New noble gas mass spectrometer at Waite heralds exciting era for groundwater science

A new tritium facility (TRIFIN) will enable novel discoveries of the hydrological cycle.

Tritium (³H₂O) in environmental samples such as water naturally decays to Helium-3 (³He) which can be measured by noble gas mass spectrometry using CSIRO’s TRIFIN (TRItium Facility via Ingrowth). Based on the unique features of mass spectrometry combined with a highly-automated and precise preparation of water samples, tritium measurements via ³He will have much greater sensitivity, require smaller sample volumes and complete the measurement in a shorter turn-around time compared to conventional methods.

Owing to these features, TRIFIN will accelerate innovation in hydrological sciences in a number of areas, including:

• Ability to measure tritium at lower detection limits owing to the lower concentrations of bomb-tritium in rainwater on the Southern Hemisphere
• Better detection limits will improve the assessment of different age components in mixed waters
• Water-limited environments including dry unsaturated zones are rarely sampled because insufficient sample volumes can be extracted for traditional tritium measurements; tritium measurements via ingrowth with He-3 require smaller sample volumes thus unlocking new opportunities for unsaturated zone science
• An ingrowth device delivers greater throughput at lower costs: (1) more samples can be sampled and analysed, delivering more comprehensive data sets for system conceptualisation and groundwater model calibration, (2) time-series with high temporal resolution can be established for monitoring streamflow (e.g. low flows)
• The ability to accurately measure more samples at lower cost provides opportunities for involving non-specialists in sampling, thus promoting citizen science.