[1] The chloride mass balance (CMB) method for estimating groundwater recharge is economic and effective, provided that the hydrological conditions for its applications are met and the modeling parameters are known. However, modeling parameters such as precipitation and Cl À deposition rates vary temporally, most notably as a result of the climatic changes from late Pleistocene to Holocene. The temporal variability of atmospheric Cl À input and annual precipitation were considered in this study by using a discrete steady state CMB model with different parameters for late Pleistocene and Holocene. Cl À deposition rates, estimated from 36 Cl data, were lower in late Pleistocene than Holocene at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, but higher in late Pleistocene than Holocene at Black Mesa, Arizona. Paleoclimate proxies at both Yucca Mountain and Black Mesa point to higher precipitation rates in late Pleistocene than Holocene. The resulting average recharge estimates for Black Mesa are 9 ± 5 mm/yr for Holocene and 35 ± 22 mm/yr for late Pleistocene. Local recharge rates at Yucca Mountain were estimated from the 36 Cl/Cl ratios and Cl À concentrations in perched waters. The estimated recharge for Yucca Mountain is 5 ± 1 mm/yr for Holocene and 15 ± 5 mm/yr for late Pleistocene. These recharge rates are comparable to results of independent numerical groundwater flow models and watershed-scale infiltration models at Black Mesa and Yucca Mountain, respectively.INDEX TERMS: 1040 Geochemistry: Isotopic composition/chemistry; 1829 Hydrology: Groundwater hydrology; 1045 Geochemistry: Low-temperature geochemistry; 1836 Hydrology: Hydrologic budget (1655); KEYWORDS: recharge, Yucca mountain, chloride mass balance, chlorine-36, paleohydrology Citation: Zhu, C., J. R. Winterle, and E. I. Love, Late Pleistocene and Holocene groundwater recharge from the chloride mass balance method and chlorine-36 data, Water Resour.

The Kettle Creek watershed contains 50–100-year-old surface and underground coal mines that are a continuing source of acid mine drainage (AMD). To characterize the mining-altered hydrology of this watershed, an airborne reconnaissance was conducted in 2002 using airborne thermal infrared imagery (TIR) and helicopter-mounted electromagnetic (HEM) surveys. TIR uses the temperature differential between surface water and groundwater to locate areas where groundwater emerges at the surface. TIR anomalies located in the survey included seeps and springs, as well as mine discharges. In a follow-up ground investigation, hand-held GPS units were used to locate 103 of the TIR anomalies. Of the sites investigated, 26 correlated with known mine discharges, whereas 27 were previously unknown. Seven known mine discharges previously obscured from TIR imagery were documented. HEM surveys were used to delineate the groundwater table and also to locate mine pools, mine discharges, and groundwater recharge zones. These surveys located 12 source regions and flow paths for acidic, metal-containing (conductive) mine drainage; areas containing acid-generating mine spoil; and areas of groundwater recharge and discharge, as well as identifying potential mine discharges previously obscured from TIR imagery by nondeciduous vegetation. Follow-up ground-based electromagnetic surveys verified the results of the HEM survey. Our study suggests that airborne reconnaissance can make the remediation of large watersheds more efficient by focusing expensive ground surveys on small target areas.