Variation in nitrate and calcium as indicators of recharge pathways in Nolte Spring, PA
This study documents variations in calcium and nitrate concentrations that suggest changes in recharge pathways in a karst spring. The nitrate concentrations increased at the end of the growing season, showing the importance of the soil zone in the recharge pathway. The increase occurred over just a...
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Published in | Environmental earth sciences Vol. 48; no. 7; pp. 854 - 860 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Berlin
Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag
01.10.2005
Springer Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | This study documents variations in calcium and nitrate concentrations that suggest changes in recharge pathways in a karst spring. The nitrate concentrations increased at the end of the growing season, showing the importance of the soil zone in the recharge pathway. The increase occurred over just a few days, which may be indicative of a change in contribution of baseflow in different seasons from deep to shallow groundwater. The calcium concentrations decreased several days after storm events. A change in the carbonate equilibrium is hypothesized because chloride was not diluted during these events. The decrease in calcium could be due to outgassing and calcite precipitation in the recharge area when older, higher ionic strength matrix water mixes with stormwater in open conduits. The use of geochemical indicators to better understand recharge pathways benefited from long-term monitoring and periods of daily sampling. |
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Bibliography: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00254-005-0018-y ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0943-0105 1866-6280 1432-0495 1866-6299 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00254-005-0018-y |