Journal of Hydrology, 101 (1988) 31-46 31

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands

[3]

A S T A B L E ISOTOPE S T U D Y OF RECHARGE P R O C E S S E S IN THE

E N G L I S H CHALK

W.G. DARLING and A.H. BATH

British Geological Survey, Maclean Building, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxon OXIO 8BB
(U.K.)
British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Notts NG12 5GG (U.K.)
(Received August 11, 1987; revised and accepted December 18, 1987)

ABSTRACT

Darling, W.G. and Bath, A.H., 1988. A stable isotope study of recharge processes in the English
Chalk. J. Hydrol., 101: 31-46.

The 52H and 51sO values of water contained in unsaturated Chalk have been measured in
drillcore profiles taken over a period of 28 months on arable land in Cambridgeshire, eastern
England. The isotopic composition of rainfall and lysimeter drainage on the same site has also been
monitored over a period of four years. The distribution of isotope values in the upper few metres
of soil and unsaturated Chalk shows that the mechanism of infiltration is not simple piston-like
downward displacement since the scale of vertical fluctuations is incompatible with estimated
annual infiltration and the apparent rates of movement of matrix water derived from ther-
monuclear tritium studies. Lysimeter drainage is not isotopically identical to matrix water at the
same depth suggesting that different routes to water table are associated with consistently
different isotopic content. Although there is an apparent difference between matrix water beneath
arable and permanent grassland, these differences appear to cancel out in the composition of bulk
recharge beneath these land types. The regional aquifer has a uniform isotopic composition similar
in value to weighted average rainfall and lysimeter drainage, suggesting that the recharge-
abstraction system has been in isotopic equilibrium for many years despite changes in pumping
rates and land use. Two other Chalk sites in southern England have been investigated in less detail
but indicate clear difference in infiltration behaviour from that seen in Cambridgeshire; this seems
to be related to a higher matrix conductivity and annual rainfall amount.

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge of infiltration pathways in the Chalk unsaturated zone is of

importance in attempting to quantify both recharge and transfer of pollutants
to the aquifer (Foster et al., 1982). Chalk in southern England has a fine-grained
carbonate matrix with high porosity but low intergranular permeability,
though abundant near-surface jointing can permit rapid fissure flow under
intense rainfall conditions. Well hydrograph analysis (Headworth, 1972),
lysimeter studies (Kitching and Shearer, 1982), thermonuclear tritium profiling
(Smith et al., 1970) and soil physical techniques (Wellings and Bell, 1980) have
all been used to investigate this recharge process. These different methods

0022-1694/88/$03.50 © 1988 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

32
suggest that the dominant flow mode may be either via the macrofissures or via
the matrix, depending on the site. In particular, soil physical techniques
demonstrate the spatial variability in the hydraulic properties of unsaturated
Chalk; this reflects differences between the storage and conductivity of the
matrix and of the fissures.
Environmental tritium studies in southern England have attempted to
separate fissure and intergranular recharge components and have yielded
estimates of up to 20% by fissure flow (Smith et al., 1970). However, this
division of flow pathways is inconsistent with the relatively nondispersed
movement of tritium in interstitial water (Barker and Foster, 1981) and the
tritium balance based on seasonal discrimination of inputs (Foster and Smith-
Carington, 1980). Seasonal relationships between unsaturated water tensions
and storage (Wellings and Cooper, 1983) and balances of fertiliser-derived
nitrate between saturated and unsaturated zones (Foster et al., 1982) support
this conclusion. A composite model, assuming a continuum of pore and fissure
sizes, may be more appropriate than bimodal flow models (see discussion in
Beven and Germann, 1982).
This study has used stable isotope ratio measurements of water from pre-
cipitation, unsaturated chalk and the underlying aquifer in an attempt to
deduce flow mechanisms. The following questions have been addressed: (1) To
what extent are seasonal fluctuations in isotopic composition of rainfall
propagated into the unsaturated zone? (2) What differences, if any, occur in
infiltration behaviour between different Chalk sites? (3) Is the isotopic com-
position of recharge to the Chalk aquifer related to seasonal or whole-year
rainfall? (4) Is there evidence for long-term drift in the stable isotopic com-
position of groundwater due to climatic and/or land use changes?
Previous investigators employing stable isotope methods to elucidate un-
saturated zone flow have used both natural rainfall and artificially-enriched
tracers as inputs to the system. Dispersion of 2H1HO, and also 3H1HO, tracer
pulses in loamy and sandy soils in Germany demonstrated a range of pore-
water velocities, although most flow was sufficiently uniform to result in a
~piston" displacement of the tracer peak (Zimmermann et al., 1967a). This
study concluded that soil water is not significantly fractionated by plant
transpiration, a result confirmed by later workers (F5rstel, 1982; Allison et al.,
1984; Sharma and Hughes, 1985; Turner et al., 1987). Stable isotope trends could
therefore be used to estimate the depths of penetration of evaporative
processes, these being greater under bare soil (Zimmermann et al., 1967a).
More detailed mathematical, physical and experimental analysis of these
evaporative enrichment patterns has permitted quantitative estimates of
evaporation rates for semi-arid soils (Allison, 1982; Allison and Barnes, 1983;
Barnes and Allison, 1983, 1984; Allison et al., 1983, 1984). Field studies
elsewhere in arid conditions have shown that isotopic fractionation caused by
evaporation from soils, or selective infiltration related to land use, can modify
infiltration water (Gat and Tzur, 1967; Dinqer et al., 1974; Vogel and Van Urk,
1975). Zimmermann et al. (1967a) also suggested that selective infiltration due
 33

to plant cover may counteract the effect of bare soil evaporation on 2H/1H in
soil water in the European temperate climate. That such a selection mechanism
can cause isotopic modification is supported by lysimeter experiments (Sauzay,
1974) and has been elaborated in detail for semi-arid soils (Allison and Hughes,
1983).
Movement of labelled infiltration waters (3H, 2H, 180) has been modelled by
means of the diffusion equations and a multi-layer "box" model (Zimmermann
et al., 1967a, b; Mfinnich, 1983). A satisfactory agreement between observed and
modelled isotope profiles required the assumption that effective diffusion coef-
ficients were one or two orders of magnitude greater than predicted owing to
additional dispersion. Similar conclusions, and the influence of soil heteroge-
neities on isotopic mixing patterns, are described by Fontes (1983).

SITE DESCRIPTION AND SAMPLING

Detailed environmental isotope studies have been carried out on Middle

Chalk at the Fleam Dyke research site, near Cambridge in eastern England, in
conjunction with investigations of fertiliser-derived nitrate leaching (Foster et
al., 1982), soil physical measurements (Wellings and Cooper, 1983) and recharge
measurements by lysimeter (Kitching and Shearer, 1982). The research site
incorporates a meteorological station and is adjacent to a pumping station for
public water supply. Location and geology of the site are shown in Fig. 1; a hard

Oq ~ Sol I

®
'~ ~I:~,.~Cr,o- turbated
° 24 ~;~ Chalk Flearn
Dyke
Middle
3-( Chalk
E H F ~
-~ 4-1 Lysimeter Gus s a ~ : ~
5-1 ......
Water table
below 1Sin ~ ulc Lysimeter
° r-]
u. Weather station ==

Rain gauge==
~'0 80

30 Arable land Grassland

120 Oll 100 lO

Pumping
station
J
90 met res 60rn "==~
50
Fig. 1. Plan of the Fleam Dyke research site.
34

band of Chalk lies at 2 m, and water table is below 15 m depth. Recharge at this
site has been estimated by several methods: lysimeter measurements between
1978-83 indicate averages of 170mm a ' out of 606mm a -~ precipitation (T.R.
Shearer, pers. commun.), whereas soil physical studies indicate 154 mm a- ' over
the same period (J.D. Cooper, pers. commun.). The UK Meteorological Office
model for evaporation in the area indicates 89mma -~ recharge out of
599 mm a ~ average rainfall between 1979 and 1983.
Duplicated drillcores for extraction of water were taken from a plot of less
than 50 × 50m on arable land on four occasions over a period of 29 months
between 1979 and 1981 (Fig. 1). The acid-insoluble residue (quartz and clay
minerals) of Chalk samples is around 5% below 2 m depth, but reaches 10-15%
nearer the surface; corresponding porosities are around 45-35% but the sub-
micron pore sizes of Chalk restrict its saturated hydraulic conductivity
typically to 10 3md-~ (Foster and Bath, 1983). A drillcore profile was also
taken in May 1979 on permanent grassland at a site (Golf Course) about
6 km WSW of Fleam Dyke, where about 0.25 m of rendzina soil overlies Chalk
and the hard band observed at Fleam Dyke is absent.
The research lysimeter at Fleam Dyke is a 5 m cube of undisturbed Chalk
overlain by grassed soil (Fig. 1). It is sealed by sheet piling at the sides and base,
where drainage is channelled into a metering device accessible in a trench from
which aggregated water samples have been collected from 1979. High-angle
joints in the Chalk were observed during the construction of the lysimeter
(Kitching and Shearer, 1982).

METHOD

Four sources provided water for stable isotope analysis:

(1) Rainfall was collected in a standard 5-in gauge daily from October 1979,
then weekly from April 1981 and fortnightly from July 1983.
(2) Unsaturated zone water was extracted by centrifuge from drillcores
(Edmunds and Bath, 1976). Yield by this method is 40~0% total water, but tests
have shown no significant isotopic fractionation between extracted and
residual water in Chalk samples.
(3) Drainage at the lysimeter base collects in a tipping-bucket measuring
device. Aggregated samples were collected at intervals during the periods of
significant lysimeter flow (approximately November/December-May/June).
(4) Groundwater from the area was collected from local wells and pumping
stations, including Fleam Dyke, in October 1983; samples were measured for
tritium in addition to stable isotopes. One research site drillhole, FD6, reached
water table.
The 180/I60 ratios were measured on CO2 prepared by equilibration with a
5 ml water sample at constant temperature. The 2H/~H ratios were measured on
H2 prepared initially by reduction of 10#l of water in a uranium furnace at
850°C, though latterly by zinc in sealed reaction tubes at 450°C with direct
 35

TABLE 1

Monthly w e i g h t e d m e a n s o f ~2H a n d 3 ' 8 0 f o r r a i n f a l l a t F l e a m D y k e

Month E rain 52H 5'sO Month E rain 52H 51sO

(mm) (%0) (?/co) (mm) (%0) (%0)

1979
Nov 47 66 9.9
Dec 90 - 86 - 11.9

1980 1982
Jan 37 - 69 - 10.3 Jan 44 - 55 - 8.3
Feb 42 - 68 - 9.4 Feb 17 - 49 - 7.3
Mar 52 - 68 - 9.8 Mar 41 - 45 - 6.7
Apr 26 - 57 - 8.6 Apr 18 - 37 - 5.7
May 8 - 55 - 7.3 May 75 - 30 - 6.1
June 44 - 47 - 6.8 June ~1 - 43 - 6.1
July 100 - 52 - 7.7 July 6~ - 40 - 6.0
Aug 33 - 41 - 4.7 Aug 24 - 39 5.7
Sept 30 - 33 - 5.3 Sept 47 - 38 - 5.5
Oct 67 - 48 - 7.5 Oct 138 - 66 - 9.3
Nov 37 - 52 - 7.9 Nov 79 - 65 - 9.3
Dec 46 - 56 - 8.9 Dec 43 - 64 - 9.2

1981 1983
Jan 39 - 47 -
7.3 Jan 27 45 6.9
Feb 12 - 56 -
8.3 Feb 35 76 - 10.8
Mar 101 - 46 -
6.7 Mar 44 - 41 6.2
Apr 69 - 23 -
3.7 Apr 105 - 55 8.5
May 63 - 50 -
7.4 May 110 - 67 - 9.5
June 20 - 33 -
4.6 June 22 26 3.7
July 58 - 77 - 10.5 July 71 31 5.2
Aug 53 - 24 - 4.6 Aug 22 - 27 - 4.3
Sept 50 - 30 - 4.9 Sept 61 - 36 - 5.7
Oct 82 - 60 - 8.3 Oct 34 - 40 - 5.4
Nov 23 - 42 - 6.8 Nov 33 - 63 9.2
Dec 34 - 89 - 12.7 Dec 51 - 55 - 8.9

attachment of these tubes to the mass spectrometer inlet (Coleman et al., 1982).
Isotopic ratios were measured on a VG-Isogas 602E spectrometer with twin
analysers. Simultaneous measurements of the Wallingford working standard
water, WTW, enabled results to be calibrated on the V-SMOW-SLAP scale.
Reproducibility is estimated to be better than + 0.2%o 5180 and _+ 29/00 5 2 H .
Measurement of thermonuclear tritium in water extracted from drillcores by
vacuum distillation was performed by the Environmental Isotope Laboratory
of AERE Harwell with a precision of +_ 2 T R (1 TR = 1 atom of 3H to every 1 0 ~8
atoms of 1H). Chloride concentrations in water samples were measured by
automated colorimetry to a precision of + 1 mg 1-'.
36
2O
mg 1-1 15 14.4_-1.8 mg/I
10
62H -40 -47.7-*1.6%o

E %o -so
80
mm 4¢
13
-20

%o S
- Or ~ ~V'-54°~ ~-'-48%o I I r-51%o ~-'-50%o
-90 L z-.-.'522 m m L.,604m m ~ z--,632 m m l--, 6 1 5 m m

8O
mm 40

o
I 1980 1 1981 1 1982 I 1983 I

Fig. 2. The stable isotopic composition of rainfall and lysimeter drainage at Fleam Dyke.

-20
+
.¢.

-30 ÷ ÷ +
+ +

÷÷
-40 ÷ ÷

2 ÷
+ +÷
o -50
"I-
¢u

-60

~::~ 6'H = 7.30 6'~0 + 4 . 0 4

-70

+ + ÷
-80

-90 I I I 1 I I 1
-t3 -12 - 1t - t0 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3

6'80%o

Fig. 3. 62H versus 6180 for calculated monthly rainfall values at Fleam Dyke, 1979-83.
 37

8 2 H % 0 ESMOWl
-70 -60 -SO -40 -80 -S0 -40 -30 -20 -S0 -SO -40 -30 -20 -60 -SO -40 -30 -20
I I I I I r I I i I I I I I I I 1 l I
May 1979 Oct 1980 Feb 198,1. Sept 1981

2
3
~4

~5 ¶"t l e

E
K6 Bib positionof
the 1963-64
~
/' i '
~7 3H peak in ~,~' , '~
FD 3,7& GMI// / pl
8

10
arable land i ° FD 3 "FD7 • FD9 °FD11
"FD5 "FD8 =FD10 "FD12
grassland OGM1 DFDG

Fig. 4. Depth profiles of $2H for unsaturated zone water at Fleam Dyke (FD) at four dates between
1979 and 1981. Solid symbols are profiles below arable land (see Fig. 1); open symbols are profiles
below permanent grassland at Fleam Dyke (FDG) and at a site 6km away (GM1).

Rainfall

The weighted monthly mean isotopic compositions of rainfall over fifty

months from late 1979 to 1983 are listed in Table 1. From April 1981 these
averages are calculated from weekly sampling, but before this collections were
made daily and extreme day-to-day variations of up to 60 or 70%0 ~2H were
observed. Such short-term variations, the causes of which are not apparent
from simple comparisons with meteorological data, must reflect the complexity
of water vapour sources and air mass movements in the maritime climate of
England (Heathcote and Lloyd, 1986; Lawler, 1987). It is clear, too, from the
longer term record (Fig. 2) t h a t there is no simple relationship between isotope
ratio and amount of rainfall. However, the correlation between ~2H and 5180 for
monthly rainfall (Fig. 3) is strong:
52H = 7.305180 + 4.04 (r 2 = 0.96, n = 50)
Although there is a fairly well developed tendency for summer rainfall to be
isotopically enriched relative to winter rainfall, Fig. 2 shows that it is not
always the case: 1981 for example was unsettled in this respect.

Unsaturated zone water

Interstitial water samples from duplicated drillcores were taken from the
research site (Fig. 1) in May 1979, October 1980, and February and September
38

1981, and were ana|ysed in each case for 1~0 and ~H content. For clarity only
~2H is shown in Fig. 4, in which isotope compositions are plotted against depth.
Profiles from two permanent grassland sites are also shown: FDG from the
lysimeter block at Fleam Dyke, and GM1 from the Golf Course site 6 km away.
Thermonuclear tritium levels were also measured in porewaters from
boreholes FD3, FD7 and GM1, and the position of the 1963-64 peak is shown in
Fig. 4; the peak is well-defined at between 6 and 7m deep with values up to
190TR (Foster and Bath, 1983). The close similarity between data from
duplicate drillcores, shown in Fig. 4, suggests that the data are representative
of this site at their respective sampling dates.
The chloride content of all samples except those from FDG was measured,
but because of fertiliser application only the grassland borehole GM1 is
representative of the natural state. This profile has a "steady-state" drainage
C1- content of 23.4 + 1.4 mg l- 1.

Lysimeter drainage

Samples of lysimeter drainage collected between 1979 and 1983 had an

almost constant composition compared to fluctuations observed in rain (Fig. 2).
Isotopic values varied from - 5 0 to -45%o ~2H and f r o m - 7 . 3 to -6.5%0 ~lso.
Concentrations of chloride were in the range 11.3-18.5mg1-1. Unweighted
means are - 47.7%0~2H, - 7.0%0~lso and 14.4 mg 1-~ C1-. Two samples collected
in J a n u a r y and March, 1983, were analysed for tritium and found to contain 85
and 75 TR, respectively.

Groundwater

Groundwater from the catchment of the Chalk aquifer present at Fleam

Dyke was sampled in October 1983 at six pumping stations (including Fleam
Dyke) and two farm boreholes, all within a radius of 7 km of the research site.
Compositions were uniform: - 5 0 to -47%o62H, - 7 . 3 to -7.1%o~1so and 15-
30mg1-1C1-. Tritium in five of these samples varied between 3 and 7TR
(Table 2).

DISCUSSION

Rainfall

Weighted average rainfall for the calendar years 1980-83 has isotopic com-
positions of - 54, - 48, - 51 and - 50% 52H, respectively (Fig. 2). The weighted
average for the whole four years is -50.4%0 52H, close to the mean
of pumping station output (-48.4%o52H). From the low tritium values
measured at the pumping stations, quite apart from simple hydraulic considera-
tions, it is clear that little or none of this rainwater could have reached the
aquifer in time for sampling in late 1983, and therefore it is inferred that
 39
TABLE 2

Stable isotope, tritium and chloride data for groundwater from Fleam Dyke and surrounding area

Source Date of 5~H 5180 3H C1

sampling (%o) (%o) (TR) (mg l- 1)

Fleam Dyke PS June 1979 - 51 - 7.2 nd nd

FDG, water table June 1979 - 50 - 7.2 nd nd
Babraham PS Oct 1983 - 49 - 7.2 nd 30
Fleam Dyke PS Oct 1983 -48 - 7.3 7 19
Fulbourne PS Oct 1983 - 47 - 7.3 7 19
Linton PS Oct 1983 - 50 - 7.3 5 16
Westley PS Oct 1983 -49 - 7.2 3 16
Wilbraham PS Oct 1983 - 47 - 7.2 nd 15
Dotterel Hall Farm Oct 1983 - 48 - 7.1 3 18
Valley Farm, Fulbourne Oct 1983 - 49 - 7.1 nd 20
FD6, water table Apt 1984 - 48 -7.3 nd nd

PS - pumping station, nd = not determined.

recharge to the aquifer has remained isotopically constant for tens of years, if
not much longer. The similarity of rainfall composition to that of groundwater
also suggests that rainfall from all months of the year must contribute to
groundwater replenishment.

Unsaturated zone

Isotope ratios in temperate-climate unsaturated zone profiles might be

expected to reach near-surface minima in winter-spring owing to isotopically-
depleted winter rainfall, and maxima in summer-auttunn owing to isotopically-
e n r i c h e d s u m m e r r a i n f a l l a n d / o r e v a p o r a t i o n a l p r o c e s s e s . T h i s p a t t e r n is
l a r g e l y a d h e r e d t o a t F l e a m D y k e ( F i g . 4), t h o u g h t h e F e b r u a r y 1981 p r o f i l e s
(FD9/10) are anomalous, probably because the preceding relatively dry autumn
and early winter caused little modification of the previous October's profiles.
I n d e e d t h e l y s i m e t e r d r a i n a g e f o r t h e 1980-81 s e a s o n w a s b y F e b r u a r y 1981 t h e
lowest for four years, at only half the average of the previous three winters
( K i t c h i n g a n d S h e a r e r , 1982). S i g n s o f e v a p o r a t i o n a l e n r i c h m e n t a r e s e e n i n t h e
p r o f i l e s o f O c t o b e r 1980 ( a v e r a g e 5H2-~lsO g r a d i e n t o f 5.7 f o r s a m p l e s a b o v e t h e
i s o t o p i c m i n i m u m ) a n d t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t i n t h o s e o f S e p t e m b e r 1981 ( a v e r a g e
s l o p e 6.4). O t h e r w i s e , i s o t o p i c e n r i c h m e n t is p r e s u m e d t o b e d u e t o a n t e c e d e n t
rainfall.
Beneath a depth of about 1 m all the arable profiles have similar shapes and
v a l u e s , r e a c h i n g a g r e a t e s t d e p l e t i o n ( a b o u t - 54%0 5~H) b e t w e e n 1 a n d 2 m a n d
a g r e a t e s t e n r i c h m e n t ( a b o u t - 4 0 % o ) b e t w e e n 5 a n d 7 m. T h i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
shape could be due simply to climatic variability or soil physical effects, or both
combined. If variations are caused by climatic effects than these are on a
t i m e s c a l e o f s e v e r a l y e a r s , b e c a u s e t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e 1963 t h e r m o n u c l e a r
40

tritium peak in profiles FD3, 7 and GM1 shows that apparent drainage velocity
is only about 0.4 m a 1, whereas the scale of variation is of the order of a metre
or more. Rainfall isotopic records for Fleam Dyke do not go back far enough
to confirm or disprove a climatic effect, but there is some apparent downward
movement of the isotopic minimum between May 1979 and September 1981 (Fig.
4), and the distance (0.8 m) is consistent with rates of movement suggested by
the tritium peak. The apparent isotopic consistency of recharge, however,
implies that any climatic influences must average themselves out fairly
rapidly, and therefore shorter-term effects are more likely to be responsible for
profile minima.
It is considered by Barnes and Allison (1984) that the non-isothermal
conditions existing in the field soil column can cause development of an
isotopic profile which reaches a minimum value several per rail (~2H) more
negative than the steady-state drainage composition. While this may well be
the case for warmer semi-arid climates, the theory appears to demand soil
temperature gradients greater than the English climate is able to provide. A
more likely cause at Fleam Dyke is that heavy, isotopically depleted rainfall
may penetrate more deeply than lighter rainfall (an explanation also
considered by Turner et al. (1987) for some rather pronounced isotopic minima
in profiles from Western Australia). There is no good correlation between
rainfall amount and isotopic depletion apparent from Fig. 2, and even examina-
tion of daily data from 1980 (the only full calendar year available) shows that
the weighted mean of rainfall events exceeding twice the daily average of
4.9 mm is scarcely different from the mean of all 1980 rainfall. However, if these
larger events are divided into ~'winter" (January-March, October-December)
and ~'summer" (April-September) categories, weighted means are - 6 4 and
- 46%052H, respectively, from comparable amounts of rain. It therefore appears
that the isotopic minima are the product of rainfall during the winter, when
soil physical conditions are also likely to be more conducive to deeper pen-
etration, as indicated by the periodic nature of lysimeter discharge (Fig. 2).
62H, %o
-50 - 4 0L -30
o

~ 1 ~°
ID\
~ 2 "0.

3
b

4
1'5 2'0 2'5
moisture content, %

Fig. 5. Averaged moisture content (% dry weight) and J2H data for arable profiles FD7-FD12.
 41

Whatever the explanation of the characteristic profile shape, examination of

averaged moisture contents in the top 4 m of profiles FD7 to 12 (Fig. 5) reveals
that the isotopic minimum is associated with a soil water content well below
the maximum possible of around 25-30% by weight. This implies that the
isotopic deviations of the top few metres are of proportionately small
importance to the mass balance of the profile as a whole.
The two grassland profiles, GM1 and FDG, suggest that recharge beneath
permanent grass cover is somewhat isotopically-depleted relative to the arable
plots; the reasons for this would presumably be related to land use. Because
neither profile extends beyond 4m depth nor is duplicated the evidence is
somewhat equivocal, but the GM1 profile, taken 6 km away, is of significance
because it closely matches the FD3/5 profiles. This proves that factors peculiar
to the Fleam Dyke site alone are not involved in profile formation.

Lysimeter drainage

The average lysimeter drainage of approximately - 48%o/52H at 5 m depth is

virtually identical to the composition of groundwater measured in 1979 and
1984, both in the general area and beneath (or close by) the research plots
(Table 2). This does not agree with the drillcore profiles at the same depth (5 m),
which range between - 4 0 and -45% o~2H. However, the profiles sample the
micropore end of a probable continuum of drainage routes and can only
represent the bulk isotopic composition of all water drainage through the
unsaturated zone if an isotopic equilibrium has been reached with any faster-
moving water, which on this evidence is doubtful. The lysimeter has a surface
area of 25 m 2, over three thousand times greater than the cross-section of a
100 mm diameter drillcore and thus much more likely to contain a range of pore
and fissure sizes typical of the unsaturated zone throughout the catchment.
Therefore, though the lysimeter walls and base must inevitably distort natural
soil physical conditions, lysimeter drainage should be reasonably represen-
tative of the recharge water at least in the vicinity of a depth of 5 m. As the
isotopic composition is identical to t h a t at the water table some 10m or so
below it implies that possible short-to-medium term climatic fluctuations have
no discernible effect on the isotope ratios of recharge water.
Lysimeter discharge rates are known to respond to particularly heavy
rainfall events within a few days (T.R. Shearer, pers. commun.). If this is the
result of direct penetration, rather than a piston effect, the isotopic com-
position of percolate does not respond significantly to it, suggesting that either
direct infiltration is of little importance in volumetric terms, or that rapid
mixing with water in the larger pores has occurred.

Groundwater and the flow mechanism of infiltration

While the characteristic shape of the first few metres of each profile is of
problematical origin, lysimeter drainage and steady-state composition of
42
porewater are of more importance in terms of the bulk recharge to the Chalk
aquifer. Within measurement limits groundwater isotopic ratios are indistin-
guishable from those of lysimeter percolate, close to those of weighted annual
average rainfall, and have remained essentially unchanged for at least four
years both at Fleam Dyke pumping station and at the water table beneath the
research site (a borehole, FD6, was drilled to water table in 1979). Low ther-
monuclear tritium values in pumped wells in the area indicate only a small
component of post-1964 water in the aquifer (Table 2).
If lysimeter percolate is the result of admixture between slowly-moving
micropore water and faster drainage through fissures and macropores, then the
bulk of faster moving water must necessarily be isotopically lighter to bring
about the sampled compositions. It is not clear, owing to a lack of samples down
to water table, whether the arable porewater profiles really do reach a steady-
state drainage composition, or whether they are slowly becoming more isotop-
ically negative towards the water table. The evidence from the deepest profiles,
FD3, together with the water table samples from FD6 in 1979 and 1984 suggests
the latter may be the case. If true, it is probable that a large proportion of the
faster-moving water is achieving an isotopic equilibrium with the profile water
before water table is reached. The chloride balance of the system offers some
support to this theory of unsaturated zone flow. Lysimeter drainage is more
dilute, at an average of 14.4 + 1.8mgl-lC1 -, than "steady-state" porewater
C1 at about 23.4 + 1.4mg1-1 beneath grassland. Local pumping station and
farm well water (with the exception of Babraham) contains
17.6 + 1.9 mg l- 1C1- (Table 2). It is clear that as with isotopic ratios, lysimeter
drainage is not chemically identical to micropore water composition. The kind
of conditions t h a t promote this faster flow are therefore those that favour lower
levels of chloride and lighter isotopic composition. These might be presumed to
occur in winter when evapotranspiration is low and there is a tendency
(already demonstrated) for rainfall to be isotopically depleted.
The profiles GM1, and FDG (Fig. 4) suggest that grassland somehow causes
a slightly isotopically-lighter infiltration. Even if this is so it cannot have a
great influence on the catchment as a whole, because permanent grassland has
covered 10% or less of the catchment since the early 1940's (Carey and Lloyd,
1985). It is in any case contradicted by the lysimeter percolate which is isotopi-
cally identical to groundwater, most of which must be the result of recharge
under arable land. The implication therefore is that while grassland may result
in isotopically-lighter micropore water this is balanced by a modified fissure/
macropore flow, with net recharge closely similar to that under arable land in
terms of isotope ratio.

COMPARISON WITH OTHER CHALKSITES

The stable isotopic composition of infiltration water has been investigated
at two further sites in southern England, the locations of which are shown in
the inset to Fig. 1. The site at Bridgets Experimental Husbandry Farm (EHF)
 43

has also been studied by detailed soil physical measurements (Wellings and
Bell, 1980), and in addition a small irrigation experiment using deuterated
water followed by cored profile sampling was carried out (Wellings, 1982). The
Chalk at Gussage was the location of early studies on thermonuclear tritium
distribution in the unsaturated zone which established the concept of
downward piston displacement of most infiltration with minor by-pass flow
(Smith and Richards, 1972). Further tritium measurements at this site have
been reported and the simple model of piston displacement and preservation of
tritium mass balance critically examined (Foster and Smith-Carington, 1980).
At Bridgets EHF, 0.25 m of brown silty loam overlies rubbly chalk to 1.5 m,
below which is solid Upper Chalk. The water table is deep, at between 38 and
42 m depth. The 25-year mean annual rainfall is 794 ram. Samples of rain
collected from November 1978 to April 1981 had isotopic compositions related
by the equation:
62H = 7.38~1so+ 4.99 (r 2 = 0.97, n = 41)

Annual net infiltration is equivalent to about 0.9 m downward movement. A

profile of 52H is shown in Fig. 6; the scale of fluctuations corresponds to that
of annual infiltration, and seasonal variations are preserved with progressive
attenuation. The tracer experiments (Wellings, 1982) showed that the injected
pulse was almost completely dispersed by 2 m depth.
Interstitial water samples from the Chalk at Gussage were collected simul-
taneously with a further suite of samples for tritium analysis. Two profiles were
measured, OG9A and 10A (Fig. 6), which were below rough grassland, passing
through about 0.3 m of brown calcareous soil. Borehole OG9A reached water

62H%o [sMow~
-6o-so-,o 30 -6o-so-,o -3o
i = I i F ~ i ,
July 1979 Dec 1978

11 Gussage
2I

3
Bridget's
4 EHF
P
•$ 5
E
~6
7 i ~ position o1
the 1 9 6 3 - 6 4
3H peak in 1970
S
• OG 9 A
• OG IOA
10
all" 3H peak in 1977

12
iJ~ 3 H peak at - 1 5 m
13 in 1 9 7 9
'C-

Fig. 6. Typical depth profiles of 52H for u n s a t u r a t e d zone water at two other sites on Chalk in
southern England (see Fig. 1).
44

table at around 15m depth whereas OG10A terminated above this point.
Positions of the thermonuclear tritium peak in 1970, 1977 and 1979 are shown
in Fig. 6; these suggest somewhat irregular downward penetration of just under
1 m a - ' (Smith and Richards, 1972; Foster and Smith-Carington, 1980). Values
of fi2H show that seasonal cyclicity is preserved with decreasing amplitude to
about 6 m depth (Fig. 6). Similar results have been demonstrated for the Chalk
of the Champagne region, northern France, which is south of southern
England in terms of latitude but has a mean annual rainfall of 630 mm, similar
to Fleam Dyke though with higher infiltration (Vachier et al., 1987).
There is a clear contrast between the characteristic isotopic composition at
the top of the Fleam Dyke profiles and the propagation of seasonal rainfall
variations into the Bridgets E H F and Gussage Chalk profiles. This may be
attributed principally to higher infiltration rates in southern (> 400mm a 1)
than in eastern England (<200mma-1), but also to different infiltration
mechanisms. These latter would be influenced by bulk differences in lithology
due to position in the Chalk sequence and also conceivably by postdepositional
history, for example the absence of glaciation in southern England. Wellings
et al. (1982) report that matrix conductivity at Bridgets E H F is about five times
higher than at Fleam Dyke; this and other physical variables may be respons-
ible for allowing fissure flow more readily at Fleam Dyke than at Bridgets EHF.

CONCLUSIONS
Aquifer recharge appears from several years' records to be closely related to
weighted annual average rainfall and to have remained constant for many
years. This implies that rain the year round contributes to the isotopic com-
position of recharge.
There are signs that different land use can modify the balance of isotopic
distribution between infiltration flow paths, but no evidence that it can affect
the bulk composition of recharge.
The piston displacement mechanism of unsaturated zone flow adequately
explains isotopic profiles developed in southern England but is inappropriate
to the Fleam Dyke site, where the porewater isotope record shows no sign of
seasonal cyclicity. This variation in behaviour appears to depend primarily on
matrix conductivity, though rainfall amount must also contribute.
A conclusion relevant to pollution studies is that differences in infiltration
behaviour and, by implication, solute transfer have been shown to occur
between the three sites considered, and therefore results of site-specific studies
should be generalised with some caution.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful to Adrian Brunsdon for the majority of isotope measure-
ments. These studies were carried out in collaboration with the Groundwater
Diffuse Pollution Section and Infiltration Studies Section of the BGS Hydro-
geology Group, and the Soil Physics Section of the Institute of Hydrology. Our
 45

colleagues are thanked for collecting drillcore samples, extracting interstitial

water and collecting rainfall. A large amount of subsidiary information has
been made freely available to us. We particularly thank Sam Boyle, Lionel
Bridge, Jenny Cook, David Cooper, Stephen Foster, Amanda Geake, Adrian
Lawrence and Bob Shearer, and we pay tribute to the memory of the late Steve
Wellings, a valued colleague who contributed much to the knowledge of water
movement in the Chalk unsaturated zone. The comments of Brian Payne and
Brian Smith were helpful in improving this paper, which is published with the
permission of the Director, British Geological Survey (NERC).

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