Geochemical evolution and timescale of seawater intrusion into the coastal aquifer of Israel

Inspection of chemical data from coastal aquifers around the world indicates that intensive ion exchange in slightly diluted saline groundwater is a globally important phenomenon of seawater intrusion. Most of our saline groundwater samples contain substantial amounts of 3H suggesting that penetration of Mediterranean seawater and its inland travel to a distance of 50-100 m onshore occurred 15-30 yr ago. This is supported by the 14CDIC mass balance that explains the relatively low 14CDIC activities in the SDS as influenced by diagenesis and not by simple radioactive decay.