The Study of Stable Isotopes (18O, 2H & 13C) in Kardeh River and Dam Reservoir, North-Eastern Iran

Authors: Hossein Mohammadzadeh, Mojtaba Heydarizad

Abstract:

Among various water resources, the surface water has a dominant role in providing water supply in the arid and semi-arid region of Iran. Andarokh-Kardeh basin is located in 50 km from Mashhad city - the second biggest city of Iran (NE of Iran), draining by Kardeh river which provides a significant portion of potable and irrigation water needs for Mashhad. The stable isotopes (¹⁸O, ²H,¹³C-DIC, and ¹³C-DOC), as reliable and precious water fingerprints, have been measured in Kardeh river (Kharket, Mareshk, Jong, All and Kardeh stations) and in Kardeh dam reservoirs (at five different sites S1 to S5) during March to June 2011 and June 2012. On δ¹⁸O vs. δ²H diagram, the river samples were plotted between Global and Eastern Mediterranean Meteoric Water lines (GMWL and EMMWL) which demonstrate that various moisture sources are providing humidity for precipitation events in this area. The enriched δ¹⁸O and δ²H values (-6.5 ‰ and -44.5 ‰ VSMOW) of Kardeh dam reservoir are compared to Kardeh river (-8.6‰and-54.4‰), and its deviation from Mashhad meteoric water line (MMWL- δ²H=7.16δ¹⁸O+11.22) is due to evaporation from the open surface water body. The enriched value of δ ¹³C-DIC and high amount of DIC values (-7.9 ‰ VPDB and 57.23 ppm) in the river and Kardeh dam reservoir (-7.3 ‰ VPDB and 55.53 ppm) is due to dissolution of Mozdooran Carbonate Formation lithology (Jm1 to Jm3 units) (contains enriched δ¹³C DIC values of 9.2‰ to 27.7‰ VPDB) in the region. Because of the domination of C3 vegetations in Andarokh_Kardeh basin, the δ¹³C-DOC isotope of the river (-28.4‰ VPDB) and dam reservoir (-32.3‰ VPDB) demonstrate depleted values. Higher DOC concentration in dam reservoir (2.57 ppm) compared to the river (0.72 ppm) is due to more biologogical activities and organic matters in dam reservoir.

Keywords: Dam reservoir, Iran, Kardeh river, Khorasan razavi, Stable isotopes.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1132369

References:

[1] Chapman H, Bickle M, Hla Thaw S, Nei Thiam H (2015). Chemical fluxes from time series sampling of the Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers, Myanmar. chemical Geology 401:15–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.02.012.
[2] Cui B.L, Li X-Y (2015). Characteristics of stable isotopes and hydrochemistry of river water in the Qinghai Lake Basin, northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Environ Earth Sci 73:4251–4263. DOI 10.1007/s12665-014-3707-6.
[3] Zhang Q, Jin Zh, Zhang F, Xiao J (2015). Seasonal variation in river water chemistry of the middle reaches of the Yellow River and its controlling factors. Geochemical Exploration 156: 101–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2015.05.008.
[4] Smith A, Smokorowski K, Marty J, Power M (2016). Stable isotope characterization of Rainy River, Ontario, lake sturgeon diet and trophic position. Great Lakes Research 42: 440–447. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2015.12.016.
[5] Mohammadzadeh H, Ebrahimpoor S (2012) Application of stable isotopes and hydrochemistry to investigate sources and quality exchange Zarivar catchment area. Journal of Water and Soil 26:1018–1031.
[6] Mohammadzadeh H, Heydarizad M (2012) Investigating geochemistry and the stable isotope (δ 18O & δ 2H) composition of Karde Carbonate Lake water (NE Iran). In: Proc of the Goldschmidt Conference, Monteral, Canada.
[7] Osati K, Koeniger P, Salajegheh A, Mahdavi M, Chapi K, Malekian A (2014). Spatiotemporal patterns of stable isotopes and hydrochemistry in springs and river flow of the upper Karkheh River Basin, Iran. Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, DOI: 10.1080/10256016.2014.857317.
[8] Rozanski K, Araguas-Araguas L, and Gonfiantini R (1993) Isotopic patterns in modem global precipitation, in: Climate Change in Continental Isotopic Records – Geophysical Monograph 78, edited by: Swart, P. K., Lohman, K. C., McKenzie, J., and Savin, S., American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, 1–36.
[9] Gat J, Carmi I (1970) Evolution of the isotopic composition of atmospheric waters in the Mediterranean Sea area. Journal of Geophysical Research 75, 3039–3048.
[10] Mohammadzadeh H (2010) The meteoric relationship for 18O and 2H in precipitations and isotopic compositions of water resources in Mashhad area (NE Iran): the first Azad university international geology conference. Mashad, Iran.
[11] Aghaei A, Mahboubi A, Mousavi Harami R, Najafi M (2014) Carbonate Diagenesis of the Upper Jurassic Successions in the West of Binalud - Eastern Alborz (NE Iran). Journal of geological survey of India, 83. 311-328.
[12] Deines P (1980) The isotopic composition of reduced organic carbon. In hand book of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, ed. P. Fritz and J. Fontes, 329-406. New York: Elsevier.