Sources and Mechanisms of Recharge for Ground Water in the West-Central Amargosa Desert, Nevada: A Geochemical Interpretation. Hydrology of Nuclear Test Sites

摘要

Ground water in the west-central Amargosa Desert, Neveda, was recharged primarily by overland flow of snowmelt in or near the present-day stream channels, rather than by subsurface flow from highland recharge areas to the north. Geochemical arguments, including reaction mechanisms, are used to support these findings. Carbon-, hydrogen-, and oxygen-isotope data show that much of the recharge in the area occurred during late Wisconsin time. Absence of ground water recharged prior to late Pleistocene is considered to indicate that either climatic conditions were unfavorable for recharge or that ground-water velocities were such that they transported this earlier recharge away from the study area. (ERA citation 11:007875)