Moreover, dissolved ⁴He concentrations show a positive correlation with corrected ¹⁴C ages, yielding a radiogenic ⁴He accumulation rate of 2.76 × 10⁻⁹ ccSTP/g/ka, supporting ⁴He as a complementary groundwater chronometer. These findings emphasize time-dependent noble gas accumulation and mixing processes within the aquifer system, offering insights for sustainable groundwater management in the study area.

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雷州半岛地下水氦同位素特征及来源识别

利用氦同位素、放射性碳（14C）定年和元素比20Ne/4He对雷州半岛地下水演化进行了研究。地下水样品根据校正后的14C年龄分为两组：Ⅰ组（现代补给，>75pMC）和Ⅱ组（更古老的地下水，1- 75pMC），年龄范围可达~ 29,000年BP。氦同位素分析显示了不同的来源：Ⅰ组表现出较高的3He/4He比率（>1 Ra）和三生源性3He，反映了大气优势，而Ⅱ组表现出较低的3He/4He比率（<1 Ra）和放射性成因的4He积累，与地下水停留时间延长和水岩相互作用一致。一个值得注意的例外是火山岛样品，其3He/4He （~ 3ra）和氦浓度异常高，表明局部地幔源氦贡献。三元混合模型量化了氦源，表明地壳对氦源的贡献随着地下水年龄的增加而增加（1-52%）。此外，溶解的4He浓度与校正后的14C年龄呈正相关，产生的放射性成因4He积累速率为2.76 × 10−9 ccSTP/g/ka，支持4He作为补充地下水计时器。这些发现强调了含水层系统中随时间变化的稀有气体聚集和混合过程，为研究区域的可持续地下水管理提供了见解。

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来源期刊

Applied Geochemistry 地学-地球化学与地球物理

CiteScore

6.10

自引率

8.80%

发文量

272

审稿时长

65 days

期刊介绍： Applied Geochemistry is an international journal devoted to publication of original research papers, rapid research communications and selected review papers in geochemistry and urban geochemistry which have some practical application to an aspect of human endeavour, such as the preservation of the environment, health, waste disposal and the search for resources. Papers on applications of inorganic, organic and isotope geochemistry and geochemical processes are therefore welcome provided they meet the main criterion. Spatial and temporal monitoring case studies are only of interest to our international readership if they present new ideas of broad application. Topics covered include: (1) Environmental geochemistry (including natural and anthropogenic aspects, and protection and remediation strategies); (2) Hydrogeochemistry (surface and groundwater); (3) Medical (urban) geochemistry; (4) The search for energy resources (in particular unconventional oil and gas or emerging metal resources); (5) Energy exploitation (in particular geothermal energy and CCS); (6) Upgrading of energy and mineral resources where there is a direct geochemical application; and (7) Waste disposal, including nuclear waste disposal.