Prices and Analytical Methods

Please contact us to discuss your needs before sending your samples to our lab.

Prices can vary depending on the sample size and interpretation required. We would be happy to work with you to build a project plan and pricing structure to suit your requirements.

The laboratory analysis prices quoted below will provide you with the concentration of each tracer in the sample. Costs for interpretation and reporting are additional, please contact us.

Please note: all tracer results are subject to some uncertainty due to the nature of real-world processes, thus it cannot be guaranteed that a concentrationwill be measurable nor water age calculable for any particular sample.

There is no VAT, GST or sales tax applicable to clients submitting from outside New Zealand. All prices are exclusive of GST.

Parameter Method Used Detection Limit Comment Price

Tritium

 Radiometric detection. Electrolytic enrichment + low level scintillation detectors TR = 0.03-0.04, Bq/kg = 0.004-0.005 Our samples are free from contamination during processing because of New Zealand's very low-tritium environment. NZ$ 650
CFCs Gas Chromatography with Electron Capture Detection   Ar & N2 are also determined NZ$ 330
SF6 Gas Chromatography with Electron Capture Detection     NZ$ 330
Assessment of groundwater security (tritium, CFCs, SF6 and interpretation)       NZ$ 1950
18O or deuterium measurement      

NZ $70 each

NZ $120 for both

32Si Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) Contact us
Tritium – direct measurement Radiometric detection. Contact us
Radiocarbon AMS Contact us

Additional costs:

  • Air freight from overseas / delivery costs within New Zealand (minor)
  • Fee for quarantine clearance by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (minor)

Interpretation of groundwater ages

Most groundwaters are mixtures of water with different ages because of the nature of flow in porous materials. The age distribution depends on the hydrogeologic attributes of the aquifer concerned, as well as characteristics of the sampling point such as bore depth and screen length. Well-defined flow models, which describe the distribution of different flow lines contributing to a groundwater sample, are used to calculate the mean age and the fraction of water of a certain age (Zuber, 1986).

References

  • Heaton, T.H.E., Vogel, J.C. 1981. "Excess air" in groundwater. Journal of Hydrology. 50, 201-216.
  • Plummer, L. N., Busenberg, E. 2000. Chlorofluorocarbons. In: Cook, P. G., Herczeg, A. L. (Ed.s) Environmental tracers in subsurface hydrology. Kluwer Academic, Boston. Ch15,441-478.
  • Zuber, A., 1986. Mathematical models for the interpretation of environmental radioisotopes in groundwater systems. Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, Vol. 2, Part B. Fritz P., Fontes J.Ch. (Eds), Elsevier, Amsterdam: 1-59.