Isotopes

OPINION Isotope hydrology: An indispensable tool in the hydrogeologists toolbox for addressing water security in South Africa.

22 Mar 2023
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Home News OPINION Isotope hydrology: An indispensable tool in the hydrogeologists toolbox for addressing water security in South Africa.
OPINION by Yazeed van Wyk

Isotope hydrology:  An indispensable tool in the hydrogeologists toolbox for addressing water security in South Africa.

World Water Day is an annual event that takes place on March 22nd, and it is designated by the United Nations to focus on the importance of freshwater and its sustainable management. This provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the global water crises and the need to conserve and protect this vital resource.

Tracer applications in an urban MAR (Rhine) scheme: Identifying the presence of regional groundwater in a complex geological setting

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has become increasingly popular in Central Europe as a sustainable, clean, and efficient method for managing domestic water supply. In these schemes, river water is artificially infiltrated into shallow aquifers for storage and natural purification of domestic water supply, while the resulting groundwater mound can simultaneously be designed to suppress the inflow of regional groundwater from contaminated areas. MAR schemes are typically not managed based on automated optimization algorithms, especially in complex urban and geological settings.

Characterisation of the Lower Berg River Aquifer System, Western Cape, South Africa

The Lower Berg River Aquifer System, situated in the Western Cape province of South Africa, is important to the towns that overlay it, as they rely on the aquifer for water supply, which supplements industrial development and residential growth. This aquifer system is important because surface water resources in the area are finite and fully allocated. Despite studies on the Lower Berg River Aquifer System since 1976, knowledge of the geological layers, recharge and discharge areas, and groundwater flow paths remain limited.

Assessing aquifer vulnerability using tritium and machine learning in Africa’s western Sahel

Understanding the sensitivity of groundwater resources to surface pollution and changing climatic conditions is essential to ensure its quality and sustainable use. However, it can be difficult to predict the vulnerability of groundwater where no contamination has taken place or where data are limited. This is particularly true in the western Sahel of Africa, which has a rapidly growing population and increasing water demands.

Stable and Radiogenic isotopes in southern Mozambique: a window into groundwater recharge, mixing and vulnerability

The use of radiogenic isotope tracers, produced through bomb testing (e.g. 3H and 14C), and the application of these isotopes is yet to be fully explored now that atmospheric abundances have returned to background levels. New isotope-enabled institutions and laboratories have recently been established in developing countries to apply isotopes in practical research.

Webinar Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP). (IAEA)

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Webinar Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP). (IAEA)

online

World Water Day 2022 Workshop (WRC): Reflecting on the past and embracing the future of groundwater in South Africa

Online Event
  • Managed aquifer recharge
  • implementation
  • social impacts
  • Isotopes
  • vadose zone
  • AI
  • groundwater exploration
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World Water Day 2022 Workshop (WRC): Reflecting on the past and embracing the future of groundwater in South Africa

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"Deriving groundwater recharge using Stronium isotopes: Oshivelo Aquifer, Namibia" - A step towards groundwater management

In order to obtain a better understanding of a groundwater system, it is very important to understand the recharge mechanisms of such a system. Several intensive investigations have been done, documenting the different methodologies to derive recharge. Most of these studies have been centred on the detailed analysis and description of isotopes, which are either a characteristic of the water, the rock, or both. The isotopes of strontium, in particular the isotopic 87Sr/86Sr ratio, is one of such methodologies applied to drive the sources of recharge.

Stable Isotopes Reveal Pathways And Potential For Nitrate Mitigation In An Aquifer Used For Drinking Water Production

To control the impact of nitrate and its sustainable mitigation in groundwater systems used for drinking water production, it is crucial to understand and quantify sources as well as biochemical processes which (permanently) remove nitrate.

In an alluvial aquifer in Germany (Hessian Ried) that serves as major drinking water recourse for the Frankfurt metropolitan area, water quality is challenged by nitrate contamination from intensive agricultural land use locally by far exceeding the drinking water limits of 50 mg/L.

A Geochemical Investigation On Two Soekor Wells Located In The Northern Cape, South Africa

The past few years hydraulic fracturing has been a hotly researched topic. Currently, most published documents are just speculation of what can happen if hydraulic fracturing is to take place in South Africa. There is very little work done to firstly establish a baseline on the current groundwater quality and secondly look at the current state of the groundwater around the Soekor wells. For these reasons a geochemical investigation was launched looking at the Soekor wells and the surrounding boreholes to determine a valid baseline.