Reply to comment by Klump et al. on ‘‘Noble gases and stable isotopes in a shallow aquifer in southern Michigan: Implications for noble gas paleotemperature reconstructions for cool climates’’

[1] In their comment, Klump et al. [2006], hereinafter referred to as KBK, make three main points concerning Hall et al. [2005]: (1) that the model of excess air that accounts for fractionation via the mechanism of diffusive loss should have produced significant changes from normal isotopic ratios; (2) the suggestion that the presence of excess He in the gas phase in the unsaturated zone is incorrect; and (3) the observed offset in noble gas temperatures (NGTs) from measured ground temperature can be explained by locking in noble gas concentrations during the annual snow melt. Point 3, which is by far the most relevant portion of the comment, deserves most of our attention in this reply. It is important to note up front that the model, as suggested in KBK is completely unworkable for the site studied in the work of Hall et al. [2005]. KBK note that more data would resolve some of the unresolved issues from Hall et al. [2005], but this is true for any preliminary study.