Analysing Groundwater Using the 13C Isotope.pdf.pdf

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Physics Procedia 55 ( 2014 ) 35 – 40
Eigth International Conference on Material Sciences (CSM8-ISM5)
Analysing groundwater using the 13C isotope
Sadek Awad*
Lebanese university, faculties of agriculture and sciences,MCEMA laboratory, PRASE-EDST, Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract
The stable isotope of the carbon atom (13C) give information about the type of the mineralisation of the groundwater
existing during the water seepage and about the recharge conditions of the groundwater. The concentration of the
CO2(aq.) dissolved during the infiltration of the water through the soil’s layers has an effect on the mineralisation of
this water. The type of the photosynthesis’s cycle (C-3 or C-4 carbon cycle) can have a very important role to
determine the conditions (closed or open system) of the mineralisation of groundwater. The isotope 13C of the
dissolved CO2 in water give us a certain information about the origin and the area of pollution of water. The
proportion of the biogenic carbon and its percentage in the mineralisation of groundwater is determined by using the
isotope 13C.

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