ABSTRACT
The concentrations of total dissolved uranium (U), its isotopic composition ((234)U, (235)U, (238)U) and two long lived Ra isotopes ((226)Ra and (228)Ra) in alluvial aquifers of groundwater were determined to investigate the groundwater flow pattern in the south-western (SW) Punjab, India. Particular attention was given to the spatial variability of activity ratios (ARs) of (234)U/(238)U and (226)Ra/(228)Ra to predict the possible sources and supply process of U into the water from the solid phase. The measured groundwater (234)U/(238)U ARs were â¼1 or >1 in the shallow zone (depth < 30 m) with high U concentration and <1 in the deeper zone (depth > 30 m) with relatively low U concentration. The simultaneous elevated U concentration and (234)U/(238)U ARs in waters were possibly due to differences in imprints of rock-water interactions under hydrologic conditions. However, (234)U/(238)U ARs < 1 clearly indicate the lack of recharge from surface water to groundwater leading to (234)U deficit in groundwater. This deficit might be also attributed to alpha recoil processes under strong dissolution. Overall, the decreasing pattern of (234)U/(238)U ARs observed from SE to SW or NW ward clearly indicates a groundwater flow paths from SE to SW/NW. Similarly, (226)Ra/(238)U ARs < 1 for all water samples reflect that the precursor (238)U is fairly mobile relative to (226)Ra. This might be due to unusually high amount of (238)U in groundwaters and subsequently the different geochemistry of the two isotopes. On the other hand, (226)Ra/(228)Ra ARs in groundwaters varied widely and observed about 50-300 times higher than (238)U/(232)Th ARs in granitic rocks or soils. Such elevation in ARs might be attributed to different dissolution properties of their parents during water-rock interactions or lattice damage during decay or local enrichments of uranium in the aquifers.
