Stable Isotopes of Water and Nitrate for the Identification of Groundwater Flowpaths: A Review
Nitrate contamination in stream water and groundwater is a serious environmental problem that arises in areas of high agricultural activities or high population density. It is therefore important to identify the source and flowpath of nitrate in water bodies. In recent decades, the dual isotope anal...
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doaj-5d015da90ef44bed93d80a52286ba1762020-11-25T02:23:44ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-01-0112113810.3390/w12010138w12010138Stable Isotopes of Water and Nitrate for the Identification of Groundwater Flowpaths: A ReviewHyejung Jung0Dong-Chan Koh1Yun S. Kim2Sung-Wook Jeen3Jeonghoon Lee4Department of Science Education, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, KoreaGroundwater Department, Geologic Environment Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon 34132, KoreaWater Quality Research Center, K-Water Convergence Institute, Daejeon 34350, KoreaDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences & The Earth and Environmental Science System Research Center, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, KoreaDepartment of Science Education, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, KoreaNitrate contamination in stream water and groundwater is a serious environmental problem that arises in areas of high agricultural activities or high population density. It is therefore important to identify the source and flowpath of nitrate in water bodies. In recent decades, the dual isotope analysis (δ<sup>15</sup>N and δ<sup>18</sup>O) of nitrate has been widely applied to track contamination sources by taking advantage of the difference in nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratios for different sources. However, transformation processes of nitrogen compounds can change the isotopic composition of nitrate due to the various redox processes in the environment, which often makes it difficult to identify contaminant sources. To compensate for this, the stable water isotope of the H<sub>2</sub>O itself can be used to interpret the complex hydrological and hydrochemical processes for the movement of nitrate contaminants. Therefore, the present study aims at understanding the fundamental background of stable water and nitrate isotope analysis, including isotope fractionation, analytical methods such as nitrate concentration from samples, instrumentation, and the typical ranges of δ<sup>15</sup>N and δ<sup>18</sup>O from various nitrate sources. In addition, we discuss hydrograph separation using the oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of water in combination with the nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of nitrate to understand the relative contributions of precipitation and groundwater to stream water. This study will assist in understanding the groundwater flowpaths as well as tracking the sources of nitrate contamination using the stable isotope analysis in combination with nitrate and water.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/1/138groundwaterisotope hydrologystable water isotopesstable nitrate isotopes |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Hyejung Jung Dong-Chan Koh Yun S. Kim Sung-Wook Jeen Jeonghoon Lee |
spellingShingle |
Hyejung Jung Dong-Chan Koh Yun S. Kim Sung-Wook Jeen Jeonghoon Lee Stable Isotopes of Water and Nitrate for the Identification of Groundwater Flowpaths: A Review Water groundwater isotope hydrology stable water isotopes stable nitrate isotopes |
author_facet |
Hyejung Jung Dong-Chan Koh Yun S. Kim Sung-Wook Jeen Jeonghoon Lee |
author_sort |
Hyejung Jung |
title |
Stable Isotopes of Water and Nitrate for the Identification of Groundwater Flowpaths: A Review |
title_short |
Stable Isotopes of Water and Nitrate for the Identification of Groundwater Flowpaths: A Review |
title_full |
Stable Isotopes of Water and Nitrate for the Identification of Groundwater Flowpaths: A Review |
title_fullStr |
Stable Isotopes of Water and Nitrate for the Identification of Groundwater Flowpaths: A Review |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stable Isotopes of Water and Nitrate for the Identification of Groundwater Flowpaths: A Review |
title_sort |
stable isotopes of water and nitrate for the identification of groundwater flowpaths: a review |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Water |
issn |
2073-4441 |
publishDate |
2020-01-01 |
description |
Nitrate contamination in stream water and groundwater is a serious environmental problem that arises in areas of high agricultural activities or high population density. It is therefore important to identify the source and flowpath of nitrate in water bodies. In recent decades, the dual isotope analysis (δ<sup>15</sup>N and δ<sup>18</sup>O) of nitrate has been widely applied to track contamination sources by taking advantage of the difference in nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratios for different sources. However, transformation processes of nitrogen compounds can change the isotopic composition of nitrate due to the various redox processes in the environment, which often makes it difficult to identify contaminant sources. To compensate for this, the stable water isotope of the H<sub>2</sub>O itself can be used to interpret the complex hydrological and hydrochemical processes for the movement of nitrate contaminants. Therefore, the present study aims at understanding the fundamental background of stable water and nitrate isotope analysis, including isotope fractionation, analytical methods such as nitrate concentration from samples, instrumentation, and the typical ranges of δ<sup>15</sup>N and δ<sup>18</sup>O from various nitrate sources. In addition, we discuss hydrograph separation using the oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of water in combination with the nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of nitrate to understand the relative contributions of precipitation and groundwater to stream water. This study will assist in understanding the groundwater flowpaths as well as tracking the sources of nitrate contamination using the stable isotope analysis in combination with nitrate and water. |
topic |
groundwater isotope hydrology stable water isotopes stable nitrate isotopes |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/1/138 |
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