The chemical characteristics of ground water near Fairbanks, Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998
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Abstract
Major- and trace-element abundances, and Sr and Pb isotopic compositions, of ground waters in and near Fairbanks, Alaska, were determined to characterize their chemical characteristics and to assess the factors controlling variations in dissolved arsenic concentrations. Collected samples show majorelement (Ca>Mg>Na>K) and strontium and lead isotopic compositions characteristic of waters that have interacted with lithologies comprising the Fairbanks Schist. Dissolved arsenic concentrations are not highly correlated with the abundances of other major and trace elements in these waters; however, waters with high arsenic concentrations (5.4 to 450 parts per billion) tend to have relatively high concentrations of antimony (as much as 1.7 ppb). The correlation between arsenic and antimony suggests that both elements were derived from the oxidation of hypogene sulfide minerals (arsenopyrite) that originally formed within the Fairbanks Schist during hydrothermal activity associated with the emplacement of Cretaceous granitic rocks. Variations in measured arsenic concentrations are due, in part, to the variations in the original abundance of upgradient sulfide minerals from a given well or spring. However, speciation studies on the ground water containing the highest concentration of arsenic in this study (450 ppb) demonstrate that the arsenic occurs primarily in its reduced form (As(III)). In agreement with previous studies, we conclude that relatively reducing ground waters have the highest potential for high arsenic concentrations due to greater mobility of As(III) relative to its oxidized counterpart (As(V)). In light of this conclusion, additional studies are being undertaken to determine how seasonal variations in ground-water redox affect arsenic mobility
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | The chemical characteristics of ground water near Fairbanks, Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998 |
| Series title | Professional Paper |
| Series number | 1615 |
| DOI | 10.3133/70180667 |
| Year Published | 2000 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Denver, CO |
| Contributing office(s) | Central Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center |
| Description | 12 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Report |
| Larger Work Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Larger Work Title | Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998 (Professional Paper 1615) |
| First page | 167 |
| Last page | 178 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| City | Fairbanks |
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