Spatial and temporal constraints on regional-scale groundwater flow in the Pampa del Tamarugal Basin, Atacama Desert, Chile

Jayne, Richard; Pollyea, Ryan M.; Dodd, J. P.; Olson, Elizabeth; Swanson, Susan

doi:10.1007/s10040-016-1454-3

Cited by 36 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…There are many studies that either explicitly document [Magaritz et al, 1990;Montgomery et al, 2003;Rissmann et al, 2015;Jayne et al, 2016] or implicate [Pérez-Fodich et al, 2014;Jordan et al, 2002aJordan et al, , 2002b] that water from the Andean Cordillera via regional groundwater flow feeds downgradient basins to the west. In their analysis on the MNT aquifer, Rissman et al [2015] provide one of the few examples in the region where hydrologic and Manuscript submitted for Review in Hydrological Processes -November 13, 2018 6 geochemical information have been used to investigate and imply a connection from a high elevation recharge area southeast of SdA to discharge at the salar margin.…”

Section: Regional Geologic and Hydrologic Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imbalance in the modern hydrologic budget of topographic catchments along the western slope of the Andes (21–25 S)

Boutt¹,

Corenthal²,

Munk³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Rates of water discharge often exceed groundwater recharge in arid catchments. This apparent mass imbalance within a catchment may be reconciled through either regional-scale groundwater flow between topographic drainages and/or the draining of stored groundwater recharged during pluvial periods. We investigate discrepancies in the modern hydrologic budget of catchments along the west flank of the Andes in northern Chile (21–25° S), focused on the endorheic Salar de Atacama basin, and adjacent basins. Our new, uncertainty bounded, estimates of modern recharge rates do not come close to balancing observed modern groundwater discharge within topographic catchments. Two geologically realistic conceptualizations of hydrogeologic catchments discharging to Salar de Atacama were explored with a 2D groundwater model. Results from models support the interpretation that both regional flow and transient drainage of groundwater from storage are required to balance water budgets along the plateau margin. The models further examine whether this system is still responding to climatic forcing from pluvial periods and highlight general characteristics for similar plateau margin systems including: (1) water level changes at the plateau margin are highly sensitive to changes in recharge on the plateau, (2) extent and magnitude of the changes in water table are controlled by the distribution of hydraulic conductivity at the margin, (3) contributing area to the lower elevation catchment is itself dynamic, and not coincident with the topographic boundary, and (4) difficulty in reconciling the modern position of “the water table” on the Andean plateau with the regional groundwater flow conceptualization and modern discharge to low lying catchments.

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Section: Regional Geologic and Hydrologic Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imbalance in the modern hydrologic budget of topographic catchments along the western slope of the Andes (21–25 S)

Boutt¹,

Corenthal²,

Munk³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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“…Jayne et al [9] discussed the possibility that isotopic anomalies encountered for waters close to the Juan de Morales basin (CP 3), might be caused by hydrothermal water-rock interactions. In fact, the Juan de Morales basin exhibits some hot springs (water temperature~50 • C) at altitudes around 2800 m a.s.l.…”

Section: Hydrothermal Water-rock Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remarkable for groundwater resources of the PdT Aquifer is the wide range of δ 18 O values that span from −13‰ to −6‰ [3][4][5][6]. To explain this observation different conceptual hydrogeological models were proposed for the study area, among others a deep interbasin fracture flow of groundwater from the Andes to the Atacama Desert [3,5,[7][8][9][10][11]. The encountered conceptual uncertainties impede the development of a sound hydrogeological model of the PdT Aquifer to support long-term groundwater management measures [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reassessing Hydrological Processes That Control Stable Isotope Tracers in Groundwater of the Atacama Desert (Northern Chile)

et al. 2017

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A collection of 514 stable isotope water samples from the Atacama Desert is being reassessed geostatistically. The evaluation reveals that adjacent Andean catchments can exhibit distinct δ 18 O and δ 2 H value ranges in meteoric waters, despite similar sample altitudes of up to 4000 m above sea level (a.s.l.). It is proposed that the individual topographic features of each catchment at the western Andean Precordillera either inhibit or facilitate vapor mixing processes of easterly and westerly air masses with different isotopic compositions. This process likely causes catchment-specific isotope value ranges in precipitations (between −7‰ and −19‰ δ 18 O) that are being consistently reflected in the isotope values of groundwater and surface waters of these catchments. Further, due to evaporation-driven isotopic fractionation and subsurface water mixing, isotope samples of the regional Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer plot collectively parallel to the local meteoric water line. Besides, there is no evidence for hydrothermal isotopic water-rock interactions. Overall, the observed catchment-dependent isotope characteristics allow for using δ 18 O and δ 2 H as tracers to delineate regionally distinct groundwater compartments and associated recharge areas. In this context, δ 18 O, δ 2 H and 3 H data of shallow groundwater at three alluvial fans challenge the established idea of recharge from alluvial fans after flash floods.

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“…The large elevation change in the study area might affect the distribution of hydrogen and oxygen isotopes [2,9,27,31]. In high-elevation areas, the average temperature tends to be low, and precipitation will deplete isotopically [32].…”

Section: Elevation Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Features of Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes in Waters from the Karst Mountains, Xiangxi River Basin

Shi¹,

Chen²,

Wang³

et al. 2020

IJDNE

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Targeting the carbonate-dominated catchment of Xiangxi River, the first tributary of Three Gorges Reservoir, this paper explores the spatiotemporal distribution of stable isotopes in the stream water, and distinguishes the water sources and recharge processes in the river basin. Multiple water samples were collected from the catchments of the main tributaries of Xiangxi River, namely, Nanyang River and Gaolan River. The results show that the two tributary catchments had obvious spatial and seasonable variability in δ18O and δD. This is attributable to the seasonal changes in meteoric precipitation recharge, which depends on ambient temperature, precipitation, evaporation, and secondary evaporation of raindrops. Besides, there is a strong elevation effect on stable isotopes in stream water. In the samples from Gaolan River, the mean elevation effect on the δ18O and δD was -0.35‰, and -1.57‰ per 100m change in elevation in summer, and -0.12‰, and -1.19‰ per 100m change in elevation in winter, respectively. In the samples from Nanyang River, the mean elevation effect on the δ18O and δD was -0.14‰ and -0.89‰ per 100m change in elevation in summer, and -0.08‰ and -0.66‰ per 100m change in elevation in winter, respectively. The δD, δ18O, and deuterium excess (d-value) are not only affected by the elevation effect, but also by the seasonal effect in the study area. The seasonal variations and spatial changes in the tributary catchments reveal the difference between the two catchments in control factors like latitude effect, evaporation, and the mixing of different water sources.

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Spatial and temporal constraints on regional-scale groundwater flow in the Pampa del Tamarugal Basin, Atacama Desert, Chile

Cited by 36 publications

References 55 publications

Imbalance in the modern hydrologic budget of topographic catchments along the western slope of the Andes (21–25 S)

Imbalance in the modern hydrologic budget of topographic catchments along the western slope of the Andes (21–25 S)

Reassessing Hydrological Processes That Control Stable Isotope Tracers in Groundwater of the Atacama Desert (Northern Chile)

Features of Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes in Waters from the Karst Mountains, Xiangxi River Basin

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