US Egypt Cooperative Research: Comparisons between New Mexico and Egyptian travertines and tufas and their implications for paleoclimate and neotectonic influences on ground water

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

This US-Egypt collaborative project is a comparative study between spring vents, groundwaters, and travertines in the Nubian Desert of northern Egypt and similar springs in the Rio Grande rift of New Mexico. The US team, lead by Dr. Karl Karlstrom at the University of New Mexico will establish a new collaboration with Egyptian scientist Dr. Moustafa Selmi at Suez Canal University in Egypt. This project provides the US team access to a new arid field site and will enable them to expand their study of the detrimental effects of deeply sourced fluids on groundwater quality. This collaborative project has direct societal relevance for the management of water resources in Egypt, the western US, and other arid regions where population growth places a strain on water resources. Intellectual merit. The research team will map and sample travertine-depositing springs because they are the surface record of fault-controlled conduit systems that tend to partition aquifer basins. These springs are associated with the highest values of endogenic fluid components (high in salts, 3He/4He, CO2, and metals) and hence of importance for understanding the endogenic endmember involved in groundwater mixing. The travertine itself also provides a datable record, using precise uranium-series geochronology, of the paleohydrology of these important regions. Ongoing studies in the western US and Australia have provided important data in addressing public concerns about how to protect and manage perennial spring vents, and protect their delicately balanced ecosystems, which include endemic species and unique microbiology. The term "vents" is used in a very literal sense as the PIs' overarching model is that these systems are continental analogs to the black and white smokers found in oceanic rift environments. Broader impacts. Support for this joint Egypt-U.S. venture will allow the team to extend and better test the model and to engage two graduate students in an international research experience. The US PIs will work together with the University of Suez Canal to help build Egyptian and international collaboration through two planned workshops to be held in Egypt and hosted by the University of Suez Canal. The work plan will follow methods of Crossey et al., 2006; 2009, to map and sample water and gas from many of the travertine-depositing springs in the Nubian Desert, analyze water chemistry to parse out CO2 sources and analyze gas chemistry (including noble gases) to evaluate percentages of mantle and deep crustal-derived fluids mixing into the groundwater system. This project has intrinsic scientific interest in terms of understanding links between tectonics and endogenic influences on groundwater quality. It has broader impacts in terms of management of groundwater supply, training of junior scientists, and international cooperation.