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Hydrochemistry of urban groundwater in Seoul, South Korea: effects of land-use and pollutant recharge

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

The ionic and isotopic compositions (δD, δ18O, and 3H) of urban groundwaters have been monitored in Seoul to examine the water quality in relation to land-use. High tritium contents (6.1–12.0 TU) and the absence of spatial/seasonal change of O–H isotope data indicate that groundwaters are well mixed within aquifers with recently recharged waters of high contamination susceptibility. Statistical analyses show a spatial variation of major ions in relation to land-use type. The major ion concentrations tend to increase with anthropogenic contamination, due to the local pollutants recharge. The TDS concentration appears to be a useful contamination indicator, as it generally increases by the order of forested green zone (average 151 mg/l), agricultural area, residential area, traffic area, and industrialized area (average 585 mg/l). With the increased anthropogenic contamination, the groundwater chemistry changes from a Ca–HCO3 type toward a Ca–Cl(+NO3) type. The source and behavior of major ions are discussed and the hydrochemical backgrounds are proposed as the basis of a groundwater management plan.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant (2000-2-13100-001-3) from the Interdisciplinary Research Program of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF). The maintenance of a gas-isotope mass spectrometer used for this study was supported by the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) and the Environmental Geosphere Research Lab (EGRL) of Korea University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Environmental Geosphere Research Lab (EGRL), Korea University, 136–701, Seoul, South Korea

    Byoung-Young Choi, Seong-Taek Yun, Soon-Young Yu, Seong-Sook Park & Gi-Tak Chae

  2. Department of Mining and Materials, Korea Institute of Geology, 305–350, Taejon, South Korea

    Pyeong-Koo Lee

  3. Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Calgary, T2 N 1N4, Alberta, Canada

    Bernhard Mayer

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  1. Byoung-Young Choi
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  2. Seong-Taek Yun
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  4. Pyeong-Koo Lee
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  5. Seong-Sook Park
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  7. Bernhard Mayer
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Correspondence to Seong-Taek Yun.

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Choi, BY., Yun, ST., Yu, SY. et al. Hydrochemistry of urban groundwater in Seoul, South Korea: effects of land-use and pollutant recharge. Environ Geol 48, 979–990 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-1205-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-1205-y

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