Scholarly record
STABLE ISOTOPE VALUES OF THE GROUNDWATER AS FUNCTION OF THE SOIL PROPERTIES
Abstract
The stable isotopes oxygen-18 (18O) and deuterium (2H) are naturally abundant in precipitation. Due to fractionation effects, a seasonally variable distribution of water isotopes occurs in the precipitation of temperate and continental regions. Water isotopes, being conservative tracers, are ideal for investigating subsurface flow processes. They reveal information about soil water fluxes like evaporation, transpiration, downward infiltration and others that are difficult to determine by other techniques. We are using the observations from meteorological station and monthly average values of stable isotopes (?18O and ?2H) in precipitation in Riga, Latvia to model the isotopic composition of soil water and groundwater recharge. A simplified soil root-zone model as fully mixed reservoir is used. It is assumed that all the precipitation is infiltrated immediately, and water is lost from the soil due to evapotranspiration as calculated with Penman-Monteith equation and any water in excess of field capacity is exported to the groundwater. We have found that the range of the average isotopic composition of groundwater recharge in different soils types is similar to the uncertainty of the groundwater isoscape values in the region. The approach can be applied to refine the existing isoscape maps by considering the relationship between soil properties, evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge and infer groundwater recharge processes.
Publication Impact Profile
Publication details
References8
Raidla V., Kern Z., Pärna J., Babre A., Erg K., Ivask J., Kalvāns A., Kohán B., Lelgus M., Martma T., Mokrik R., Popovs K., Vaikmäe R., A δ18O isoscape for the shallow groundwater in the Baltic Artesian Basin, Journal of Hydrology, vol. 542, pp. 254–267, 2016.
Babre A., Kalvāns A., Popovs K., Dēliņa A., Retiķe I., Bikše J., Surface water - groundwater interaction IN the Salaca drainage basin using stable isotope analysis, in Proceedings 22nd Annual International Scientific Conference “Research for Rural Development 2016” Latvia, vol. 1, pp. 216–220., 2016
Hendriks M.R., Introduction to Physical Hydrology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University press, 2010.
Tóth B., Weynants M., Pásztor L., Hengl T., 3D soil hydraulic database of Europe at 250 m resolution, Hydrological Processes, vol. 31, no. 14, pp. 2662–2666, 2017.
Tóth B., Weynants M., Nemes A., Makó A., Bilas G., Tóth G., New generation of hydraulic pedotransfer functions for Europe, European Journal of Soil Science, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 226–238, 2015.
Ma B., Liang X., Liu S., Jin M., Nimmo J.R., Li J., Evaluation of diffuse and preferential flow pathways of infiltrated precipitation and irrigation using oxygen and hydrogen isotopes, Hydrogeology Journal, pp. 675–688, 2017.
Feng X., Faiia A.M., Posmentier E.S., Seasonality of isotopes in precipitation: A global perspective, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, vol. 114, no. 8, pp. 1–13, 2009.
Bowen G. J., Spatial analysis of the intra-annual variation of precipitation isotope ratios and its climatological corollaries, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, vol. 113, no. 5, pp. 1–10, 2008.
Citing literature
Number of times cited according to Crossref: 1
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.
