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Advances in Isotope Tracer Techniques for Tracing and Quantifying Hydrological...
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Advances in Isotope Tracer Techniques for Tracing and Quantifying Hydrological Processes

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2019) | Viewed by 15801

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jean Birks

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
InnoTech Alberta, University of Victoria
Interests: isotope tracer techniques, isotope hydrology, stable isotopes, groundwater
Dr. John Gibson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
InnoTech Alberta, University of Victoria
Interests: isotope tracer techniques, isotope hydrology, stable isotopes, groundwater

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The utility of isotope techniques in hydrological investigations stems from their ability to label water sources and cycling processes including surface/groundwater interaction, water residence times, flow pathways, evaporation fluxes, and solute processes. The stable isotopes of water (18O, 2H) are most commonly employed as tracers as they are incorporated within the water molecule and because they undergo measureable and systematic fractionations as they move between phases in the water cycle. This labelling can be used in isotope mass balance models and streamflow partitioning studies to quantify lake water balances and partition streamflow. Combining hydrological data with solute isotopes (carbon, nitrogen, strontium, sulphur, and chloride) can be used to investigate geochemical processes that are linked to the hydrological cycle and groundwater surface water interactions.

Recent analytical and modelling advances such as the improved ability to measure noble gases, CFCs and the development of isotope-equipped hydrological models have expanded the isotope tracer toolkit available to hydrologists and hydrogeologists, providing the opportunity to develop new techniques that can be used to quantify and trace components of the hydrological cycle.

This Special Issue will aim to show the advances in isotope tracer techniques used to trace and quantify components of the hydrological cycle.

Dr. Jean Birks
Dr. John Gibson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • isotope tracers
  • water isotopes
  • oxygen-18
  • deuterium
  • surface water
  • water balance
  • noble gases
  • isotope equipped models
  • groundwater surface water interactions

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3694 KiB  
Article
Use of 222Rn and δ18O-δ2H Isotopes in Detecting the Origin of Water and in Quantifying Groundwater Inflow Rates in an Alarmingly Growing Lake, Ethiopia
by Seifu Kebede and Samson Zewdu
Water 2019, 11(12), 2591; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122591 - 9 Dec 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3733
Abstract
Dual Radon (222Rn) and δ18O-δ2H isotopes were utilized to (a) detect the origin of water, (b) pinpoint groundwater inflow zones and (c) determine rates of groundwater inflows in an expanding lake in central Ethiopia. The lake area [...] Read more.
Dual Radon (222Rn) and δ18O-δ2H isotopes were utilized to (a) detect the origin of water, (b) pinpoint groundwater inflow zones and (c) determine rates of groundwater inflows in an expanding lake in central Ethiopia. The lake area expanded from 2 km2 to 50 km2 over the last 60 years, causing serious engineering and socio-economic challenge (inundation of urban utilities, irrigation farms, railways and roads; ecological changes in the lake; and threatening water salinization for water users downstream). Commensurate with the changes in volume, there was a change in salinity of the lake from a hypersaline (TDS 50 g/L) to a near freshwater (3 g/L) condition. 222Rn is powerful in pinpointing sites of groundwater inflows and determining groundwater inflow rates in lake systems with non-hydrologic steady-state conditions. The 222Rn method is complemented by the use of the stable isotopes of water (δ18O-δ2H pair). The δ18O-δ2H isotopes were used to discriminate the source of the water responsible for the expansion of the lake. The results show that the main source of water responsible for the expansion of the lake is the irrigation of excess water joining the lake through subsurface flow paths. The fast and voluminous flow is aided by a dense network of faults and by seismically induced modern ground-cracks that enhance the transmissivity of the aquifers to as high as 15,000 m2/day. The 222Rn mass balance shows the groundwater inflow rate is estimated at 4.6 m3/s. This is comparable with the 4.9 m3/s annual seepage loss from three large farms in the area. This work adds to the meager literature in the use of 222Rn in lake-groundwater interaction studies by demonstrating the capability of the method in addressing a practical engineering and socio-economic challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Isotope Tracer Techniques for Tracing and Quantifying Hydrological Processes)
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12 pages, 3302 KiB  
Article
Validation of Cryogenic Vacuum Extraction of Pore Water from Volcanic Soils for Isotopic Analysis
by Diego Rivera, Karen Gutierrez, Walter Valdivia-Cea, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, Alex Godoy-Faúndez, Amaya Álvez and Laura Farías
Water 2019, 11(11), 2214; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112214 - 24 Oct 2019
Viewed by 3146
Abstract
Andean headwater catchments are key components of the hydrological cycle, given that they capture moisture, store water and release it for Chilean cities, industry, agriculture, and cities in Chile. However, knowledge about within-Andean catchment processes is far from clear. Most soils in the [...] Read more.
Andean headwater catchments are key components of the hydrological cycle, given that they capture moisture, store water and release it for Chilean cities, industry, agriculture, and cities in Chile. However, knowledge about within-Andean catchment processes is far from clear. Most soils in the Andes derive from volcanic ash Andosols and Arenosols presenting high organic matter, high-water retention capacity and fine pores; and are very dry during summer. Despite their importance, there is little research on the hillslope hydrology of Andosols. Environmental isotopes such as Deuterium and 18-O are direct tracers for water and useful on analyzing water-soil interactions. This work explores, for the first time, the efficiency of cryogenic vacuum extraction to remove water from two contrasting soil types (Arenosols, Andosols) at five soil water retention energies (from −1500 to −33 kPa). Two experiments were carried out to analyse the impact of extraction time, and initial water content on the amount of extracted water, while a third experiment tested whether the cryogenic vacuum extraction changed the isotopic ratios after extraction. Minimum extraction times to recover over 90% of water initially in the soil samples were 40–50 min and varied with soil texture. Minimum volume for very dry soils were 0.2 mL (loamy sand) and 1 mL (loam). After extraction, the difference between the isotope standard and the isotopic values after extraction was acceptable. Thus, we recommend this procedure for soils derived from volcanic ashes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Isotope Tracer Techniques for Tracing and Quantifying Hydrological Processes)
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13 pages, 10853 KiB  
Article
The Stable Isotopic Composition of Different Water Bodies at the Soil–Plant–Atmosphere Continuum (SPAC) of the Western Loess Plateau, China
by Cunwei Che, Mingjun Zhang, Athanassios A. Argiriou, Shengjie Wang, Qinqin Du, Peipei Zhao and Zhuanzhuan Ma
Water 2019, 11(9), 1742; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11091742 - 21 Aug 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3905
Abstract
Understanding the isotopic composition and interrelations of different water bodies at the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum (SPAC) is crucial to reveal the processes and mechanisms of regional water cycles. Rainfall, river water, plant, and soil samples from Lanzhou City, China, were collected from April to [...] Read more.
Understanding the isotopic composition and interrelations of different water bodies at the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum (SPAC) is crucial to reveal the processes and mechanisms of regional water cycles. Rainfall, river water, plant, and soil samples from Lanzhou City, China, were collected from April to October 2016. The hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) of the local precipitation, river water, soil water, plant xylem water, and leaf water were determined. We found that trees mainly uptake the middle (30–60 cm) and deep (60–100 cm) layer soil water during the growing season, and the shrubs mainly uptake the middle soil water. All herbs uptake the shallow soil water (0–30 cm) during the growing season. The δ18O of shallow soil water was found to be isotopic-enriched because of evaporation and exhibited a decline from the shallow soil layer towards the deeper layer. The variation of δ18O and soil water content (SWC) was remarkable in shallow soil, which was mainly due to evaporation and precipitation infiltration, while water in the middle and deep layer was less affected by these phenomena. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Isotope Tracer Techniques for Tracing and Quantifying Hydrological Processes)
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17 pages, 1938 KiB  
Article
Iron Isotopic Composition of Suspended Particulate Matter in Hongfeng Lake
by Xiaodi Zheng, Yanguo Teng and Liuting Song
Water 2019, 11(2), 396; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020396 - 24 Feb 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4160
Abstract
The geochemical study of iron isotopes is of great significance to comprehensively understand the surface material circulation process and its environmental effects in surface and subsurface environments. Eutrophic lakes are an important part of the surface and subsurface environment; however, knowledge of the [...] Read more.
The geochemical study of iron isotopes is of great significance to comprehensively understand the surface material circulation process and its environmental effects in surface and subsurface environments. Eutrophic lakes are an important part of the surface and subsurface environment; however, knowledge of the geochemical behaviour and fractionation mechanism of iron isotopes in the biogeochemical cycling of eutrophic lakes is still scarce. In this study, a eutrophic lake with seasonal anaerobic characteristics (Hongfeng Lake) was selected as the study object to systematically analyse the iron isotope composition of suspended particles in lake water and the main tributaries in different seasons. The results show that the value of δ56Fe in Hongfeng Lake is between −0.85‰ and +0.14‰, and the value of δ56Fe has a high linear correlation with Fe/Al, indicating that the continental source material carried by the main inflow tributaries of the lake has an important influence on the source of iron in the lake. And Hongfeng Lake is moderately eutrophic lakes. Algal bloom and the content of chlorophyll a (Chl-a) are high, combined with the high correlation between Chl-a and the value of δ56Fe, which indicates that the growth of algae has an important influence on the change in the iron isotope composition of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in lake water and that the adsorption and growth absorption of Fe by algae are the main reason for the change in the value of δ56Fe; therefore, Fe isotope can be used to trace the lake’s biological action. For the lake and its inflow tributaries, δ56Fe values are higher in summer than in winter. The variation in the δ56Fe value of SPM with lake depth is more distinct in summer than in winter. In addition, there is a distinct thermocline in summer, which leads to hydrochemical stratification. Moreover, according to a linear correlation analysis, the content of dissolved organic matter (DOC) in Hongfeng Lake’s upper and lower water bodies, respectively, has a high correlation with the value of δ56Fe. Specifically, the correlation is positive in the upper water but negative in the lower water, which indicates that the difference in algae metabolism patterns between the upper and lower water bodies of Hongfeng Lake plays an important role in the iron isotope composition of SPM. The composition of the iron isotope in SPM is altered by organic adsorption and growth absorption of algae in the upper water. With an increase in depth, degradation becomes the main process. In addition, the value of δ56Fe is low and that of Fe/Al is high in the water bottom, which indicates that a “ferrous-wheel” cycle forms at the bottom of the water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Isotope Tracer Techniques for Tracing and Quantifying Hydrological Processes)
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