Isotopic Characterization of Rainwater for the Development of a Local Meteoric Water Line in an Arid Climate: The Case of the Wadi Ziz Watershed (South-Eastern Morocco)

For any hydrological or hydrogeological system, the arrival of new rains is the input signal to the system. This isotopic signature of precipitation is of major interest in understanding the recharge processes of the aquifer system. On the scale of a given basin, staged stations at different altitudes and spread out in space allow this input signal to be well characterized and to draw the local meteoric water line. In south-eastern Morocco, specifically, in the Errachidia region, several chemical and isotopic studies of the waters of the various aquifers have been carried out. In the absence of a local meteoric water line, these studies were based on the use of the global meteoric water line (GMWL). Thus, the objective of this work is the isotopic characterization and the elaboration of the local meteoric water line of the rainwater of the Ziz watershed. This characterization of the input signal in the study area is based on 41 measurements of stable isotopes (delta O-18 and delta H-2) relating to the precipitations collected during the period from December 2019 to November 2020 in four staged stations at different altitudes and spread over the space from upstream to downstream of the watershed. The linear relationship of delta H-2 as a function of delta O-18 describes the local meteoric water line (LMWL) by equation delta H-2 = 7.5 +/- 0.3 delta O-18 + 4.6 +/- 1.7; R-2 = 0.93. This equation displays evaporation confirmed by the arrival of continental currents in an arid environment. The variation in precipitation delta O-18 as a function of the sampling altitudes for the rains highlighted the relationship delta O-18 = -0.0026 * Z - 1.67, with R-2 = 0.93, which means an altitudinal gradient of -0.26 parts per thousand per 100 m of altitude. In this regard, the development of the local meteoric water line and the determination of the altitudinal gradient for the first time in this arid to semi-arid region of the watershed will be of great use to researchers and water resource managers; for example, to help determine the groundwater recharge areas, determine the exchanges between surface water and groundwater, and analyze many other hydrological problems.

Automated summary

This study investigates the isotopic characteristics of rainfall in the Ziz watershed in Errachidia region, southeastern Morocco, and establishes the local meteoric water line and altitude gradient. The findings are valuable for researchers and water resource managers in identifying groundwater recharge areas, analyzing surface water-groundwater interactions, and addressing other hydrological issues.