Skip to main content
Log in

Tracing groundwater discharge in a High Arctic lake using radon-222

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the High Arctic, groundwater fluxes are limited by the presence of continuous permafrost, although it has been hypothesized that there may be localized groundwater flow and hydraulic connectivity beneath large lakes, due to the presence of taliks, or large regions of unfrozen ground. However, due to the logistical difficulty of employing seepage meters and piezometers in deep, ice-covered lakes, relatively little is known about groundwater discharge to polar lakes. One method of assessing groundwater discharge is through the use of geochemical tracers. We conducted a pilot study to quantify groundwater discharge into a High Arctic lake using dissolved radon gas as a geochemical tracer. Lake water was collected in 15 L polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bags with minimal atmospheric interaction from a 25-m deep lake near Shellabear Point, Melville Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Sample bags were aerated through a closed water loop for 60 min to allow sufficient radon to equilibrate in a coupled air circuit. Radon in air concentrations were measured on a Durridge RAD7 portable alpha spectrometer. The field trial in a remote setting and separate tests with groundwater samples collected from a temperate site demonstrate the utility of the methodology. The limited results suggest that radon levels in the lower water column are elevated above background levels following nival melt in the surrounding watershed. Although these results are insufficient to quantify groundwater discharge, the results suggest subsurface flow may exist, and further study is warranted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Brown RJE (1972) Permafrost in the Canadian Arctic archipelago. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie 13:102–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Burn CR (2002) Tundra lakes and permafrost, Richards Island, western Arctic coast, Canada. Can J Earth Sci 39:1281–1298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burn CR (2005) Lake-bottom thermal regimes, western Arctic coast, Canada. Permafrost Periglac 16:355–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnett W, Dulaiova H (2003) Estimating the dynamics of groundwater input into the coastal zone via continuous radon-222 measurements. J Environ Radioact 69:21–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnett W, Kim G, Lane-Smith D (2001) A continuous monitor for assessment of 222Rn in the coastal ocean. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 249:167–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnett W, Cable J, Corbett D (2003) Radon tracing of submarine groundwater discharge in coastal environments. In: Taniguchi M, Gamo T (eds) Land and marine hydrogeology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p 1999

    Google Scholar 

  • Drever J (2002) The geochemistry of natural waters: surface and groundwater environments, 3rd edn. Prentice Hall, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Dugan H, Lamoureux SF (2011) The chemical development of a hypersaline coastal lake in the High Arctic. Limnol Oceanogr 56:495–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durridge (2000) RAD 7 Manual, vol 6.0.1. Durridge Company, Bedford, Massachusetts

    Google Scholar 

  • Gleeson T, Novakowski K, Cook PG, Kyser TK (2009) Constraining groundwater discharge in a large watershed: Integrated isotopic, hydraulic, and thermal data from the Canadian shield. Water Resour Res 45(8):W08402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayashi M, Rosenberry DO (2002) Effects of ground water exchange on the hydrology and ecology of surface water. Ground Water 40(3):309–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgson DA, Vincent J-S, Fyles JG (1984) Quaternary geology of central Melville Island, Northwest Territories. Geol Surv Can Paper 83–16:25

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer T, Genereux D (1998) Application of uranium- and thorium- series radionuclides in catchment hydrology studies. In: Kendall C, McDonnell J (eds) Isotope tracers in catchment hydrology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 679–722

  • Kluge T, Ilmberger J, VonRohden C, Aeschbach-Hertig W (2007) Tracing and quantifying groundwater inflow into lakes using radon-222. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 11:1621–1631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee DR (1977) A device for measuring seepage flux in lakes and estuaries. Limnol Oceanogr 22(1):140–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee J, Kim G (2006) A simple and rapid method for analyzing radon in coastal and ground waters using a radon-in-air monitor. J Environ Radioact 89:219–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGinnis LD, Jensen TE (1971) Permafrost-hydrogeologic regimen in two ice-free valleys, Antarctica, from electrical depth sounding. Quatern Res 1:389–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ouellet M, Dickman M, Bisson M, Pagé P (1989) Physicochemical characteristics and origin of hypersaline meromictic Lake Garrow in the Canadian High Arctic. Hydrobiologia 172:215–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollard W, Omelon C, Andersen D, Mckay C (1999) Perennial spring occurrence in the Expedition Fiord area of western Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic. Can J Earth Sci 36:105–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt A, Schubert M (2007) Using radon-222 for tracing groundwater discharge into an open-pit lignite mining lake—a case study. Isotopes Environ Health Stud 43:387–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt A, Stringer C, Haferkorn U, Schubert M (2009) Quantification of groundwater discharge into lakes using radon-222 as naturally occurring tracer. Environ Geol 56:855–863

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt A, Gibson JJ, Santos IR, Schubert M, Tattrie K, Weiss H (2010) The contribution of groundwater discharge to the overall water budget of two typical Boreal lakes in Alberta/Canada estimated from a radon mass balance. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 14:79–89. doi:10.5194/hess-14-79-2010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stringer C, Burnett W (2004) Sample bottle design improvements for radon emanation analysis of natural waters. Health Phys 87:642–646

    Google Scholar 

  • van Everdingen RO (1990) Ground-water hydrology. In: Prowse TD, Ommanney CSL (eds) Northern hydrology: Canadian perspectives. National Hydrology Research Institute, Environment Canada, Saskatoon, pp 77–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter TC (1999) Relation of streams, lakes, and wetlands to groundwater flow systems. Hydrogeol J 7:28–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woo MK (1990) Permafrost hydrology. In: Prowse TD, Ommanney CSL (eds) Northern hydrology: Canadian perspectives. National Hydrology Research Institute, Environment Canada, Saskatoon, pp 63–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Woo MK, Kane DL, Carey SK, Yang D (2008) Progress in permafrost hydrology in the new millennium. Permafrost Periglac 19:237–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zouridakis N, Ochsenkuhn K, Savidou A (2002) Determination of uranium and radon in potable water samples. J Environ Radioact 61:225–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research would not have been possible without funding from the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), excellent logistical support from the Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP), and field assistance from Kasey Kathan. Thank you to T. Kluge and A. Schmidt for providing descriptions of surficial geology for their study sites. This is PCSP contribution # 01116.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hilary A. Dugan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dugan, H.A., Gleeson, T., Lamoureux, S.F. et al. Tracing groundwater discharge in a High Arctic lake using radon-222. Environ Earth Sci 66, 1385–1392 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1348-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1348-6

Keywords

Navigation