Abstract
In Northern Baja California environmental conservation may not be fully accomplished in the absence of a clear understanding of key factors controlling and protecting biodiversity Groundwater is an environmental agent triggering the presence of a wide range of arid ecosystems therefore any sustainable development in the region has to maintain a balance between environmental social and economical benefits The present study has placed a great emphasis on the understanding and distribution of groundwater flow systems and their environmental interactions in the protected area of the Valle de Los C iacute rios using physical chemical and isotope methods Results show the presence of three groundwater groups portraying contrasting flow systems conditions Analyzed samples have been classified as fresh brackish and thermal alkaline groundwater as suggested by pH temperature and TDS The Br Cl ratio in most samples was close to the ocean molar value x indicating the importance of marine aerosol fraction in the recharged waters however Mg Cl Na Cl Ca Cl SO Cl and Cl HCO Cl ratios were significantly different to those of seawater mixing conditions Dominant ions Na Ca and Cl chemical age proxies Li and O suggest waters with long residence time with the possibility of been recharge during the late glacial period Thermal ground water shows low minor and trace element content and exhibits the dominance of Na plagioclase hydrolysis their low levels of Sr and Ba suggest negligible contact with calcareous rocks and their estimated temperature at depth to deg C and TDS suggest groundwater has travelled through fractured media This introduction study suggests that desertic species in Valle de Los Cirios are highly sustained by groundwater of local and intermediate flows
Highlights
The Baja California peninsula has long been recognized as a hotspot for plant richness and endemism and has been the subject of 14 decrees as protected areas.[1]
In the Central Desert region of Baja California, studies dedicated to regional understanding of groundwater flow functioning are infrequent; development and population growth is scarce so the availability of groundwater data is limited to scattered springs and few dug wells
Protected areas of Northern Baja California may be subjected to natural and human stress; any sustainable development of the area has to consider the involvement of groundwater as an ecological agent
Summary
The Baja California peninsula has long been recognized as a hotspot for plant richness and endemism and has been the subject of 14 decrees as protected areas.[1]. Various studies[2−5] have shown the groundwater role in controlling ecological functioning and scatter vegetation, especially in its discharge zones. Since the encounter of the flow systems concept,[6] the hydrogeology’s basic paradigm has shifted from confined flow in aquifer units to crossformational-flow in drainage basins.[7] groundwater has been recognised as a fundamental geologic agent, generating and modifying natural processes and phenomena of scientific, practical and economic interest.[7] The distribution of vegetation cover in response to nutrient and moisture conditions is generated by groundwater inflow and out-flow; water level fluctuation; negative water-balance in recharge zones, and water surplus in discharge zones (wetland); anionic changes with depth and along groundwater flow systems; negative and positive geothermal anomalies, are considered to be the main indicators of groundwater flow hierarchy, among others.[7] The use of physical-chemical hydrogeological approaches in parallel with a wide range of geological settings and field parameters remain a cornerstone in understanding, delineating and defining groundwater flow patterns and in establishing regional flow models. To chemically differentiate groundwater flow patterns and distribution of discharge zones by understanding the theoretical hydrogeological presence of regional, intermediate and local flows within the ecosystem of the Baja California region
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have