Water transport through Lake Kinneret sediments traced by tritium

The transport of water through the sediments of Lake Kinneret was estimated using tritium of fallout origin as a tracer. The calculation model takes into account the diffusion of the tracer and its decay, and allows for the advective flux through the sediment pores as a free parameter. The dependence of the interstitial diffusion constant on the porosity was assumed identical to that for chloride ions. Tritium profiles in nine cores were used for estimating the advective fluxes and velocities, by finding the best fit between data and model. Water advective fluxes of 3.4 g cm^?2 yr^?1 into the lake were found. This water flux is negligible in the hydrological balance of Lake Kinneret; but it carries along 7% of the unaccounted-for chloride input to the lake.