Abstract. The roles of groundwater flow in the hydrological cycle within the alpine area characterized by permafrost and/or seasonal frost are poorly known. This study explored the role of permafrost in controlling groundwater flow and the hydrological connections between glaciers in high mountains and rivers in the low piedmont plain with respect to hydraulic head, temperature, geochemical and isotopic data, at a representative catchment in the headwater region of the Heihe River, northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The results show that the groundwater in the high mountains mainly occurred as suprapermafrost groundwater, while in the moraine and fluvioglacial deposits on the planation surfaces of higher hills, suprapermafrost, intrapermafrost and subpermafrost groundwater cooccurred. Glacier and snow meltwaters were transported from the high mountains to the plain through stream channels, slope surfaces, and supraand subpermafrost aquifers. Groundwater in the Quaternary aquifer in the piedmont plain was recharged by the lateral inflow from permafrost areas and the stream infiltration and was discharged as baseflow to the stream in the north. Groundwater maintained streamflow over the cold season and significantly contributed to the streamflow during the warm season. Two mechanisms were proposed to contribute to the seasonal variation of aquifer water-conduction capacity: (1) surface drainage through the stream channel during the warm period and (2) subsurface drainage to an artesian aquifer confined by stream icing and seasonal frost during the cold season.
Compared with arctic and subarctic catchments, our knowledge about the hydrological functions of glaciers and porous aquifers is still limited for the partly glacierized alpine‐gorge headwaters in the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. Here we examine the impact of glacial and groundwater storage on the variability of warm‐season (June to September) discharge from the Hulugou catchment, an alpine‐gorge headwater with 3% glacial coverage, by quantifying the timing and magnitude of contributions of glacier‐snow meltwater, baseflow, and rainwater to streamflow using a three‐component hydrograph separation model. It is found that baseflow was the largest component (55 ± 2%) of warm‐season streamflow while glacier‐snow meltwater also contributed significantly (30 ± 10%) despite of the very low glacial coverage. We suggest that the water flowing out of glaciers was mainly supplied by the melting short‐ and intermediate‐term storages (i.e., snow over glaciers), which led to the high meltwater contribution to streams during the warm season and the high peaks of meltwater discharge following heavy precipitation events. The porous aquifers in piedmont plain may serve as major reservoirs that store a growing body of groundwater during the warm season, which explains the general increasing trend of baseflow contribution during this period. The moraine and talus deposits in high mountains, by contrast, allow groundwater to pass through them quickly and therefore being responsible for the obvious responses of baseflow contribution amount to heavy rainfall events. Our findings suggest that small mountain glaciers and porous aquifers may play a greater role than expected in hydrological regulation in the alpine‐gorge catchments of northeastern Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau.
Significant uncertainty remains in understanding the groundwater flow pathways in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Hydrogeochemical and isotopic data as well as hydrogeological data were combined to explore the groundwater flow path in a representative cold alpine catchment in the headwater region of the Heihe River. The results indicate that the suprapermafrost groundwater chemical components were mainly affected by calcite dissolution and evaporation, whereas the geochemistry of subpermafrost groundwater was controlled by dolomite and gypsum dissolution, calcite precipitation, and albite and halite dissolution. Distinct hydrogeochemical characteristics and controlling processes suggest a poor hydraulic connectivity between the suprapermafrost and subpermafrost groundwater. The hydraulic connectivity between permafrost groundwater and groundwater in the seasonally frozen area was confirmed by their similar hydrogeochemical features. In the seasonally frozen area, a silty clay layer with low permeability separates the aquifer into the deep (depth >20 m) and shallow (depth <20 m) flow paths. The deep groundwater was characterized by the enhanced dedolomitization and enhanced cation exchange processes compared with the shallow groundwater. Groundwater in the seasonally frozen area finally discharges as base flow into the stream. These results provide useful information about the groundwater flow systems in the unique alpine gorge catchments in Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The above findings suggest that the permafrost distribution and the aquifer structures within the seasonally frozen area have significant impact on groundwater flow paths. Cross‐validation by drilling work and hydrograph data confirms that the hydrogeochemical and isotopic tracers combined with field investigations can be relatively low‐cost tools in interpreting the groundwater flow paths in similar alpine catchments.
Abstract:High groundwater salinity has become a major concern in the arid alluvial plain of the Dunhuang Basin in northwestern China because it poses a significant challenge to water resource management. Isotopic and geochemical analyses were conducted on 55 water samples from springs, boreholes and surface water to identify potential sources of groundwater salinity and analyse the processes that control increasing salinity. The total dissolved solid (TDS) content in the groundwater ranged from 400 to 41 000 mg/l, and high TDS values were commonly associated with shallow water tables and flow-through and discharge zones in unconfined aquifers. Various groundwater contributions from rainwater, agricultural irrigation, river water infiltration and lateral inflows from mountains were identified by major ions and δD and δ 18O. In general, HCO 3 À and SO 4 2À were the dominant anions in groundwater with a salinity of <2500 mg/l, whereas Cl À and SO 4 2À were the dominant anions in groundwater with a salinity of >2500 mg/l. The major ion concentrations indicated that mineral weathering, including carbonate and evaporite dissolution, primarily affected groundwater salinity in recharge areas. Evapotranspiration controlled the major ion concentration evolution and salinity distribution in the unconfined groundwaters in the flow-through and discharge areas, although it had a limited effect on groundwater in the recharge areas and confined aquifers. Agricultural irrigation increased the water table and enhanced evapotranspiration in the oasis areas of the basin. TDS and Cl became more concentrated, but H and O isotopes were not enriched in the irrigation district, indicating that transpiration dominated the increasing salinity. For other places in the basin, as indicated by TDS, Cl, δD and δ 18O characteristics, evaporation, transpiration and water-rock interactions dominated at different hydrogeological zones, depending on the plant coverage and hydrogeological conditions. Groundwater ages of 3 H, and δD and δ 18O compositions and distributions suggest that most of the groundwaters in Dunhuang Basin have a paleometeoric origin and experienced a long residence time. These results can contribute to groundwater management and future water allocation programmes in the Dunhuang Basin.
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