Isotopic content in high mountain karst aquifers as a proxy for climate change impact in Mediterranean zones: The Port del Comte karst aquifer (SE Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain)

Jódar, Jorge; Herms, Ignasi; Lambán, L.J.; Martos-Rosillo, Sergio; Herrera-Lameli, Christian; Urrutia, Javier; Soler, Albert; Custódio, Emílio

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148036

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Several of the isotope-based techniques involve interpreting differences between the isotopic compositions of rainfall and groundwater samples [10,40,41]. However, in this paper, the preliminary check procedure analyses how the single affecting factor (seasonal and amount effect) that leads the variability of the rainfall's isotopic composition can influence the isotopic composition of the spring waters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Karst Recharge Areas Identified by Combined Application of Isotopes and Hydrogeological Budget

Iacurto

Grelle

Filippi

et al. 2021

Water

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The identification of recharge areas in karst aquifers allows us to perform sustainable management of these groundwater resources. Stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) have been largely used to provide information about recharge elevation in many mountainous regions. In this paper, an improved version of a recent “isotope-driven model”, for the identification of recharge areas, was applied to Capodacqua di Spigno Spring (south of the Latium region). The model upgrade consists of a preliminary check procedure to estimate the degree of influence of the rainfall’s isotopic variability on the spring water. This additional procedure gives us an indication of the reliability of the model and its applicability conditions. Moreover, the dataset of the spring was updated to analyze the degree of reliability of the isotope-driven model. The purpose of this study was to combine the previously mentioned isotope-driven model with hydrogeological tools. A quantitative study of the basin, based on the estimation of the average monthly infiltration volume, was performed by using the inverse hydrogeological water budget. In this way, the qualitative model for the recharge areas’ estimation was validated by a quantitative hydrogeological tool. Both models show that, for karst mountain basins, the recharge areas decrease as the average recharge elevations increase, including areas at high altitudes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Karst Recharge Areas Identified by Combined Application of Isotopes and Hydrogeological Budget

Iacurto

Grelle

Filippi

et al. 2021

Water

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“…The relative contribution of calcite and dolomite in the carbonate weathering processes can be approached by looking at the molar ratio rCa/rMg (r = concentration in meq/L) (Figure 5B). A molar ratio of 1 (1:1 slope line) indicates pure dolomite contribution (Equation (6), ratio values between 1 and 3 indicate a dominance of dolomite dissolution with some calcite contribution, rCa/rMg = 3 indicates dissolution of both calcite and dolomite according to Equation ( 7)). Larger ratio values mean a predominance of calcite dissolution plus certain dolomite contribution, and finally, rCa/rMg = 10 represents a total contribution of calcite, beyond the evident contribution of sulphate dissolution in cluster B, as indicated in Figure 5A.…”

Section: Identification Of Hydrogeochemical Processes Explaining the Spring Clustersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The expected increasing temperatures will reduce solid atmospheric precipitation and hence the snow cover duration in the mountain areas. This will drive the aquifer-dominant recharge process to migrate from spatial diffuse to a focused one [5], while exposing the aquifer to eventual surface contamination by anthropogenic activities for longer [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These effects have been predicted in well-known high mountain karst systems, such as the Hochifen-Gottesacker system in the Northern Alps [38] and the aquifer system of Sierra de las Nieves [39], with the latter being a privileged unparalleled observatory of the early impact of climate change in continental Europe since it is the southernmost high mountain karst system of the Iberian Peninsula. Moreover, [6] simulated the impact of climate change scenarios in the PCM at the end of the 21st century, considering an increase in temperature of up to +3.1 • C and a reduction of the snow cover of up to 76% with respect to the current conditions. A decrease in the snow cover exposes the karst system to external pollutants for longer, which is an issue, because the high hydraulic conductivity and limited self-depuration capacity of such aquifers make them especially vulnerable to pollution [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identification of Natural and Anthropogenic Geochemical Processes Determining the Groundwater Quality in Port del Comte High Mountain Karst Aquifer (SE, Pyrenees)

Herms

Jódar

Soler

et al. 2021

Water

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The Port del Comte Massif (SE, Pyrenees) contains one of the most important vulnerable and strategic karst aquifers for supplying freshwater to the city of Barcelona (Spain). It is a fragile system, whose possible environmental impact is highly conditioned by land use. To improve the hydrogeological knowledge of the system, between September 2013 and October 2015, a detailed fieldwork was carried out for the revision of the geological model, the inventory of water points, and the in situ physico-chemical characterization on major elements and isotopes of up to a total of 43 springs, as well as precipitation water. This paper focuses on the characterization of the geochemical processes that allow explanation of the observed chemical variability of groundwater drained by the pristine aquifer system to determine the origin of salinity. The results show that the main process is the dissolution of calcite and dolomite, followed by gypsum and halite, and a minor cation exchange-like process. Sulfur and oxygen isotopes from dissolved sulfate in the studied springs point out a geogenic origin related to the dissolution of gypsum from Triassic and Tertiary materials, and that the contribution from anthropogenic sources, like fertilizers, is lower. Nitrate in groundwater is not an important issue, with a few localized cases related with agricultural activities. The multidisciplinary approach has allowed the development of a consistent hydrogeological conceptual model of the functioning of the aquifer system, which can be replicated in other places to understand the geogenic character of the hydrogeochemistry.

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“…up to thousands of meters). The mean elevation of the recharge area calculated by isotope values of spring water is also representative in large basins, because longer flowpaths facilitate the mixing of recharge contributions, leading to steady average values of stable isotopes (Jasechko et al 2017;Jódar et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining recharge distribution in fractured carbonate aquifers in central Italy using environmental isotopes: snowpack cover as an indicator for future availability of groundwater resources

et al. 2022

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Environmental isotopes were used to determine the source and to understand the physical–chemical processes involved in groundwater movement along a flowpath. This study applies groundwater stable isotopes to assess snow-cover influence on the recharge processes of some regional carbonate aquifers of central Italy. Starting with extensively investigated aquifers, 17 springs were selected and sampled (June–October 2016) for isotope analyses. The δ18O–δD results follow the local meteoric water line; the low mismatch between the 2016 sampling surveys suggests that those springs are not influenced by seasonal variability. Nevertheless, the average elevations of recharge areas calculated using the vertical isotope gradient were higher compared to those obtained with hypsographic profiles. This means that the relevant contribution to recharge comes from higher elevation areas; hence, snowpack coverage and snowpack persistence over time on recharge areas were analysed using satellite images. Four different relationships between the snowpack characteristics and the elevation of recharge areas have been identified. These offer relevant information about the different degrees of dependence of the regional aquifers of central Italy on the recharge due to high-elevation subbasins where the snowpack cover is significant. A possible correlation emerges between computed isotope recharge elevation and mean snow cover elevation, revealing how snowmelt is a primary source for aquifer recharge. Consequently, to evaluate the risk of groundwater resource depletion in a climate-change scenario, there is discussion on how a potential snow-cover reduction would affect the recharge rate of mountainous aquifers.

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Isotopic content in high mountain karst aquifers as a proxy for climate change impact in Mediterranean zones: The Port del Comte karst aquifer (SE Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain)

Cited by 9 publications

References 83 publications

Karst Recharge Areas Identified by Combined Application of Isotopes and Hydrogeological Budget

Karst Recharge Areas Identified by Combined Application of Isotopes and Hydrogeological Budget

Identification of Natural and Anthropogenic Geochemical Processes Determining the Groundwater Quality in Port del Comte High Mountain Karst Aquifer (SE, Pyrenees)

Determining recharge distribution in fractured carbonate aquifers in central Italy using environmental isotopes: snowpack cover as an indicator for future availability of groundwater resources

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