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Hydrogeochemistry and isotope techniques to determine water interactions in groundwater-dependent shallow lakes, Wet Pampa Plain, Argentina

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Abstract

This paper gives an account of the implementation of hydrochemical and isotopic techniques to identify and explain the processes that govern solute exchange in two groundwater-dependent shallow lakes in the Southeastern Pampa Plain of Argentina. Water samples (lakes, streams, spring water and groundwater) for hydrochemical and stable isotopic determination were collected and the main physical–chemical parameters were measured. The combination of stable isotope data with hydrogeochemical techniques was used for the identification of sources and preferential recharge areas to these aquatic ecosystems which allowed the explanation of the lake water origin. The hydrochemical processes which explain Los Padres Lake water chemistry are evaporation from groundwater, CO2 input, calcite dissolution, Na+ release by Ca2+ and Mg2+ exchange, and sulfate reduction. The model that best aligns with La Brava Lake hydrochemical constraints includes: mixing, CO2 and calcite dissolution, cationic exchange with Na+ release and Mg2+ adsorption, and to a lesser extent, Ca/Na exchange. This model suggests that the fractured aquifer contribution to this water body is greater than 50 %. An isotopic-specific fingerprint for each lake was identified, finding a higher evaporation rate for La Brava Lake compared to Los Padres Lake. Isotopic data demonstrate the importance of these shallow lakes as recharge areas to the regional aquifer, becoming areas of high groundwater vulnerability. The Tandilia Range System, considered in many hydrogeological studies as the impermeable bedrock of the Pampean aquifer, acts as a fissured aquifer in this area, contributing to low salinity waters and with a fingerprint similar to groundwater isotopic composition.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the financial support of the National University of Mar del Plata through ARQ 168/07 and EXA 388/08 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The authors are also grateful to Mr. A. Ferrante for technical assistance and Mr. G. Bernava for chemical analysis. One of the authors (AR) wishes to thank the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) for fellowship support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Asunción Romanelli, Orlando Mauricio Quiroz Londoño, Daniel Emilio Martínez & Alicia Haydée Escalante

  2. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, FCEyN, Funes 3350, Nivel 1, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Asunción Romanelli, Orlando Mauricio Quiroz Londoño, Daniel Emilio Martínez & Héctor Enrique Massone

  3. Laboratorio de Limnología, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3250, Nivel 2, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Alicia Haydée Escalante

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  1. Asunción Romanelli
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  2. Orlando Mauricio Quiroz Londoño
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  3. Daniel Emilio Martínez
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  4. Héctor Enrique Massone
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  5. Alicia Haydée Escalante
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Correspondence to Asunción Romanelli.

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Romanelli, A., Quiroz Londoño, O.M., Martínez, D.E. et al. Hydrogeochemistry and isotope techniques to determine water interactions in groundwater-dependent shallow lakes, Wet Pampa Plain, Argentina. Environ Earth Sci 71, 1953–1966 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2601-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2601-y

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