Hydrology and Land Surface Studies

One million year old groundwater in the Sahara revealed by krypton-81 and chlorine-36

  1. N. C. Sturchio1,
  2. X. Du2,3,
  3. R. Purtschert4,
  4. B. E. Lehmann4,
  5. M. Sultan5,
  6. L. J. Patterson1,
  7. Z.-T. Lu2,
  8. P. Müller2,
  9. T. Bigler4,
  10. K. Bailey2,
  11. T. P. O'Connor2,
  12. L. Young6,
  13. R. Lorenzo4,
  14. R. Becker5,
  15. Z. El Alfy7,
  16. B. El Kaliouby8,
  17. Y. Dawood8,
  18. A. M. A. Abdallah8

Article first published online: 12 MAR 2004

DOI: 10.1029/2003GL019234

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Information

How to Cite

Sturchio, N. C., et al. (2004), One million year old groundwater in the Sahara revealed by krypton-81 and chlorine-36, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L05503, doi:10.1029/2003GL019234.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

  2. 2

    Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA

  3. 3

    Physics Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

  4. 4

    Institute of Physics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

  5. 5

    Department of Geology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA

  6. 6

    Chemistry Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA

  7. 7

    Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority, Cairo, Egypt

  8. 8

    Department of Geology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 12 MAR 2004
  2. Article first published online: 12 MAR 2004
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 12 FEB 2004
  4. Manuscript Revised: 28 JAN 2004
  5. Manuscript Received: 8 DEC 2003

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[1] Measurements of 81Kr/Kr in deep groundwater from the Nubian Aquifer (Egypt) were performed by a new laser-based atom-counting method. 81Kr ages range from ∼2 × 105 to ∼1 × 106 yr, correlate with 36Cl/Cl ratios, and are consistent with lateral flow of groundwater from a recharge area near the Uweinat Uplift in SW Egypt. Low δ2H values of the 81Kr-dated groundwater reveal a recurrent Atlantic moisture source during Pleistocene pluvial periods. These results indicate that the 81Kr method for dating old groundwater is robust and such measurements can now be applied to a wide range of hydrologic problems.

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