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Water
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Stable Isotopes as Groundwater Discharge Tracers: Recent Developments
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Stable Isotopes as Groundwater Discharge Tracers: Recent Developments

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrogeology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 2692

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jorge Jódar Bermúdez

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Guest Editor
Centro Nacional Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IGME-CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: isotope hydrology; alpine hydrogeology; aquifer recharge; nature-based solutions; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Albert Soler

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Grup MAiMA, SGR Mineralogia Aplicada, Geoquímica i Geomicrobiologia, Departament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
Interests: stable isotopes; environmental chemistry; mineralogy; hydrogeology; geochemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Stable isotopes are powerful tools for characterizing both the behavior and processes in groundwater systems. They are also useful for quantifying water and solute exchanges between surface and groundwater compartments, driven by various hydrological processes, from precipitation to groundwater discharge. The information obtained helps understand the dynamics of aquifers, including their recharge, flow patterns, age and vulnerability to contamination. This knowledge is essential for effective groundwater management and sustainable use of water resources.

In this Special Issue of Water, we encourage submissions describing the application of stable isotopes to explore the role of different hydrological and hydrogeochemical processes driving aquifer behavior in terms of the isotopic content in groundwater.

Dr. Jorge Jódar Bermúdez
Prof. Dr. Albert Soler
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • stable isotope
  • environmental tracer
  • fractionation
  • recharge
  • transit time
  • groundwater origin
  • anthropogenic impact
  • denitrification
  • sulphate reduction
  • salinisation
  • contamination
  • remediation
  • pollutant sources

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 5866 KiB  
Article
Delineation of the Hydrogeological Functioning of a Karst Aquifer System Using a Combination of Environmental Isotopes and Artificial Tracers: The Case of the Sierra Seca Range (Andalucía, Spain)
by Antonio Lope Morales-González, Jorge Jódar, Francisco Moral-Martos, Rosario Jiménez-Espinosa, Fernando Gázquez and Antonio González-Ramón
Water 2024, 16(19), 2768; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16192768 - 28 Sep 2024
Viewed by 937
Abstract
The Sierra Seca aquifer system is located in the northeast (NE) of the province of Granada, in the Prebetic Domain (Betic Cordillera). It is composed of different aquifer units hosted in the Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous limestones. The two aquifers are separated [...] Read more.
The Sierra Seca aquifer system is located in the northeast (NE) of the province of Granada, in the Prebetic Domain (Betic Cordillera). It is composed of different aquifer units hosted in the Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous limestones. The two aquifers are separated by a low permeability marl layer, which effectively acts as a barrier between them. To outline the behavior of the hydrogeological system, 407 samples of precipitation and 67 samples of groundwater were obtained from May 2020 to Oct. 2022 and isotopically (δ18O and δ2H) analyzed. For the estimation of the recharge elevation, a new methodology has been applied to estimate the isotopic content of recharge as a function of precipitation. This allowed the evaluation of the vertical gradient of both precipitation (∇Zδ18OP=−2.9 ‰/km) and aquifer recharge (−4.4 ‰/km≤∇Zδ18OR≤−2.9 ‰/km). Therefore, estimating (1) the recharge zone elevation associated with the aquifer system, which is comprised between 1500 and 1700 m a.s.l., and (2) the transit time of recharge to reach the outflow point of the aquifer system, which varies between 4 and 5 months, is possible. Additionally, three tracer tests were conducted to outline the hydrologic connection between the recharge and discharge zones of the aquifer system. The results show that the Fuente Alta spring drains the limestones of the Lower Cretaceous, while La Natividad spring does the same with the limestones of the Upper Cretaceous. In the case of the Enmedio spring, groundwater discharge is related to infiltration through the streambed of the watercourse fed by the Fuente Alta spring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stable Isotopes as Groundwater Discharge Tracers: Recent Developments)
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24 pages, 8067 KiB  
Article
An Evaluation of the Brine Flow in the Upper Part of the Halite Nucleus of the Salar de Atacama (Chile) through an Isotopic Study of δ18O and δ2H
by Christian Herrera, Javier Urrutia, Linda Godfrey, Jorge Jódar, Mario Pereira, Constanza Villarroel, Camila Durán, Ivan Soto, Elizabeth J. Lam and Luis Gómez
Water 2024, 16(18), 2651; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16182651 - 18 Sep 2024
Viewed by 988
Abstract
A hydrogeological study of the shallowest part of the halite nucleus of the Salar de Atacama is presented, focusing on the isotopic variability in δ18O and δ2H (SMOW) in the brine. It is observed that intensive brine extraction has [...] Read more.
A hydrogeological study of the shallowest part of the halite nucleus of the Salar de Atacama is presented, focusing on the isotopic variability in δ18O and δ2H (SMOW) in the brine. It is observed that intensive brine extraction has induced upward vertical flows from the lower aquifer, which presents with a lighter isotopic composition (δ18O: −0.87‰ to −2.49‰; δ2H: −26.04‰ to −33.25‰), toward the upper aquifer, which has more variable and enriched isotopic values. Among the possible explanations for the lighter isotopic composition of the lower aquifer waters is the influence of paleolakes formed during the wetter periods of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene that recharged the underlying aquifers. The geological structure of the Salar, including faults and the distribution of low-permeability layers, has played a determining role in the system’s hydrodynamics. This study emphasizes the need for continuous and detailed monitoring of the isotopic composition to assess the sustainability of the water resource in response to brine extraction and future climate changes. Additionally, it suggests applying this methodology to other salt flats in the region for a better understanding of hydrogeological processes in arid zones. The research provides an integrative view of the relationship between resource extraction, water management, and ecosystem conservation in one of the most important salars in the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stable Isotopes as Groundwater Discharge Tracers: Recent Developments)
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