Tracing Artificially Recharged Groundwater using Water and Carbon Isotopes

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 407-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junior G Mazariegos ◽  
Jennifer C Walker ◽  
Xiaomei Xu ◽  
Claudia I Czimczik
Keyword(s):  
River Water ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Recycled Water ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Santa Ana River ◽  
Injection Barrier ◽  
Regional Groundwater

AbstractWe conducted an isotopic analysis of groundwater in Orange County, California, USA, around the Talbert Seawater Injection Barrier to determine if recycled water, used to artificially recharge local aquifers, carries a unique isotopic signature that can be used as a tracer. From September 2014 to April 2015, we collected groundwater from six privately owned wells within the coastal groundwater basin, along with various surface waters. All water samples were analyzed for their stable isotopic composition (δ18O, δD), the δ13C and 14C signature of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) pool, DIC concentration, pH, and salinity. The DIC of groundwater mixing with recycled water is enriched in 14C above natural background levels, with varying signal strength through time, depleted in δ13C, and low in DIC concentration. Water isotopes further suggest that recycled water is a mixture of Colorado River water and regional groundwater. In contrast, groundwater found further away from the injection barrier has carbon and water isotope composition consistent with regional groundwater and Santa Ana River water. Our findings imply that recycled water injected through the Talbert Barrier is isotopically unique, and that 14C enrichment may be used as an intrinsic tracer of artificial recharge within the basin.

Biomonitoring Recycled Water in the Santa Ana River Basin in Southern California

2008 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Deng ◽  
Michael Carney ◽  
David E. Hinton ◽  
Stephen Lyon ◽  
Greg Woodside ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Recycled Water ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Santa Ana River

scholarly journals Carbon Isotope Measurements of Surface Seawater from a Time-Series Site Off Southern California

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise N Hinger ◽  
Guaciara M Santos ◽  
Ellen R M Druffel ◽  
Sheila Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Surface Seawater ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Santa Ana River ◽  
First Time

We report carbon isotope abundances of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in surface seawater collected from a time-series site off the Newport Beach Pier in Orange County, California. These data represent the first time series of Δ14C data for a coastal southern California site. From a suite of samples collected daily from 16 October to 11 November 2004, Δ14C values averaged 32.1 ± 4.4‰. Freshwater input from the Santa Ana River to our site caused Δ14C and δ13C values to decrease. Since this initial set of measurements, a time-series site has been maintained from November 2004 to the present. Surface seawater has been collected bimonthly and analyzed for Δ14C, δ13C, salinity, and ΣCO2 concentrations. Water samples from the Santa Ana River were collected during the wet season. California sea mussels and barnacle shells, ranging from 4 to 6 months old, were also collected and analyzed. Results from May 2005 to January 2008 show no long-term changes in δ13C DIC values. Δ14C DIC values over the 2005–2006 period averaged 33.7‰; high Δ14C values were observed sporadically (every 6–7 months), suggesting the presence of open water eddies at our site. Finally, in 2007, a stronger upwelling signal was apparent as indicated by correlations between Δ14C, salinity, and the Bakun index, suggesting that the Δ14C record is an indicator of upwelling in the Southern California Bight.

scholarly journals Wine origin authentication linked to terroir – wine fingerprint

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 02033
Author(s):  
B. Gabel
Keyword(s):  
Pore Water ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Food Product ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Original Method ◽  
Economic Problem ◽  
Red Wines ◽  
Table Grapes ◽  
Mineral Phases

Global wine and alcohol trade faces a serious economic problem linked to counterfeiting of these commodities. Recently applied authentication methods and techniques pose more difficulties for counterfeiters but they are apparently not effective once we consider economical losses identified by EU legal authorities. The presented solution links isotopic characteristics of the soil, plant, technological intermediate product and the final food product (wine, grapes) on the basis of 87Sr/86Sr isotopes ratios. For the isotopic signature of wines, the average isotope composition of the substrate cannot be a reliable indicator. Only the isotopic composition of pore water can, as it leaches various mineral phases at different stages and passes into vine root system. Instead of complicated sampling of pore water, an original method of preparing and processing soil samples and consequently must & wine samples was developed. Based on both, soil and biological material analysis, we can unquestionably determine not only geographical but also regional and local authenticity of the wine. Determination of red wines isotopic signature is more straightforward process in comparison to white wines, because of technologically different processing of grapes. That is the reason why, in case of white vines, the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of bentonites (natural purifier and absorbent useful in the process of winemaking) must also be taken into consideration. Results of analyses of Slovak wines from geographically diverse regions as well as from sites in close-by distances have clearly established reliability of presented concept, in which the soil is linked to the plant and to the final food product (wine or table grapes).

scholarly journals Environmental and taxonomic controls of carbon and oxygen stable isotope composition in <i>Sphagnum</i> across broad climatic and geographic ranges

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (16) ◽  
pp. 5189-5202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustaf Granath ◽  
Håkan Rydin ◽  
Jennifer L. Baltzer ◽  
Fia Bengtsson ◽  
Nicholas Boncek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Δ13c Values ◽  
Site Variation ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract. Rain-fed peatlands are dominated by peat mosses (Sphagnum sp.), which for their growth depend on nutrients, water and CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. As the isotopic composition of carbon (12,13C) and oxygen (16,18O) of these Sphagnum mosses are affected by environmental conditions, Sphagnum tissue accumulated in peat constitutes a potential long-term archive that can be used for climate reconstruction. However, there is inadequate understanding of how isotope values are influenced by environmental conditions, which restricts their current use as environmental and palaeoenvironmental indicators. Here we tested (i) to what extent C and O isotopic variation in living tissue of Sphagnum is species-specific and associated with local hydrological gradients, climatic gradients (evapotranspiration, temperature, precipitation) and elevation; (ii) whether the C isotopic signature can be a proxy for net primary productivity (NPP) of Sphagnum; and (iii) to what extent Sphagnum tissue δ18O tracks the δ18O isotope signature of precipitation. In total, we analysed 337 samples from 93 sites across North America and Eurasia using two important peat-forming Sphagnum species (S. magellanicum, S. fuscum) common to the Holarctic realm. There were differences in δ13C values between species. For S. magellanicum δ13C decreased with increasing height above the water table (HWT, R2=17 %) and was positively correlated to productivity (R2=7 %). Together these two variables explained 46 % of the between-site variation in δ13C values. For S. fuscum, productivity was the only significant predictor of δ13C but had low explanatory power (total R2=6 %). For δ18O values, approximately 90 % of the variation was found between sites. Globally modelled annual δ18O values in precipitation explained 69 % of the between-site variation in tissue δ18O. S. magellanicum showed lower δ18O enrichment than S. fuscum (−0.83 ‰ lower). Elevation and climatic variables were weak predictors of tissue δ18O values after controlling for δ18O values of the precipitation. To summarize, our study provides evidence for (a) good predictability of tissue δ18O values from modelled annual δ18O values in precipitation, and (b) the possibility of relating tissue δ13C values to HWT and NPP, but this appears to be species-dependent. These results suggest that isotope composition can be used on a large scale for climatic reconstructions but that such models should be species-specific.

scholarly journals Ecosystem effects of CO<sub>2</sub> concentration: evidence from past climates

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 937-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. C. Prentice ◽  
S. P. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
C3 Plants ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Co2 Effects ◽  
Concentration Changes

Abstract. Atmospheric CO2 concentration has varied from minima of 170–200 ppm in glacials to maxima of 280–300 ppm in the recent interglacials. Photosynthesis by C3 plants is highly sensitive to CO2 concentration variations in this range. Physiological consequences of the CO2 changes should therefore be discernible in palaeodata. Several lines of evidence support this expectation. Reduced terrestrial carbon storage during glacials, indicated by the shift in stable isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon in the ocean, cannot be explained by climate or sea-level changes. It is however consistent with predictions of current process-based models that propagate known physiological CO2 effects into net primary production at the ecosystem scale. Restricted forest cover during glacial periods, indicated by pollen assemblages dominated by non-arboreal taxa, cannot be reproduced accurately by palaeoclimate models unless CO2 effects on C3-C4 plant competition are also modelled. It follows that methods to reconstruct climate from palaeodata should account for CO2 concentration changes. When they do so, they yield results more consistent with palaeoclimate models. In conclusion, the palaeorecord of the Late Quaternary, interpreted with the help of climate and ecosystem models, provides evidence that CO2 effects at the ecosystem scale are neither trivial nor transient.

Distinguishing human related, biological, and geological carbon dioxide in the air through isotopic surveying

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Capasso ◽  
Roberto M.R. Di Martino ◽  
Antonio Caracausi ◽  
Rocco Favara
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Source Identification ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Landfill Gas ◽  
Molar Fraction ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Atmospheric Sciences ◽  
Gas Source

&lt;p&gt;Stable isotopes have several applications in geosciences and specifically in volcanology, fluids vs earthquakes studies, environmental surveying, and atmospheric sciences. Both geological and human-related gas sources emit carbon dioxide promoting its molar fraction increase in the lower levels of the atmosphere. The strong dependence of global warming from the carbon dioxide (CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;) concentration in the air promoted the detailed investigation of the sources of CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;. Land use inspection and the correlated increase of air CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; concentration proved often the potential identification of the gas sources. Both the precise identification of the gas source and the specific contribution are still open challenges in environmental surveying. Isotopic signature allows both source identification and tracking fate of carbon dioxide (i.e. natural degassing in volcanic and active tectonic regions, photosynthetic fractionation in tree forests, and human-related emissions in urban zones). The isotopic signature allows evaluating the environmental impact of specific actions and better addressing the mitigation efforts by tracking fate of CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This study aims to identify the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; sources in different ecosystems by using a laser spectrometer that allowed to determine rapidly and with high precision the isotope composition of CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; in the space and/or at high frequency (up to 1Hz). Various environments include both volcanic, seismic and urban zones because of their strong effects on the low levels of the atmosphere were considered, showing how this kind of instruments can disclose new horizons, in many different applications and especially in the time domain. In the considered zones, both the anthropogenic and geological sources caused the increases of CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; molar fraction in the last few centuries. Suitable case studies were: i) the air CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; surveying at Palermo; ii) the soil CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; emissions at Vulcano (Aeolian Islands - Italy), and iii) the punctual vent CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; emissions at Umbertide (Perugia - Italy).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The results of this study show detailed investigation of both sources and fate of the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; in various environments. The results of the isotope surveying in Palermo show that air CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; correlated with human activities (i.e. house heating, urban mobility, and landfill gas emissions). Comparison with air CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; at Umbertide shows the greater contribution of the geogenic reservoir near the active fault of Alto Tiberina Valley. Volcanic CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; distinguished from biological CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; by different isotopic signature in the soil gases of Vulcano. The soil CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; partitioning at the settled zone of Vulcano Porto occurred through both gas source identification and data interpretation through a specifically designed isotopic mixing model.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This study provides several innovative experimental solutions that are suitable to understand the complexity of carbon cycle and unexplored so far environmental scenarios.&lt;/p&gt;

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