TY - JOUR
T1 - Surface water-groundwater interaction and chemistry in a mineral-armored hydrothermal outflow channel, Yellowstone National Park, USA
AU - Vitale, M. V.
AU - Gardner, P.
AU - Hinman, Nancy W.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank V. Rodriquez, A. Tenesch, D. Woessner, A. Johnson, T. Hewitt, and K. Loustanau for help with field work. Laboratory support was provided by J. Moore, H. Langer, and M. Hoffmann. A. Harris at the Montana Crime Lab provided SEM support. W. W. Woessner, S. Woods, G. Hinman, N. Hulbirt, B. Bays, and K. McCarthy provided reviews and support during the research project and the manuscript preparation. Yellowstone National Park personnel helped with logistics of working in the Park. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation through P. Colberg at the University of Wyoming. Other funding came from NASA-EPSCoR and the NASA Astrobiology Institute Johnson Space Center Team.
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - Small quantities of groundwater interact with hydrothermal surface water to drive in-stream geochemical processes in a silica-armored hot-spring outflow channel in Yellowstone National Park, USA. The objective of this study was to characterize the hydrology and geochemistry of this unique system in order to (1) learn more about the Yellowstone Plateau's subsurface water mixing between meteoric and hydrothermal waters and (2) learn more about the chemical and physical processes that lead to accumulation of streambed cements, i.e., streambed armor. A combination of hydrological, geochemical, mineralogical, microscopic, and petrographic techniques were used to identify groundwater and surface-water exchange. Interaction could be identified in winter because of differences in surface water and groundwater composition but interaction at other times of the year cannot be ruled out. Dissolved constituents originating from groundwater (e.g., Fe(II) and Mg) were traced downstream until oxidation and/or subsequent precipitation with silica removed them, particularly where high affinity substrates like cyanobacterial surfaces were present. Because the stream lies in a relatively flat drainage basin and is fed mainly by a seasonally relatively stable hot spring, this system allowed study of the chemical processes along a stream without the obscuring effects of sedimentation.
AB - Small quantities of groundwater interact with hydrothermal surface water to drive in-stream geochemical processes in a silica-armored hot-spring outflow channel in Yellowstone National Park, USA. The objective of this study was to characterize the hydrology and geochemistry of this unique system in order to (1) learn more about the Yellowstone Plateau's subsurface water mixing between meteoric and hydrothermal waters and (2) learn more about the chemical and physical processes that lead to accumulation of streambed cements, i.e., streambed armor. A combination of hydrological, geochemical, mineralogical, microscopic, and petrographic techniques were used to identify groundwater and surface-water exchange. Interaction could be identified in winter because of differences in surface water and groundwater composition but interaction at other times of the year cannot be ruled out. Dissolved constituents originating from groundwater (e.g., Fe(II) and Mg) were traced downstream until oxidation and/or subsequent precipitation with silica removed them, particularly where high affinity substrates like cyanobacterial surfaces were present. Because the stream lies in a relatively flat drainage basin and is fed mainly by a seasonally relatively stable hot spring, this system allowed study of the chemical processes along a stream without the obscuring effects of sedimentation.
KW - Groundwater/surface-water relations
KW - Hot springs
KW - Hydrochemistry
KW - USA
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=54949144714&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10040-008-0344-8
DO - 10.1007/s10040-008-0344-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:54949144714
SN - 1431-2174
VL - 16
SP - 1381
EP - 1393
JO - Hydrogeology Journal
JF - Hydrogeology Journal
IS - 7
ER -