Karstic Groundwater Origin and Recharge Process in Zagros Region: Insights From Stable Isotopes (δ18O and Δ2H) Approach

Zagros is an important region with high quality and quantity karstic water resources in the Middle East. This region provides a dominant part of potable and agricultural water needs for its inhabitants as well as agricultural water needs for nearby regions. Therefore, studying karstic water resources in Zagros by accurate methods such as stable isotopes techniques is very important. In this investigation, hydrological characteristics of groundwater resources including groundwater origin, recharge rate and recharge elevation have been studied using stable isotopes (18O and 2H). The results show that stable isotopes signatures in groundwater resources show notable variations across Zagros and groundwater resource mainly plot on south and west Zagros meteoric water lines. In addition, recharge elevation and recharge rate in groundwater resources also show significant variations in Zagros. Finally, the stable isotopes signatures in precipitation and groundwater has been used to study the role of each dominant air mass (contribution percentage of precipitation events originate from each air mass) in groundwater resources recharge using Simmr package in R language. Overall, groundwater resources in Zagros is recharged by precipitation events originate from various air masses and they have various recharge rates and recharge elevations.

Groundwater Recharge Assessment using Geographic Information System APLIS Method in Donorojo Karst Area, Pacitan

Karst aquifers can be a source of water supply, especially for the community in Donorojo District, which is one of the areas with the worst drought crisis in Pacitan Regency and requires a sustainable solution to the problem of water needs. Therefore, the study and management of karst formations are very important because of their abundance and potential in forming subsurface aquifer karst aquifers. The recharge rate is one of the basic parameters in the management of the consumption and maintenance of this resource. In addition, the distribution of aquifer locations, aquifer characteristics, and the quality of groundwater forming the aquifer need to be known. This study aims to assess aquifers in the Karst area of Donorojo, Pacitan based on recharge rate and spatial distribution. The APLIS method can estimate surface recharge rates and present the results as a map of the spatial distribution of aquifer recharge rates by utilizing a Geographical Information System (GIS). The results of the analysis using the APLIS method, the groundwater recharge rate in the Donorojo Pacitan karst area is divided into 4 classes, namely very low, low, moderate, and high. Almost the entire Donorojo karst area has a high groundwater recharge rate, this means that the area needs to be used as a groundwater protection zone and it is important to carry out good groundwater management, especially to overcome the problem of drought.

Spatial distribution of groundwater-surface water connectivity in the Kosimegafan, north India

<p>We conducted a systematically integrated surface water and groundwater interaction study in the Kosimegafan in north India using the stable isotopes (δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>2</sup>H) of water and depth to water level data. In a field campaign in December 2019, we have collected a water sample from 65 different locations for isotopic analysis. This includes 21 samples from the groundwater and 44 from different surface water bodies (Kosi River-02, streams-09, waterlogged patches-29, and canal-04).</p><p>The δ<sup>18</sup>O and D-excess values of groundwater and waterlogged samples show marked spatial variation across the study area. Using a two-component mixing model, we estimate the fraction contribution of streams and rainwater in the groundwater and waterlogged patches. This shows a marked spatial and depth-related variability in stream water contribution to the groundwater recharge and varies from about 83% (maximum) at 6 m below ground level (bgl) to 45% (minimum) at 9 m bgl. We also analysed the spatial and temporal variation in groundwater levels from 1996 to 2017. During this period, the water level shows a significant variation from 1.1 to 7.8 m bgl. Further, using the water table fluctuation approach, we estimate the recharge rate. We found a higher recharge rate (22 mm/year) in the central part of the western lobe and northern part of the central lobe, and minimum (1 mm/year)in both the northern part of the western and southern part of the central lobe of the Kosi fan. This study provides new insight into the recharge processes in the study area.</p>

Estimating the Temporal Distribution of Groundwater Recharge by Using the Transient Water Table Fluctuation Method and Watershed Hydrologic Model

HighlightsThe transient water table fluctuation method (TWTFM) is revisited.A novel application of linking SWAT model and TWTFM is suggested.A method is proposed to estimate daily groundwater recharge distribution.The method is demonstrated for the Jeju Island in Korea.Abstract. Estimating groundwater recharge remains a difficult but necessary task as part of managing available groundwater supplies. For example, the average groundwater recharge rate of Jeju Island is 54%, which is considerably higher than the inland recharge rate (~15%) in Korea. Although groundwater is the main water source of this and many other islands, quantifying temporal groundwater recharge for water resources planning remains difficult. To estimate groundwater recharge based on rainfall, a simple and straightforward method is proposed that uses an application of the Transient Water Table Fluctuation Method (TWTFM) linked with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). By using the computed annual percolation from the SWAT as input, two parameters (reaction factor and specific yield) could be estimated by assuming that the sum of daily recharge via the TWTFM was approximately equal to the annual percolation near the water table. This methodology was applied to the Hancheon watershed of Jeju Island, South Korea. Runoff time series data for two years (2009 and 2010) were used to calibrate SWAT and another two years of data were used to validate computed discharges from SWAT. For the calibration of the combined SWAT and TWTFM model, groundwater level data from 2009 and 2010 were used, and then data from 2011 and 2012 were used to predict groundwater recharge using the calibrated TWTFM parameters. The proposed methodology can be used as an efficient tool for estimating the temporal distribution of groundwater recharge using only groundwater data and the annual percolation rate. This methodology can be beneficial for regions where the vadose zone depth is deeply formed and temporal recharge predictions are essential for water management. Keywords: Reaction factor, Specific yield, SWAT, Transient water table fluctuation method (TWTFM).

Normalized difference vegetation index as the dominant predicting factor of groundwater recharge in phreatic aquifers: case studies across Iran

The estimation of long-term groundwater recharge rate ($${GW}_{r}$$ GW r ) is a pre-requisite for efficient management of groundwater resources, especially for arid and semi-arid regions. Precise estimation of $${GW}_{r}$$ GW r is probably the most difficult factor of all measurements in the evaluation of GW resources, particularly in semi-arid regions in which the recharge rate is typically small and/or regions with scarce hydrogeological data. The main objective of this study is to find and assess the predicting factors of $${GW}_{r}$$ GW r at an aquifer scale. For this purpose, 325 Iran’s phreatic aquifers (61% of Iran’s aquifers) were selected based on the data availability and the effect of eight predicting factors were assessed on $${GW}_{r}$$ GW r estimation. The predicting factors considered include Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), mean annual temperature ($$T$$ T ), the ratio of precipitation to potential evapotranspiration ($${P/ET}_{P}$$ P / E T P ), drainage density ($${D}_{d}$$ D d ), mean annual specific discharge ($${Q}_{s}$$ Q s ), Mean Slope ($$S$$ S ), Soil Moisture ($${SM}_{90}$$ SM 90 ), and population density ($${Pop}_{d}$$ Pop d ). The local and global Moran’s I index, geographically weighted regression (GWR), and two-step cluster analysis served to support the spatial analysis of the results. The eight predicting factors considered are positively correlated to $${GW}_{r}$$ GW r and the NDVI has the greatest influence followed by the $$P/{ET}_{P}$$ P / ET P and $${SM}_{90}$$ SM 90 . In the regression model, NDVI solely explained 71% of the variation in $${GW}_{r}$$ GW r , while other drivers have only a minor modification (3.6%). The results of this study provide new insight into the complex interrelationship between $${GW}_{r}$$ GW r and vegetation density indicated by the NDVI. The findings of this study can help in better estimation of $${GW}_{r}$$ GW r especially for the phreatic aquifers that the hydrogeological ground-data requisite for establishing models are scarce.

A novel method of quantifying sperm to determine the potential for sperm depletion in male American lobsters Homarus americanus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) (Decapoda: Astacidea: Nephropidae)

Sperm limitation is a concern for a number of heavily fished decapods; however, work to assess this concern is sometimes hampered by a lack of simple techniques to quantify sperm transferred during reproduction. Our primary goal was to determine if DNA measurements could be used to quantify the sperm content of spermatophores and thus facilitate investigations of sperm limitation in American lobsters (Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837). This was achieved by measuring the amount of DNA in a sample and then calibrating those values by using flow cytometry to count the number of individual sperm present in the sample. Our results show that the DNA quantification technique provides a fast and accurate way to quantify sperm. We then demonstrated the utility of the method by using it to examine the rate at which males can produce sperm under simulated conditions of repeated mating events, a situation that might lead to a reduction in the number of sperm per spermatophore. While spermatophores obtained from male lobsters at three-day intervals varied substantially in the number of sperm they contained (range 427,090–5,028,996; mean 2,306,473), there was no clear decline in sperm count over time. These results suggest that male lobsters replenish their sperm supplies rapidly, and that sperm recharge rate is unlikely to be a factor that could lead to sperm limitation in American lobster populations.

Assessment of the Environmental Risk of Pesticides Leaching at the Watershed Scale under Arid Climatic Conditions and Low Recharge Rates

The assessment of the vulnerability of soil and groundwater resources to pesticide contamination is important to reduce the risk of environmental pollution. The applicability of the expanded attenuation factor (EAF) to assess leaching potential of 30 pesticides was investigated under four recharge rates (0.0003–0.002 m d−1) in the arid environment of the Jazan watershed. EAF results revealed that Picloram, Carbofuran, Monocrotophos, and 2,4-D pesticides showed high leaching potential, mainly because of their low K O C , and relatively longer t 1 / 2 . In addition, medium leaching potential was observed with six more pesticides (Atrazine, Aldicarb, Simazine, Methomyl, Oxamyl, and Lindane). Regardless of the recharge rate, all other pesticides showed a very low leaching potential in the Jazan watershed. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the output of the EAF index is most sensitive to the fraction of organic carbon ( f o c ) , water content at field capacity ( θ F C ) , recharge rate ( q ) , and partition coefficient ( K O C ) , and least sensitive to soil bulk density ( ρ b ) and air-filled porosity ( n a ). The areal extent of areas with larger leaching potential in the Jazan watershed was consistent with soils having f o c < 0.3, θ F C > 10 m3 m−3, and ρ b < 1450 kg m−3, and were mostly associated with the loamy sand soils, followed by the sand and silt loam soils. EAF index model performed well in assessing relative rankings of leaching potential and delineating areas that are more susceptible to pesticide leaching. At the lowest recharge rate, general risk maps showed that the risk of leaching potential was very low for all pesticides in the entire area of the Jazan watershed. On the other hand, under the worst case scenario (0.002 m d−1), only Picloram and Carbofuran showed very high leaching potential in areas that represented 10.8 and 8.2% from the total area of the Jazan watershed, respectively. The information gained from this research can help farmers and decision-makers to implement regulations and best management practices to reduce the risk of environmental pollution, and protect soil and groundwater resources in Jazan watershed.