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Identifying hydrological conditions of the Pihe River catchment in the Chengdu Plain based on spatio-temporal distribution of 2H and 18O

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Abstract

Stable isotope composition in precipitation, river water, and groundwater was used to investigate the hydrological conditions in the Pihe River catchment of Southwest China. Significant seasonal isotopic variations exist in precipitation and river water, and there is 1-month delay in the river water response to precipitation. The river water is gradually enriched under the influence of evaporation. However, due to the influence of recharge from external water source, the evaporation ratios do not strictly increase with the flow distance. The seasonal isotopic values in groundwater fluctuate the least. River water supplies groundwater more than precipitation in dry season.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51979177). The authors are very grateful for the help of Xiaohua Huang, Jie Mei et al. in the laboratory of eco-hydrology and water-soil conservation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Ke Chen, Yuchuan Meng, Guodong Liu, Chengcheng Xia, Jing Zhou & Hongxia Li

  2. College of Water Resources and Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Ke Chen, Yuchuan Meng, Guodong Liu, Chengcheng Xia, Jing Zhou & Hongxia Li

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  1. Ke Chen
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  2. Yuchuan Meng
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  3. Guodong Liu
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Correspondence to Guodong Liu.

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Chen, K., Meng, Y., Liu, G. et al. Identifying hydrological conditions of the Pihe River catchment in the Chengdu Plain based on spatio-temporal distribution of 2H and 18O. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 324, 1125–1140 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07163-z

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