Using environmental isotopes along with major hydro-geochemical compositions to assess deep groundwater formation and evolution in eastern coastal China

Abstract

Hydrochemical analysis and environmental isotopic tracing are successfully applied to study groundwater evolution processes. Located in eastern China, the Jiangsu Coastal Plain is characterized by an extensively exploited deep groundwater system, and groundwater salinization has become the primary water environmental problem. This paper provides a case study on the use of a hydrochemical and environmental isotopic approach to assess possible mixing and evolution processes at Yoco Port, Jiangsu Province, China. Hydrochemical and isotopic patterns of deep groundwater allow one to distinguish different origins in deep water systems. HCO₃^- is the dominant anion in the freshwater samples, whereas Na⁺ and Cl^- are the dominant major ions in the saline samples. According to δ¹⁸O, δ²H and ¹⁴C dating, the fresh water is derived from precipitation under a colder climate during the Glacial Maximum (Dali Glacial), while the saline groundwater is influenced by glacial-interglacial cycles during the Holocene Hypsithermal. The δ¹⁸O, δ²H and ³H data confirm that deep groundwater in some boreholes is mixed with overlying saline water. The deep groundwater reservoir can be divided into a saline water sector and a fresh water sector, and each show distinct hydrochemical and isotopic compositions. The saline groundwater found in the deep aquifer cannot be associated with present seawater intrusion. Since the Last Glacial Maximum in the Late Pleistocene, the deep groundwater flow system has evolved to its current status with the decrease in ice cover and the rising of sea level. However, the hydraulic connection is strengthened by continuous overexploitation, and deep groundwater is mixed with shallow groundwater at some points.

Keywords: Groundwater age; Groundwater development; Hydrochemistry; Stable isotopes.