Tritium, deuterium and chloride concentrations in the Arima hot spring waters were measured as a clue to their origin and subsurface behavior. T-D-Cl relationships clearly indicate that the saline brine of deep origin (T=O TR, SD=-30%o and C1-=43 g/1) is mixed with young meteoric water having T=30 TR, SD= -50 %o and Cl-= Og/l in varying proportions to form a group of high chloride hot spring waters. The young meteoric water in a shallow aquifer is also mixed with the older meteoric water in a deeper aquifer characterized by high tritium concentration (^-100TR), forming another group of low chloride waters. The mixing ratio of the two meteoric waters varies with season.

Tritium concentrations in some hot spring waters and surface waters were determined. Tritium activity was measured with the liquid scintillation counter after the electrolytic enrichment. Most of the hot springs tested showed the tritium concentrations less than 10 TR, while those in the river water running in the vicinity were 70•1 00 TR. The low concentration of tritium in these hot spring waters suggests that they are of the rather old ground water origin. The hot springs in the Nasu district, on the other hand, showed almost the same tritium concentration as the stream waters. The origin of these spring waters, therefore, seems to be attributable to the rather fresh meteoric water.

No abstract

Monthlyvariations of tritium, deuterium and S042 concentrations in waters from a fumarole, seven hot springs, three rivers, and precipitation in the Nasu volcanic area were measured to investigate their origin and subsurface behavior. Most of waters in the Nasu district including fumarolic condensate are considered to be of meteoric origin on the basis of their 81) values. Hot-spring waters are classified into three groups according to their tritium concentration, i.e., the Group A waters with T=30 ^ 70TR (as of 1974), Group B waters having T=50 100TR with seasonal variation, and Group C waters with T=3 30TR and high SD values. A model is proposed that the water reservoirs are divided into three stratified aquifers, i.e., layers I, II and III, each of which is characterized by respective tritium concentration. The tritium concen tration of the shallowest layer-I water is close to the annual average tritium concentration for precipitation at the time of sampling (1974). The age of the layer-I water is considered to be less than a few years. The layer-II water occurs deeper than the layer-I, and is 5 12 years old. The layer-III water occurs beneath Nasu volcano, is very old and contains no tritium. Mixing of waters from the different layers produces Group A, B and C waters. Change in the mixing ratio causes seasonal variation in the isotopic and chemical compositions of some hot-spring waters.