New tritium data in waters of the Dead Sea area

Tritium concentrations suggest two freshwater recharge mechanisms of the Quaternary coastal Dead Sea aquifer, mainly flood water infiltration in Wadi Zeelim and lateral inflow through the Judea Group-Quaternary boundary in Wadi Hemar. The low tritium concentration in most brackish groundwaters indicates that the travel time from the mountain recharge zone to the Dead Sea area is greater than 40 years. For most saline groundwater, the tritium content varies between 0 and 1.9 tritium units, indicating little or no recent infiltration from the Dead Sea or the evaporation ponds into the groundwater. However, in one location the tritium concentration (6-9 tritium units) and the Na/Cl ratio of 0.15-0.30 indicate percolation of saline water from the evaporation ponds and the Dead Sea into the adjacent aquifer. -from Authors