Hydrogeochemical and isotopic study of groundwater in the Habor Lake Basin of the Ordos Plateau, NW China

Abstract

Hydrogeochemistry and isotopes were used to understand the origin and geochemical evolution in the Habor Lake Basin, northwestern China. Groundwater samples were taken, and the isotopic compositions δD, δ18O and major ions were analyzed. The groundwater can be divided into three types: the Quaternary groundwater, the shallow Cretaceous groundwater and the deep Cretaceous groundwater. The groundwater chemistry is mainly controlled by the feldspar weathering and dolomite weathering, the dissolution of Glauber’s salt, and cation exchange. Chemistry of lake water is mainly controlled by evaporation and precipitation. The stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in groundwater cluster along the local meteoric water line, indicating that groundwater is of meteoric origin. Comparing with shallow groundwater, deep groundwater is depleted in heavy isotopes indicating that deep groundwater was recharged during late Pleistocene and Holocene, during which the climate was more wetter and colder than today.