Abstract
The study area is located in the border of the high and low folded zone having a semi-arid climate area. This study initiated in 2009–2010, deals essentially with the investigation of the stable isotope (18O and deuterium 2H) as well as radioactive isotope represented by tritium 3H in rain, carbonate springs, intergranular aquifer, and surface water in order to investigate the source and relative ages of the groundwater and to show the influence of the altitude variations of the isotope composition. In this study and for the first time in the area, a local meteoric water line have been drawn with an empirical formula δ 2H = 7.7δ 18O + 14.4. The δ 18O–altitude effect was determined using isotopic data for several samples taken from groundwater and surface water; it was approximated at −0.79 ‰/100 m for the entire area of the study. The output of the tritium concentrations in the springs and water well samples revealed to the conclusion that the values closely resembles to the present time tritium concentration in precipitation.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Joanneum Research Institute staff, especially Dr. Beyene Yehdegho, for assessing the interpretation of isotope data, as well as Dr. Albrecht Leis for analyzing the stable isotope. Special thanks are due to the Govermental of Sulaimani for the financed the project. We are also grateful to Dr. Yousif O. Mohammad for his valuable comments on the early version of this manuscript.
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Hamamin, D.F., Ali, S.S. Hydrodynamic study of karstic and intergranular aquifers using isotope geochemistry in Basara basin, Sulaimani, North-Eastern Iraq. Arab J Geosci 6, 2933–2940 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0572-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0572-z