Journal
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 49, Issue 23, Pages -Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1029/2021GL096570
Keywords
groundwater; recharge; climate change; environmental tracers; groundwater transience
Categories
Funding
- Australian Research Council
- Rio Tinto Iron Ore [DE180101518]
- University of Western Australia
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This study tests the limitations of using radioactive isotopes to track groundwater recharge behavior in confined aquifers and under transient conditions and finds that appropriate isotope selection is key to establishing past recharge regardless of aquifer lithology or geometry.
Analyzing groundwater systems in transient state is essential for understanding the response of groundwater recharge to changing environments. Radioactive isotopes have long been used to track recharge behavior, typically under steady state conditions. This study tests the limitations of using radioactive isotopes in confined aquifers and under transient conditions to sense changes in groundwater recharge rates over time. Four system parameters determine the bounds of this approach: the isotope half-life, the Peclet number (Pe), and mobile-immobile zone interactions. This study revealed that in confined groundwater systems where Pe >= 10, isotopes reflect transience when the half-life matches the water travel time down the flow path or the time elapsed from the change in velocity. This response is evident regardless of mobile-immobile interaction, suggesting that appropriate isotope selection is key to establishing past recharge regardless of aquifer lithology or geometry.
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