Determining the Discharge and Recharge Relationships between Lake and Groundwater in Lake Hulun Using Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotopes and Chloride Ions

Abstract

This study examined the discharge and recharge relationships between lake and groundwater in Lake Hulun using a novel tracer method that tracks hydrogen and oxygen isotopes and chloride ions. The hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in precipitation falling in the Lake Hulun Basin were compared with those in water samples from the lake and from the local river, well and spring water during both freezing and non-freezing periods in 2017. The results showed that the local meteoric water line equation in the Lake Hulun area is δD = 6.68 δ18O − 5.89‰ (R2 = 0.96) and the main source of water supply in the study area is precipitation. Long-term groundwater monitoring data revealed that the groundwater is effectively recharged by precipitation through the aeration zone. Exchanges between the various compounds during the strong evaporative fractionation process in groundwater are responsible for the gradual depletion of δ18O. The lake is recharged by groundwater during the non-freezing period, as shown in the map constructed to show the recharge and discharge relationships between the lake and groundwater. The steadily rising lake water levels in the summer mean that the water level before the freeze is high and consequently the water in the lake drains into the surrounding groundwater via faults along both sides of the lake during the frozen period. The groundwater is discharged into the lake in the west and into the Urson River in the east due to the Cuogang uplift.

Groundwater–Surface Water Interactions: Recent Advances and Interdisciplinary Challenges

“…The majority of the contributions [3,5,[8][9][10][11][15][16][17][19][20][21][22][23] focus on the interactions between rivers or streams and groundwater. Three studies [6,13,14] investigate the interactions between lakes and groundwater, while two studies [4,18] deal with the exchange between groundwater and oceanic water. Two additional contributions [7,12] show the relevance of groundwater exchange processes in wetlands.…”

“…However, there are no studies on this topic within the Special Issue. Han et al [6] show that the direction of interactions between aquifer and lake can change seasonally. They sampled precipitation, lake water, river water, and groundwater for chloride concentrations and water-stable isotopes to delineate discharge and recharge areas for the dry (cold) and the wet season in the complex hydrogeological environment of Lake Hulun.…”

Contribution of deep-earth fluids to the geothermal system: A case study in the Arxan volcanic region, northeastern China

“…Most δ 18 O and δD values of the water samples are scattered nearby the global meteoric water line (GMWL, δD = 8.17δ 18 O + 10.35, Rozanski et al, 1993) and the local meteoritic water line (LMWL) in NE China (δD = 7.20δ 18 O − 2.39, Li et al, 2012), but some shift far to the right side of the lines (Figure 2). The coordinates (−13.1% and −97.0%) of the intersection between the GMWL and LMWL can be regarded as the mean value of the initial source water (Han et al, 2019). The slop and intercept of the LMWL are smaller than those of the GMWL, indicating evaporation effect and multiple origins of waters (Tsujimura et al, 2007;Li et al, 2012;Han et al, 2019).…”

“…The deep-earth fluids, meaning waters, gases, and supercritical fluids that are derived from the deep crust and mantle, may be composited with different genetic types of fluids such as initial, magmatic, metamorphic, deep hydrothermal, and diagenetic fluids that usually mix into geothermal fluids. The origins of ions and gases can be traced by using concentrations and isotopic ratios of the chemical species and techniques of statistical analysis (Han et al, 2019;Li, 2020;Chen et al, 2021). A variable non-sea-salt contribution usually causes the slope to differ from the seawater ratio and the intercept to differ from zero (Keene et al, 1986).…”

Water–Isotope Capacity Building and Demonstration in a Developing World Context: Isotopic Baseline and Conceptualization of a Lake Malawi Catchment

“…Water-isotope tracing is a powerful tool for conceptualizing hydrological-hydrogeological systems [1][2][3], including the characterization of hydrological conditions, flow-system evolution, groundwater-surface-water exchange, groundwater recharge and water-source provenance [4][5][6][7]. The repertoire of isotope tracers continues to grow, offering increasing insight and versatility [8][9][10][11].…”