Abstract
Stable isotopes of S are used in conjunction with dissolved SO 2-4 concentrations to evaluate the utility of δ 34S ratios in tracing contributions of bedrock-derived S to SO 2-4 in runoff. Water samples were collected over the annual hydrograph from two tributaries in the West Glacier Lake, Wyoming, catchment. Concentrations of SO 2-4 ranged from 12.6 to 43.0 μeq L-1; δ 34S ratios ranged from -1.8‰ to +4.9‰. The δ 34S value of atmospherically derived SO 2-4 is about +5.6‰; four samples of pyrite from the bedrock had δ 34S ratios that ranged from +0.7 to +4.1‰. Concentrations of SO4 2- were inversely related to δ 34S and discharge. The data for the tributary with the higher SO 2-4 concentrations were reasonably consistent with mixing between atmospheric S and S from a bedrock source with a δ 34S ratio of about -4.5‰. The difference from the measured bedrock values presumably indicates that S isotopes in the bedrock pyrite are heterogeneously distributed. The data from the tributary with lower SO 2-4 concentrations did not follow a two-component mixing line. Deviation from a two-component mixing line is most likely caused by preferential elution of SO 2-4 from the snowpack during the early stages of snowmelt, although microbially mediated fractionation of S isotopes in the soil zone also may cause the deviation from the mixing line. Sulfur isotopes are useful in identifying whether or not there is a substantial contribution of bedrock S to runoff, but quantifying that contribution is problematic.
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Finley, J.B., Drever, J.I., Turk, J.T. (1995). Sulfur Isotope Dynamics in a High-Elevation Catchment, West Glacier Lake, Wyoming. In: Černý, J., Novák, M., Pačes, T., Wieder, R.K. (eds) Biogeochemical Monitoring in Small Catchments. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0261-2_13
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