Calcium isotope fractionation in groundwater: Molecular scale processes influencing field scale behavior

It is the purpose of this study to demonstrate that the molecular scale reaction mechanisms describing calcite precipitation and calcium isotope fractionations under highly controlled laboratory conditions also reproduce field scale measurements of δ44Ca in groundwater systems. We present data collected from an aquifer during active carbonate mineral precipitation and develop a reactive transport model capturing the observed chemical and isotopic variations. Carbonate mineral precipitation and associated fluid δ44Ca data were measured in multiple clogged well bores during organic carbon amended biogenic reduction of a uranium contaminated aquifer in western Colorado, USA. Secondary mineral formation induced by carbonate alkalinity generated during the biostimulation process lead to substantial permeability reduction in multiple electron-donor injection wells at the field site. These conditions resulted in removal of aqueous calcium from a background concentration of 6 mM to