Natural Resources Research Articles
Marine airborne salts applied to trace evapotranspiration, local recharge and lateral groundwater flow in Western Australia
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1992
Journal Title
Journal of Hydrology
ISSN
ISSN: 0022-1694, eISSN: 1879-2707
Disciplines
Hydrology | Natural Resources and Conservation | Water Resource Management
Abstract
Concentrations of dissolved Cl, Br, SO4, Na, K, Ca and Mg in ground waters of six study areas in the flat Wheatbelt of Western Australia revealed: (a) variations of several orders of magnitude of ion concentrations (40–63 000 mg C11−1) in ground waters encountered in wells 2–46 m deep; (b) variations exceeding an order of magnitude in the salinity observed in depth profiles of individual wells; (c) positive linear correlations between the concentrations of Cl, Br, Na and Mg, observed in all the study areas, and similar correlations also with Ca, K and SO4 in part of these areas; (d) marine-like relative ionic concentration abundances of Cl, Br, Na and Mg in the six study areas, and of Ca, K and SO4 in part of the areas; (e) concentrations of the various ions distinctly below saturation with halite, Br-containing salts or gypsum. Observations of this nature are shown to provide a powerful tool to establish: (a) lack of fractionation between the marine ions during the atmospheric transport, (b) salt input dominated by marine airborne salts, (c) operation of evapotranspiration from the regolith in calculable degrees that vary from one surface cell to another, (d) lack of salt phases in the aquifer materials, (e) dominance of local (vertical) recharge over remote (lateral) recharge, (f) infiltration of active recharge through preferred pathways in the aerated zone, (g) storage of ground water in local compartments, (h) amount of annual recharge in each unit of area, and (i) hydrochemical maturity of the local hydrological system. Rise of water tables, as a result of forest clearing, produces a different flow regime for water and solutes. The depth of the aerated zone is drastically reduced, saline interstitial water is mobilized from the aquifer (the former aerated zone), and previously productive land becomes degraded by excessive soil salinities.
Recommended Citation
Emanuel Mazor, Richard George, Marine airborne salts applied to trace evapotranspiration, local recharge and lateral groundwater flow in Western Australia, Journal of Hydrology, Volume 139, Issues 1–4, 1992, Pages 63-77 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(92)90195-2
