Abstract
A total number of 328 groundwater samples are analysed to evaluate the groundwater flow systems in Bengal Delta aquifers, Bangladesh using environmental isotope (2H, 18O, 13C, 3H, and 14C) techniques. A well-defined Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) δ2H = 7.7 δ18O + 10.7 ‰ is constructed applying linear correlation analyses to the monthly weighted rainfall isotopic compositions (δ18O and δ2H). The δ18O and δ2H concentrations of all groundwater samples in the study area are plotted more or less over the LMWL, which provides compelling evidence that all groundwaters are derived from rainfall and floodwater with a minor localized evaporation effects for the shallow groundwaters. Tritium concentration is observed in 40 samples out of 41 with values varying between 0.3 and 5.0 TU, which represents an evidence of young water recharge to the shallow and intermediate aquifers. A decreasing trend of 14C activity is associated with the heavier δ13C values, which indicates the presence of geochemical reactions affecting the 14C concentration along the groundwater flow system. Both vertical and lateral decrease of 14C activity toward down gradient show the presence of regional groundwater flow commencing from the unconfined aquifers, which discharges along the coastal regions. Finally, shallow, intermediate, and deep groundwater flow dynamics has revealed in the Bengal Delta aquifers, Bangladesh.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aggarwal PK, Basu AR, Kulkarni KM, Froehlich K, Tarafdar SA, Ali M, Hussain A (2000) A report on isotope hydrology of groundwater in Bangladesh: Implications for characterization and mitigation of arsenic in groundwater. International atomic energy agency-TC project BGD/8/016
Ahmed KM, Burgess WG (1995) Bils and the Barind aquifer, Bangladesh. In: Brown AG (ed) Geomorphology and groundwater. John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp 143–155
Alam MK, Hassan AKMS, Khan MR, Whitney JW (1990) Geological Map of Bangladesh. Geological Survey of Bangladesh, Dhaka
Araguas L, Froehlich K, Rozanski K (2000) Deuterium and oxygen-18 isotope composition of precipitation and atmospheric moisture. Hydrol Proc 14:1341–1355
Araguas-Araguas L, Froehlich K, Rozanski K (1998) Stable isotope composition of precipitation over Southeast Asia. J Geophy Res 103:721–742
Burgess WG, Ahmed KM, Cobbing J, Cuthbert MO, Mather SE, McCarthy E, Chaterjee D (2002) Anticipating changes in arsenic concentration at tubewells in alluvial aquifers of the Bengal Basin. In: Bocanegra E, Martinez D, Massone H (eds) Groundwater, human development. Proceedings of the XXXII IAH and VI ALHSUD Congress, Mar del Plata, pp 365–371
Chowdhury KR, Haque MM, Nasreen N, Hasan MR (2003) Distribution of planktonic foraminifera in the northern Bay of Bengal. Sediment Geol 155:393–405
Coplen TB (1996) New guidelines for reporting stable hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen isotope-ratio data. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 60:3359–3360
Craig H (1961) Isotopic variations in meteoric waters. Science 133:1702–1703
Das BK, Kakar YP, Moser H, Stichler W (1988) Deuterium and oxygen-18 studies in groundwater of the Dehli area. India J Hydrol 98:133–146
Davies J (1995) The hydrochemistry of alluvial aquifers in central Bangladesh. In: Nash H, McCall GJH (eds) Groundwater Quality. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 9–18
Dowling CB, Poreda RJ, Basu AR (2003) The groundwater geochemistry of the Bengal Basin: weathering, chemsorption, and trace metal flux to the oceans. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 67:2117–2136
DPHE (Department of Public Health Engineering) (2001) Final report. In: Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh, vol. 2. Technical report WC/00/19
Duplessy JC (1982) Glacial to interglacial contrasts in the northern Indian Ocean. Nature 295:494–498
Fontes JC (1980) Environmental isotopes in groundwater hydrology. In: Fritz P, Fontes JC (eds) Handbook of environmental isotope geochemistry. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 75–140
Fritz P, Hennings CS, Suzuki O, Salari E (1979) Isotope hydrology in northern Chile. In: International Atomic Energy Agency (ed) Isotope hydrology. Vienna, Austria, pp 525–544
Gat JR (1980) The isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in precipitation. In: Fritz P, Fontes JC (eds) Handbook of environmental isotope geochemistry. Elsevier, New York
Gat JR, Tzur Y (1967) Modification of the isotopic composition of rainwater by processes which occur before groundwater recharge. Proceedings Symposium Isotopes in Hydrology. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, pp 49–60
Halim MA, Majumder RK, Nessa SA, Hiroshiro Y, Uddin MJ, Shimada J, Jinno K (2009a) Hydrogeochemistry and arsenic contamination of groundwater in the Ganges Delta Plain, Bangladesh. J Hazard Mater 164:1335–1345
Halim MA, Majumder RK, Nessa SA, Oda K, Hiroshiro Y, Saha BB, Hassain SM, Latif Sk A, Islam MA, Jinno K (2009b) Groundwater contamination with arsenic in Sherajdikhan, Bangladesh: geochemical and hydrological implications. Environ Geol 58:73–84
Hasan MA, Ahmed KM, Sracek O, Bhattacharya P, von Bromssen M, Broms S, Fogelstrom J, Mazumder ML, Jacks G (2007) Arsenic in shallow groundwater of Bangladesh: investigations from three different physiographic settings. Hydrol J 15:1507–1522
IAEA (2006) Isotope Hydrology Information System. The ISOHIS Database. http://isohis.iaea.org Accessed at 13 Feb 2010
Leontiadias IL, Payne BR, Christodoulou T (1988) Isotope hydrology of the Aghios Nikolaos area of Crete, Greece. J Hydrol 98:121–132
Lindsay JF, Holliday DW, Hulbert AG (1991) Sequence stratigraphy and the evolution of the Ganges- Brahmaputra Delta complex. Am Asso Petro Geol Bull 75:1233–1254
Majumder RK (2008) Groundwater flow systems of Bengal Delta, Bangladesh, revealed by environmental isotopes and hydrochemistry (unpublished D.Sc. Thesis, Kumamoto University, Japan
Majumder RK, Hasnat MA, Hossain S, Ikeuec K, Machida M (2008) An exploration of nitrate concentrations in groundwater aquifers of central-west region of Bangladesh. J Hazard Mater 159:536–543
Nakamura T, Niu E, Oda H, Ikeda A, Minami M, Ohta T, Oda T (2004) High precision 14C measurements with the HVEE Tandetron AMS system at Nagoya University. Nucl Instr Method Phy Res B 223–224:124–129
Rozanski K, Araguas-Araguas L, Gonfiantini R (1993) Isotopic pattern in modern global precipitation. In: Swart PK, Lohman KC, McKenzie J, Savin S (eds) Climate change in congenital isotopic records. American Geophysical Union, Washington, pp 1–36
Solomon DK, Cook PG (1999) 3H and 3He. In: Cook P, Herczeg AL (eds) Environmental tracers in subsurface hydrology. Kluwer Academic, Boston, pp 397–424
Acknowledgments
The first author would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan for providing postgraduate scholarship. The authors would like to thank Dr. James W. LaMoreaux, Editor and anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, which helped us to improve this manuscript considerably.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Table 1 ESM. Field data, major hydrochemical parameters and environmental isotopic data (DOC 663 kb)
12665_2011_959_MOESM2_ESM.doc
Fig. 1 ESM. Geological cross-section A-B (as shown in Fig. 1) through the study area showing borehole locations and the structure of Bengal Basin (modified from DPHE (Department of Public Health Engineering) 2001) (DOC 59 kb)
12665_2011_959_MOESM3_ESM.doc
Fig. 2 ESM. Distribution of 3H content in southern site shallow wells; central site shallow wells and intermediate wells (DOC 23 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Majumder, R.K., Halim, M.A., Saha, B.B. et al. Groundwater flow system in Bengal Delta, Bangladesh revealed by environmental isotopes. Environ Earth Sci 64, 1343–1352 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0959-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0959-2