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Characterizing Mountainous Bedrock Groundwater Systems Across Gradients In Topography And Lithology In Western Montana, David L. Baude
Characterizing Mountainous Bedrock Groundwater Systems Across Gradients In Topography And Lithology In Western Montana, David L. Baude
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Mountain aquifer groundwater systems remain one of the least understood hydrologic systems in upland hydrology. In this study, we aim to characterize bedrock groundwater system dynamics and bedrock-saprolite interactions across a variety of landscape positions and lithology. We investigate groundwater hydraulics, recharge temperature and elevation, residence times, and bedrock recharge rates across two mountainous headwater catchments in west central Montana. We used a suite of environmental tracers (3H, CFCs, SF6, and 4He) and residence time distribution models to estimate groundwater mean residence times over a range of timescales from decades to millennia. Tracers were sampled …