Post by Azurerana on Nov 12, 2006 13:20:19 GMT -5
Study lowers age of Giant Springs water
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor
New scientific studies indicate that Giant Springs water may be a lot younger than anyone thought.
Labels on the Giant Springs water bottles say the liquid has been carbon-dated to 1,000 B.C.
"The entire trip of 38 miles from the Little Belts to Giant Springs takes many hundreds of years," proclaims a sign at the Giant Springs State Park.
But new studies cut that time to about 25 years.
"This water is much younger than we had believed," said John LaFave, hydrologist with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in Butte.
"It's flowing through that aquifer at a fairly good clip," he said.
The original estimate came from a master's thesis written by Garry Grimestad of Missoula.
"He carbon dates that water to 2,900 years old. And he was quite adamant about his study." said David Brown, president of Source Giant Springs, which bottles the water."In fact, he was convinced it was even older than 2,900 years."
Grimestad was not in his office last week and could not be reached by telephone, said a spokesman for his office.
But LaFave said carbon testing is flawed because water picks up additional carbon from the limestone in the Madison aquifer.
"The lab analyses are based on the amount of carbon in the water, but due to the new source of carbon, you get an artificially old age," he said. "I think that's how that 2,000-year estimate got there."
Article
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor
New scientific studies indicate that Giant Springs water may be a lot younger than anyone thought.
Labels on the Giant Springs water bottles say the liquid has been carbon-dated to 1,000 B.C.
"The entire trip of 38 miles from the Little Belts to Giant Springs takes many hundreds of years," proclaims a sign at the Giant Springs State Park.
But new studies cut that time to about 25 years.
"This water is much younger than we had believed," said John LaFave, hydrologist with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in Butte.
"It's flowing through that aquifer at a fairly good clip," he said.
The original estimate came from a master's thesis written by Garry Grimestad of Missoula.
"He carbon dates that water to 2,900 years old. And he was quite adamant about his study." said David Brown, president of Source Giant Springs, which bottles the water."In fact, he was convinced it was even older than 2,900 years."
Grimestad was not in his office last week and could not be reached by telephone, said a spokesman for his office.
But LaFave said carbon testing is flawed because water picks up additional carbon from the limestone in the Madison aquifer.
"The lab analyses are based on the amount of carbon in the water, but due to the new source of carbon, you get an artificially old age," he said. "I think that's how that 2,000-year estimate got there."
Article