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Evaluating the Relative Importance of Groundwater Recharge Sources in a Subtropical Alluvial Plain Using Tracer-Based Ternary End Member Mixing Analysis (EMMA)

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Abstract

In Taiwan’s humid climate, proximal fan groundwater (PFG) is mainly sourced from local precipitation (LP), mountain front recharge (MFR), and mountain block recharge (MBR). This study evaluates the relative importance of the above sources’ respective contributions to the PFG of the Langyang alluvial plain (LAP), northeastern Taiwan. To this end, we first identify stable isotopic characteristics of these target waters and evaluate the hydrological relations among them. Further, we employ ternary end member mixing analysis (EMMA) based on δ 18O and electrical conductivity to semi-quantitatively calculate contributing fractions and amounts of water for respective LP, MFR, and MBR end members. EMMA results indicate that the respective contribution fractions of LP, MFR, and MBR to PFG at the LAP are approximately 28, 60, and 12 %, respectively. Further, we employ the obtained contribution fractions to understand the corresponding water amounts of each end-member contributed to PFG. In total, 325 × 106 m3 of water recharges PFG annually; of which, 226 × 106 m3/yr. is from MFR, 76 × 106 m3/yr. from LP, and 23 × 106 m3/yr. from MBR. MFR is clearly the greatest source of water at the LAP and local water resource management and protection authorities should concentrate their energies on this important contributor to groundwater. To keep these results in context, limitations to the EMMA approach are evaluated in the text.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to anonymous reviewers and the Associate Editor for their constructive comments, which greatly improved our manuscript. Work on this paper is divided into two parts. That focusing on meteoric water is an achievement attributable to assistance from the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC 101-2116-M-005-001 and NSC 102-2116-M-005-001) and that regarding groundwater is attributable to assistance from the Central Geological Survey, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan (B10249).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan

    Tsung-Ren Peng, Chun-Chun Huang & Wen-Jun Zhan

  2. Central Geological Survey, Ministry of Economic Affairs, New Taipei, 23568, Taiwan

    Jui-Er Chen

  3. Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, 31040, Taiwan

    Li-Wei Chiang

  4. Department of Civil Engineering, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010, Taiwan

    Liang-Cheng Chang

Authors
  1. Tsung-Ren Peng
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Correspondence to Tsung-Ren Peng.

Appendix

Appendix

Table listing stable isotopic composition and EC concentration of mountain groundwaters (MBR water) represented by MGN and MGS waters of this study

MBR water

Sample site

δ 18O

δ 2H

EC

Sampling date

(‰)

(‰)

(μS/cm)

MGN

Well-1

−8.5

−50.9

962

August 2006

Well-2

−8.4

−50.1

948

August 2006

Well-3

−8.4

−51.8

952

August 2006

Well-4

−8.5

−50.0

943

August 2006

Well-5

−8.2

−48.7

928

August 2006

Well-1

−8.6

−49.4

951

November 2006

Well-2

−8.5

−51.4

 

November 2006

Well-3

−8.4

−49.8

1005

November 2006

Well-4

−8.3

−49.0

922

November 2006

Well-5

−8.2

−49.5

953

November 2006

Well-6

−8.1

−50.2

975

November 2006

Well-7

−8.3

−47.5

973

November 2006

Well-8

−8.3

−48.3

917

November 2006

Well-1

−8.2

−49.4

 

March 2007

Well-2

−8.2

−54.0

 

March 2007

Well-3

−8.4

−49.1

 

March 2007

Well-4

−8.5

−42.7

 

March 2007

Well-5

−8.3

−55.6

 

March 2007

Well-6

−8.3

−49.9

 

March 2007

Well-7

−8.2

−49.1

 

March 2007

Well-8

−8.2

−52.8

 

March 2007

Well-1

−8.0

−43.1

882

July 2007

Well-2

−8.3

−48.5

939

July 2007

Well-3

−8.2

−43.1

964

July 2007

Well-4

−8.2

−50.1

993

July 2007

Well-5

−8.0

−40.6

947

July 2007

Well-6

−8.3

−44.3

976

July 2007

Well-7

−8.0

−46.9

924

July 2007

Well-8

−8.2

−50.1

973

July 2007

Well-9

−8.2

−49.8

1354

July 2013

Mean

−8.3

−48.9

971

 

MGS

Spring-1

−6.0

−40.0

 

December 1991

Spring-1

−5.4

−47.9

 

March 1992

Spring-1

−5.8

−46.5

 

July 1992

Spring-1

−5.4

−45.7

 

November 1992

Spring-1

−5.2

−45.8

 

February 1993

Spring-1

−5.1

−42.1

 

May 1993

Spring-1

−5.3

−41.7

 

August 1993

Spring-1

−5.3

−46.4

 

November 1993

Spring-1

−5.3

−34.8

 

January 1994

Spring-1

−5.4

−47.6

 

February 1994

Spring-1

−5.0

−46.6

3710

July 2013

Spring-1

−5.6

−45.8

3160

November 2013

Mean

−5.4

−44.2

3435

 

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Peng, TR., Huang, CC., Chen, JE. et al. Evaluating the Relative Importance of Groundwater Recharge Sources in a Subtropical Alluvial Plain Using Tracer-Based Ternary End Member Mixing Analysis (EMMA). Water Resour Manage 30, 3861–3878 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1393-8

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