Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
DOI 10.1007/s12665-010-0534-2
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes for the characteristics
of groundwater recharge: a case study from the Chih-Pen
Creek basin, Taiwan
Hsin-Fu Yeh • Cheng-Haw Lee • Kuo-Chin Hsu
Received: 23 July 2009 / Accepted: 19 March 2010 / Published online: 14 April 2010
Ó Springer-Verlag 2010
Abstract Assessing the seasonal variation of groundwater recharge is important for effective management of
groundwater resources. Stable isotopes of oxygen and
hydrogen were used to estimate the sources of groundwater
and seasonal contributions of precipitation to groundwater
recharge in Chih-Pen Creek basin of eastern Taiwan. Based
on the isotopes of precipitation (n = 177), two different
local meteoric water regression lines (LMWL) can be
obtained for the different seasons: dD = 8.0618O ? 10.08
for wet season precipitation (May through October) and
dD = 8.65d18O ? 17.09 for dry season precipitation
(November through April). The slope and intercept of
regression line for wet season precipitation are virtually
identical to the global meteoric water line (GMWL) of
Craig (1961). In contrast to during dry season precipitation
due to evaporation effect the intercept of 17.09 is much
higher than of the GMWL of 10. The results show the
stable isotopes compositions of precipitation decrease with
increasing rainfall amount and air temperature, due to the
amount effect of precipitation is pronounced. The amount
effect is clearly but do not show the temperature effect
from January to December 2007. Using a mass-balance
equation, a comparison of deuterium excess or d values of
precipitation and groundwater indicates the groundwater
consist of 76% wet season precipitation and 24% dry
season precipitation, representing a distinct seasonal variation of groundwater recharge in study area. About 79% of
the groundwater is recharged from the river water of the
H.-F. Yeh C.-H. Lee (&) K.-C. Hsu
Department of Resources Engineering,
National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
e-mail: [email protected]
mountain watershed and 21% is from the rain that falls on
the basin.
Keywords Stable isotopes Groundwater recharge Chih-Pen Creek basin
Introduction
Water quantity and quality are two key inspection points
for groundwater resources. Water quantity represents the
total amount that can be supplied to a target area, and water
quality represents the quality of the water supplied to a
target area. Therefore, it is helpful for managing sustainable utilization of groundwater resources if we define a
detailed range of the recharge area in each groundwater
area. Environmental isotopes are routinely used in geochemical and hydro-geological investigations. Oxygen and
hydrogen isotopes of water are widely used as tracers to
understand hydro-geological processes such as precipitation, groundwater recharge, groundwater–surface water
interactions, and basin hydrology (Gat 1996; Clark and
Fritz 1997; Vandenschrick et al. 2002; Deshpande et al.
2003; Gibson et al. 2005; Gammons et al. 2006; Palmer
et al. 2007; Blasch and Bryson 2007; Kumar et al. 2008; Li
et al. 2008). A comparison of the oxygen and hydrogen
isotopic compositions of precipitation and groundwater
provides an excellent tool for evaluating the recharge
mechanism. Determining the sources of groundwater
recharge is important for the effective management of
groundwater resources.
The combination of stable isotopes of oxygen and
hydrogen is constant in normal-temperature groundwater.
The stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen can be used as
conservative groundwater tracers because values of
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394
isotopes remain constant as long as there are no phase
changes or fractionation along the flow-path. The stable
isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen maintain almost the same
combination as it of the meteoric water, which means it
records the status of the initial formed meteoric water, and
is a permanent natural tracer (Senturk et al. 1970; Perry
et al. 1980, Clark and Fritz 1997). Accordingly, after collecting the information of meteoric water and stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in groundwater in a
database, and analyzing the hydro-geological structure and
the groundwater flow in the target area, we can define the
status of mixed groundwater recharge areas and different
recharge water sources. Moreover, studying stable isotopes
of oxygen and hydrogen can help us identify different
groundwater recharge zones (Duplessy et al. 1980; Payne
and Yurtsever 1974; Hennig et al. 1983). Environmental
isotopes include stable and radioactive isotopes in various
concentrations. Because of the physical and chemical differences between these isotopes and their existing environments, the isotopes can create isotope fractionation and
be preserved in the hydrological environment. Therefore,
changes in the concentration of environmental isotopes can
indicate variation of natural environment.
In the hydrological environment, the changing of stable
isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen is mainly caused by the
kinetic fractionation of the isotopes. The fractionation of
isotopes mainly occurs in the state changes of oceanic
water evaporation and of raindrops after condensation. In
these processes, different isotropic water molecules (H16
2 O,
HD16O, H18
O)
have
different
vapor
pressures
and
diffusion
2
rates, and hence cause the fractionation of isotopes. The
composition of isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in raindrops varies from its initial form in oceanic water. Different degrees of the fractionation of isotopes create
different variations, so the variation becomes a kind of
natural marking. From the marking, we can understand the
change process of isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen from
evaporation to condensation, to forming raindrops, and
finally to infiltration through aquifers. During evaporation,
lighter isotopes leave the water surface first, with the
remaining water enriched with heavier isotopes. The
degree isotopes become enriched by evaporation is related
to the relative humidity and temperature of the atmosphere
in the area where evaporation takes place (Van Der
Straaten and Mook 1983). However, during condensation,
different compositions of isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen
are present due to the various distributions of isotopes in
different areas of temperature, terrain, latitude, and altitude
(see Fig. 1).
In the process of oceanic water evaporation becoming
inland rainfall, a sequence of isotope fractionation causes
of the variation of the composition in isotopes of oxygen
and hydrogen in continental meteoric water. Since the
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Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
Fig. 1 Schematic of distillation effect for meteoric water. A large
kinetic fractionation occurs between ocean and vapor (after Sharp
2007)
fractionation is based on the equilibrium processes of the
isotopes of evaporation and condensation, there is a specific rule that governs the distributions of isotopes of
oxygen and hydrogen in rainfall.
The rule was found by Craig (1961) when he used the
method of liner regression to analyze the composition of
the isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in samples of precipitation, snow water, and river water from all over the
world. His finding is the Global Meteoric Water Line
(GMWL):
dD ¼ 8d18 O þ 10
ð1Þ
A later study by IAEA (International Atomic Energy
Agency), which collected water samples from its rainfall
stations around the world, showed a similar result (Gat
1980):
dD ¼ ð8:17 0:08Þ d18 O þ ð10:56 0:64Þ
ð2Þ
Most of the precipitation in the world obeys this
equation. However, some specific areas that have
different conditions of evaporation and condensation
(e.g., temperature and humidity), or have a unique terrain
environment, create their own special meteoric water line
with a different slope and intercept (Senturk et al. 1970;
Sakai and Matsubaya 1977; Gat 1980; Darling and
Armannsson 1989). In the meteoric water line of oxygen
and hydrogen isotopes, the slope represents the ratio of the
temperature relationship between D and 18O when
condensation occurs; the value of intercept is based on
the evaporation condition in the water source region.
The intercept is also called deuterium excess or d excess
(d = dD - 8d18O) (Dansgaard 1964). The intercepts in
most places around the world are about 10%. However,
areas may have different slopes and intercepts due to different evaporation or rainfall evaporation conditions in
various air mass sources. For example, North America:
dD = 7.95 d18O ? 6.03 (Gat 1980); Tropical Island area:
dD = 6.17 d18O ? 3.97 (Gat 1980); Japan: dD = 8
Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
d18O ? 17.5 (Sakai and Matsubaya 1977). Generally
speaking, if evaporation is faster, or rainfall evaporation
occurs, intercepts are higher. Some studies have used d
excess to identify the air mass source of the meteoric water,
and to define the seasonal recharge of groundwater (Lee
et al. 1999; Vandenschrick et al. 2002; Deshpande et al.
2003; Gibson et al. 2005; Gammons et al. 2006; Blasch and
Bryson 2007).
Groundwater is an important source of water for
industrial, agricultural, and domestic uses in Taiwan.
Taiwan is narrow, with a small area and a high population
density. The elevation of the terrain of basins is great and
steep, meaning that most precipitation becomes runoff
and drains directly to the ocean very quickly. Water
resources and water demand are unevenly distributed
spatially and temporally. Water shortage has recently
become an important issue due to climate change. The
government needs to regulate the usage of water resources
in order to solve the problem of water shortages (Yeh
et al. 2009). The continuous development of the economy
has led to an increase in water consumption, and has
consequently resulted in shortages of surface water.
Therefore, the reliance on groundwater resources has
increased, leading to the over-consumption of groundwater, and causing ecological problems such as decreased
groundwater levels, water exhaustion, water pollution,
deterioration of water quality, and seawater intrusion.
These cause serious problems and threaten both people’s
livelihoods and overall national development. Therefore,
it is important to thoroughly understand the groundwater
resources of Taiwan in order to enhance the efficiency
and performance of their planning, utilization, administration, and management. The government of Taiwan has
invested significant labor and financial resources to survey
five main groundwater areas (Cho-Shui River alluvial fan,
Pingtung Plain, Chia-Nan Plain, Lan-Yang Plain, and
Hsin-Chu and Miaoli Region) to construct a database of
hydrogeology and groundwater. Additionally, groundwater monitoring stations have been established, but only on
the western plain of Taiwan. Very limited information,
such as precipitation, river flux, hydro-geological properties, groundwater consumption, and groundwater
recharge, is available for the eastern mountain area of
Taiwan. The assessment and planning of groundwater
resources is particularly difficult for the mountain area of
Taiwan.
The purpose of this study is to use oxygen and hydrogen
isotopes as natural tracers to identify the possible sources
of groundwater and the seasonal variation of groundwater
recharge in the southeast Taiwan of Chih-Pen Creek basin.
The results provide useful information about hydrological
processes, such as the interaction of precipitation, river
water, and groundwater.
395
Study area
Geographical position and meteorological hydrology
The study area, the Chih-Pen Creek basin, is located in the
southeast of Taiwan. The basin encompasses an area of
about 198.4 km2. The length of the river is about 39.3 km
and it lays between longitudes 121°050 –121°500 E and latitudes 22°350 –22°450 N. Figure 2 shows the geographical
location of the Chih-Pen Creek basin. The research region
belongs to the tropical marine climate, with a mean annual
temperature of 24.5°C and an average annual precipitation
for 1971–2007 of 1,800 mm year-1. During the summer,
southwest monsoons occur and typhoons bring heavy
rainfall. The northeast monsoon brings vapor from the
Pacific Ocean during the winter. Because water vapor is
blocked by the Central Mountains of Taiwan, there is little
rainfall in the winter. Therefore, the wet and dry seasons
are very distinct in this region. The wet season is from May
to October, and the dry season is from November to April.
Evapotranspiration is approximately 750 mm year-1. The
maximum stream flow on annual hydrographs occurs during August and September, and the minimum flow occurs
during January and February (Yeh et al. 2007).
Topography and geology
The Chih-Pen Creek basin can be divided into two topographic units, namely the mountainous terrain and the
alluvial plain. The Chih-Pen Fault splits the basin into east
and west parts. The terrain in the west of the fault is precipitous and consists of metamorphic rock, covering part of
the Central Mountain Range. The east area of the fault is
the Taitung alluvial fan-delta. Because the end of the
Fig. 2 The location of the study region. Sampling sites of precipitation (circles), river water (squares), and groundwater (triangles)
samples are shown
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396
alluvial fan has already entered coastline, the delta plain
gradually changes to an alluvial fan-delta. The relief
declines by 70 m km-1 from west to east, which is faster
than the north–south decline of about 30 m km-1.
Taiwan can be divided into three major geological terrains, namely the Tananao Schist terrain, the slate formation terrain, and the Neogene-Quaternary sedimentary
strata terrain (Yen 1970). The only rock stratum, the ChihPen Formation, in the Chih-Pen Creek basin belongs to the
slate formation terrain. In contrast to the other terrains,
which are composed of a variety of rock types, the slate
formation terrain has monotonous lithology. The rock types
in the Chih-Pen Formation are mainly slate with subordinate meta-sandstone. However, lithofacies was determined
from the interpretation of the deposits as a submarine-slope
sequence. Additionally, the area contains folds and cleavage, indicating that the whole region is suffering very
strong compression (Lin and Lin 1998). Figure 3 shows the
simplified geological map of the study basin.
Sampling and analytical method
Precipitation, river water, and groundwater samples were
collected for oxygen and hydrogen isotopic analyses
between January 2007 and December 2007. Sampling was
carried out during both wet and dry periods. The sampling
locations are shown in Fig. 2. The river water and
groundwater were sampled once per month during the
study period, and precipitation was collected on rainy days.
Stable oxygen isotopic compositions were analyzed using
the CO2–H2O equilibration method (Epstein and Mayeda
1953). The equilibrated CO2 gas was measured using a VG
SIRA 10 isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The hydrogen
isotopic compositions were determined on a VG MM602D
isotope ratio mass spectrometer after water was reduced to
H2 using zinc shots made by Biogeochemical Laboratory of
Indiana University (Coleman et al. 1982). All isotopic ratio
results are reported as the d-notation (%) relative to the
international VSMOW (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean
Water) standard and normalized on a scale on which d18O
and dD of SLAP (Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation)
are -55.5 and -428%, respectively. The precisions for
d18O and dD were 0.1 and 1.5%, respectively.
Results and discussion
Isotopic compositions of precipitation
The oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of precipitation provide important information on hydro-geological
processes and atmospheric circulation. A completed isotopic
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Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
composition of precipitation was carried out for the Chih-Pen
Creek basin. During the study period (January 2007–
December 2007), the isotopic composition of precipitation
was quite variable, with d18O ranging from -12.76 to
-2.10% and dD ranging from -94.1 to -2.1%. Several
studies have shown that precipitation in Asia has a distinct
seasonal variation in deuterium excess values or d values,
originally defined by Dansgaard (1964) as equal to
d = dD - 8d18O, with high values in the dry season
(d [ 15%) and low values in the wet season (d \ 10%) (Lee
and Lee 1999; Asano et al. 2002; Lee et al. 2003; Lee and Kim
2007). The values of deuterium excess are clearly distinct for
the dry and wet season precipitations. They provide a method
for estimating the relative contribution of dry and wet season
precipitation to groundwater recharge. In this study, two local
meteoric water regression lines (LMWL) were plotted
to describe the isotopic data for different seasons:
dD = 8.06d18O ? 10.08 for the wet season precipitation
(May–October) and dD = 8.65d18O ? 17.09 for the dry
season precipitation (November–April). The slope and
intercept of the regression line for the wet season precipitation
are virtually identical to those of the global meteoric water
line (GMWL) of Craig (1961). The dry season precipitation
has an intercept of 17.09, which is much higher than that of
the GMWL of 10 due to evaporation effect (see the Fig. 4).
For the isotopic composition of precipitation, the mean
d18O and dD for the wet season were -6.52 and -42.7%,
respectively, and those for the dry season were -4.08 and
-18.3%, respectively. More depleted isotopic compositions are found in the wet season than in the dry season.
Generally, the stable isotopic compositions of precipitation
decrease with decreasing temperature and with increasing
rainfall amount (Yurtesever and Gat 1981). This study
shows that the stable isotope compositions of precipitation
decrease with increasing rainfall amount and air temperature, because the amount effect of precipitation is pronounced. Figure 5 clearly shows amount effect, while the
temperature effect is not significant. Yurtesever and Gat
(1981) pointed out that the temperature effect is generally
pronounced in high-latitude continental regions, whereas
the amount effect is pronounced in tropical regions.
Mass-balance of isotopic compositions of groundwater
The meteoric 18O–D signal is important for understanding
the groundwater recharge. The isotopic composition of
groundwater equals the average weighted values of
recharge sources, such as the annual composition of precipitation and river water. Therefore, deviations of the
groundwater isotopic ratio from that of precipitation are
expected. The transfer function from precipitation to
groundwater must be understood for groundwater provenance studies. The transfer function also provides basic
Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
397
Fig. 3 Simplified geological
map of the Chih-Pen Creek
basin
information about the mechanisms of recharge (Clark and
Fritz 1997). The mean value of oxygen isotopic compositions of groundwater for the Chih-Pen Creek was -9.55%
(ranging from -9.13 to -10.51%). Generally, stable isotopic compositions of precipitation decrease with increasing rainfall amount (the so-called amount effect); the
amount effect is pronounced in tropical regions (Yurtesever and Gat 1981). The stable isotopic compositions of
precipitation weighted average values were obtained using
the precipitation of dry and wet seasons. The mean values
of oxygen isotopic compositions of dry and wet seasons for
the Chih-Pen Creek were -4.08 and -6.52%, respectively.
The ratio of precipitation for dry and wet seasons was
0.18:0.82 from 1981 to 2007 (according to the Central
Weather Bureau). The weighted average d18O of precipitation was -6.08% in the Chih-Pen Creek basin.
In any region with even minor relief, topographic precipitation will occur as a vapor mass rises over the landscape
and cools adiabatically (by expansion), driving rainfall. At
higher altitudes where the average temperature is low, precipitation is isotopically depleted. The depletion of 18O
varies between -0.15 and -0.5% per 100 m rise in altitude,
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Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
1980 to 2007 (according to the Water Resources Agency).
The river water weighted average value for d18O was
-10.45% in 470 m a.s.l. of the Chih-Pen Creek.
Groundwater of the basin is recharged from rain that
falls on the basin and from river water drained from
mountain watersheds. In basin water budget studies, it is
important to assess the proportion of precipitation and river
water of the mountain that actually recharges groundwater.
The stable isotopic composition of groundwater is determined by oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions and
recharge percentages of concerned sources. Using massbalance analysis for the oxygen and hydrogen isotopic
compositions, the groundwater recharge percentages of
every recharge source can be evaluated. In this study,
mixing between two distinct recharge sources can be
quantified by a simple linear algebra equation:
40
20
L
0
pi
ta
tio
n
≅
G
M
W
-20
pr
ec
i
-60
ec
ip
pr
δ
LM D =
W 8.6
L 5
fo δ 18
rd O
ry +17
se .0
as 9
on
-80
ita
tio
n
δD
LM =
W 8.0
L 6δ
fo 18
rw O
et +10
se .99
as
on
δD(%o)
-40
-100
-120
-140
-160
-20
-18
-16
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
δ18O(%o)
Fig. 4 Plot of dD versus d18O for precipitation samples. GMWL and
LMWL represent the global meteoric water line of Craig (1961) and
local meteoric water line, respectively
with a corresponding decrease of about -1 to -4% for D.
This altitude effect (also called the elevation effect) is useful
in hydro-geological studies, as it distinguishes groundwater
recharged at high altitudes from that recharged at low altitude (Wright 2001; Blasch and Bryson 2007).
In this study, 42 samples of river water were collected in
the wet season and 65 samples of river water were collected in the dry season. The regression results for dD and
d18O of river water with respect to the altitude in the dry
and wet seasons are shown in Fig. 6a–d. dD and d18O
become more negative with increasing altitude. Decrease
rates of -0.2 % in d18O and -2% in dD per 100 m in
altitude were obtained from the slope regression equation.
These results are similar to those of other studies (Liu et al.
2008). The resulting linear regressions for dry and wet
seasons are described by the following equations:
dD ¼ 0:029H 61:72 ðwet seasonÞ
ð3Þ
dD ¼ 0:012H 64:11 ðdry seasonÞ
ð4Þ
d18 O ¼ 0:0032H 9:21 ðwet seasonÞ
ð5Þ
18
d O ¼ 0:0016H 9:76 ðdry seasonÞ
ð6Þ
The highest sampling location of river water in the ChihPen Creek basin had an altitude of 470 m. The area above
the highest sampling location of river water is considered
as the recharge area of the mountain watershed. The values
of oxygen isotopic compositions of river water for the dry
and wet seasons for 470 m a.s.l. of the Chih-Pen Creek
were -10.41 and -10.46%, respectively. The ratio of
stream flow for the dry and wet seasons was 0.14:0.86 from
123
CðVA þ VB Þ ¼ AVA þ BVB
VA
VB
C¼A
þB
¼ Að1 XÞ þ BX
VA þ VB
V A þ VB
ð7Þ
where A is the precipitation stable isotope value of the
basin, B is the river water stable isotope value of the
mountain watershed, C is the groundwater stable isotope
value of the basin; VA is the amount of precipitation; VB is
the amount of river water; X is the recharge proportion of
river water; and (1 - X) is the recharge proportion of
precipitation.
Based on stable isotopic characteristics, the results show
that 79% of the groundwater in the Chih-Pen Creek basin is
derived from river water of the mountain watershed and
21% is from the rain that falls on the basin. This indicates
that the groundwater of the basin is mainly recharged from
river water of the mountain watershed, primarily due to the
abundant precipitation in the mountain area. Using the
mean d value, the relative contributions of the wet and dry
season precipitations to the groundwater recharge can be
calculated using a mass-balance equation:
dgroundwater ¼ Xdwet season þ ð1 XÞddry season
ð8Þ
where X and (1 - X) are the fractions of wet and dry
season precipitations, respectively. Based on their d values,
the groundwater sources are composed on average of
approximately 75.8% wet season precipitation and 24.2%
dry season precipitation.
Isotopic compositions of river water
River water has three major components based on the
speed of appearance after rainfall: surface runoff, interflow,
and groundwater (base-flow). The difference between
arrival times for interflow and surface runoff is on the order
of hours, so they are both from recent storms and have
similar isotopic compositions. Therefore, from the point of
Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
399
Fig. 5 A comparison of
seasonal changes of d18O,
dD, d values, precipitation,
evapotranspiration, and
temperature
dry season
dry season
wet season
0
40
-1
30
-3
20
-4
10
-5
0
-6
-7
-10
-8
-20
-9
-30
δD (% O)
δ18O (%O)
-2
-10
-40
-11
-12
-50
-13
δ18O (%O)
-14
δD (%O)
-15
-60
-70
-16
-80
25
d-excess(% o)
20
15
10
5
deuterium excess
average value
0
30
500
Precipitation
Evapotranspiration
Temperature
400
28
Amount (mm)
350
26
300
250
24
200
150
22
Temperature ( ° C)
450
100
50
20
0
Jan
Feb
Mar
view of isotopic composition, river water can be considered
as being composed of groundwater and runoff, including
surface runoff and interflow (Lu et al. 2006). In the ChihPen Creek basin, the mean d18O and dD for the wet season
were -9.54 and -66.0%, respectively, and those for
the dry season were -9.86 and -65.2%, respectively.
Figure 7 shows a plot of dD versus d18O for river waters
Apr May Jun Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
collected in the study basin, showing a linear array close to
the local meteoric water line (LMWL). The isotopic ranges
of the river waters are relatively smaller and more depleted
than those of precipitation. This indicates that the river
water mainly comes from upstream precipitation and that it
is mainly a mixture of interflow and precipitation. There
was little difference in isotopic values of river water
123
400
Fig. 6 The regression line for
dD and d18O of river water with
respect to the altitude in the dry
and wet seasons in the Taitung
area. Regression lines (a) dD
and altitude for the wet season;
(b) dD and altitude for the dry
season; (c) 18O and altitude for
the wet season; (d) d18O and
altitude for the dry season
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Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
Environ Earth Sci (2011) 62:393–402
401
precipitation. Using a mass-balance equation, a comparison
of deuterium excess or d values of precipitation and
groundwater indicates the groundwater consists of 76% wet
season precipitation and 24% dry season precipitation,
representing a distinct seasonal variation of groundwater
recharge in study area.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the Water
Resources Agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the ROC
and the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) for financially
supporting this research under Contract No. MOEAWRA0970344
and R046. We would also like to thank the Dr. Chung-Ho Wang of
the Institute of Earth Sciences at the Academia Sinica for help with
analyzing the water samples and the 10th-branch of the Taiwan Water
Corporation, Bin-Mao Junior High School, and Bin-Mao Elementary
School for collecting samples through the study period.
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Fig. 7 Plot of dD versus d18O of river water samples
between the wet and dry seasons. This can be explained by
the fact that the Chih-Pen river water is strongly evaporated
in the dry season.
Conclusions
The present study examined the stable isotopic composition of precipitation, river water, and groundwater in the
Chih-Pen Creek basin. The results show that 79% of the
groundwater in the Chih-Pen Creek basin is derived from
river water of the mountain area and 21% is from the
meteoric water in the plain area. This indicates that the
groundwater of the basin is mainly recharged from river
water of mountain watersheds. The mountain area should
be protected to avoid the deterioration of water quantity
and quality. The stable isotopic compositions of precipitation decrease with decreasing temperature and with
increasing rainfall amount. This study shows that the stable
isotopes compositions of precipitation decrease with
increasing rainfall amount and air temperature because the
amount effect of precipitation is pronounced. The amount
effect is clear but there was no temperature effect. The
isotopic ranges of the river waters are relatively smaller
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precipitation. The altitude gradients in the river water were
estimated to be 2%/100 m for dD and 0.2%/100 m for
d18O. The seasonal variation in this basin is not pronounced, which can be explained by the fact that the
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