Seasonality of hydrogeochemical evolutions and isotopic variabilities (δ18O, δ2H and d-excess) in the surface water as well as groundwater from tropical central-south Mexico

Abstract

Due to adverse impact of the global warming on hydrological resources, we intended to document the hydrogeochemical evolutions of surface and groundwater at tropical central-south Mexico in terms of seasonality of rock-water interaction, precipitation/evaporation variation and moisture source by evaluating the major ion chemistry in Piper and Gibbs plots, Durov diagram and through estimation of the chloro-alkaline indices as well as assessing the stable isotope compositions (δ18O and δ2H) in samples from different seasons of a year. Surface water of the Lake Coatetelco shifted from mostly Ca–Mg–HCO3 facies in wet summer-autumn to Na–HCO3–Cl facies in the dry spring due to elevated Na, Cl and HCO3. Greater evaporation in spring led to a maximum δ18O enrichment of ca.7‰ compared to the other seasons, and much depleted deuterium excess (−40.92‰ to −39.20‰). Interaction of the lake water with subsurface carbonate lithologies, and comparable isotopic compositions reflected the enhanced interaction between the surface water body and aquifers in the wet autumn. Effect of seasonality, however, was unclear on the groundwater facies, and its heterogenous composition (Ca–Mg–HCO3, Na–HCO3–Cl and Na–HCO3) reflected the interactions with different lithologies. Fractionations in isotope compositions of the groundwater were caused from recharge at different elevations, seasonality of moisture sources and moisture recycling. The water-mineral saturation index was an efficient proxy of seasonality as the lake water and groundwater (avg SIcalcite > 0.5) of the dry autumn were saturated with calcite. This vital information about carbonate precipitation, pCO2 and chemical facies would be useful for the better interpretation of paleoclimate archives in this region.