Study of Groundwater Age Dating in Dieng Hydrothermal System, Indonesia

Abstract

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which occurs in precipitation. In groundwater studies tritium measurements give information on the time of recharge to a system; the tritium content of precipitation being used to estimate the input of tritium to the groundwater system. In Dieng, the tritium contents in precipitation and groundwater samples from production wells and manifestations were measured in the wet season. The precipitation has 2.7 ± 0.8 TU. In the hot springs the tritium content ranges from 1.0 to 4.0 ± 0.8 TU, while in production wells from 4.0 ± 0.8 TU. These values indicate that the groundwater systems around Dieng contain a mixture of old recharge and recent recharge (water younger than 50 years).