Geochemistry, radiocarbon ages, and paleorecharge conditions along a transect in the central High Plains aquifer, southwestern Kansas, USA

Water samples from short-screen monitoring wells installed along a 90-km transect in southwestern Kansas were analyzed for major ions, trace elements, isotopes (H, B, C, N, O, S, Sr), and dissolved gases (He, Ne, N₂, Ar, O₂, CH₄) to evaluate the geochemistry, radiocarbon ages, and paleorecharge conditions in the unconfined central High Plains aquifer. The primary reactions controlling water chemistry were dedolomitization, cation exchange, feldspar weathering, and O₂ reduction and denitrification. Radiocarbon ages adjusted for C mass transfers ranged from 10 ka to reduce the average NO₃ concentration in recent recharge to the Holocene background concentration.