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Title: Using strontium isotopes to evaluate the spatial variation of groundwater recharge

Journal Article · · Science of the Total Environment
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
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Recharge of alluvial aquifers is a key component in understanding the interaction between floodplain vadose zone biogeochemistry and groundwater quality. The Rifle Site (a former U-mill tailings site) adjacent to the Colorado River is a well-established field laboratory that has been used for over a decade for the study of biogeochemical processes in the vadose zone and aquifer. This site is considered an exemplar of both a riparian floodplain in a semiarid region and a post-remediation U-tailings site. In this paper we present Sr isotopic data for groundwater and vadose zone porewater samples collected in May and July 2013 to build a mixing model for the fractional contribution of vadose zone porewater (i.e. recharge) to the aquifer and its variation across the site. The vadose zone porewater contribution to the aquifer ranged systematically from 0% to 38% and appears to be controlled largely by the microtopography of the site. The area-weighted average contribution across the site was 8% corresponding to a net recharge of 7.5 cm. Given a groundwater transport time across the site of ~1.5 to 3 years, this translates to a recharge rate between 5 and 2.5 cm/yr, and with the average precipitation to the site implies a loss from the vadose zone due to evapotranspiration of 83% to 92%, both ranges are in good agreement with previously published results by independent methods. A uranium isotopic (234U/238U activity ratios) mixing model for groundwater and surface water samples indicates that a ditch across the site is hydraulically connected to the aquifer and locally significantly affects groundwater. Groundwater samples with high U concentrations attributed to natural bio-reduced zones have 234U/238U activity ratios near 1, suggesting that the U currently being released to the aquifer originated from the former U-mill tailings.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; ACO2-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1542323
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1548196
Journal Information:
Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 637-638, Issue C; ISSN 0048-9697
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 22 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (5)

Hydrogeochemical Characteristics and Quality Assessment of Groundwater in an Irrigated Region, Northwest China journal January 2019
The provenance of deep groundwater and its relation to arsenic distribution in the northwestern Hetao Basin, Inner Mongolia journal October 2019
Determining the Impact of Riparian Wetlands on Nutrient Cycling, Storage and Export in Permeable Agricultural Catchments journal January 2020
Mobilization of Arsenite by Dissimilatory Reduction of Adsorbed Arsenate journal November 2000
The provenance of deep groundwater and its relation to arsenic distribution in the northwestern Hetao Basin, Inner Mongolia journal January 2019

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
87Sr/86Sr
Uranium isotopes
semiarid environment
vadose zone
hydrology
microtopography