Abstract
Stable isotopes of S are used in conjunction with dissolved SO 2−4 concentrations to evaluate the utility ofδ 34S ratios in tracing contributions of bedrock-derived S to SO 2−4 in runoff. Water samples were collected over the annual hydrograph from two tributaries in the West Glacier Lake, Wyoming, catchment. Concentrations of SO 2−4 ranged from 12.6 to 43.0 Μeq L−1;δ 34S ratios ranged from −1.8‰ to +4.9‰ Theδ 34S value of atmospherically derived SO 2−4 is about +5.6%c.; four samples of pyrite from the bedrock hadδ 34S ratios that ranged from +0.7 to +4.1‰ Concentrations of SO 2−4 were inversely related toδ 34S and discharge. The data for the tributary with the higher SO 2−4 concentrations were reasonably consistent with mixing between atmospheric S and S from a bedrock source with aδ 34S ratio of about −4.5‰. The difference from the measured bedrock values presumably indicates that S isotopes in the bedrock pyrite are heterogeneously distributed. The data from the tributary with lower SO 2−4 concentrations did not follow a two-component mixing line. Deviation from a two-component mixing line is most likely caused by preferential elution of SO 2−4 from the snowpack during the early stages of snowmelt, although microbially mediated fractionation of S isotopes in the soil zone also may cause the deviation from the mixing line. Sulfur isotopes are useful in identifying whether or not there is a substantial contribution of bedrock S to runoff, but quantifying that contribution is problematic.
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Finley, J.B., Drever, J.I. & Turk, J.T. Sulfur isotope dynamics in a high-elevation catchment, West Glacier lake, Wyoming. Water Air Soil Pollut 79, 227–241 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01100439
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01100439