Geophysical studies of fault and bedrock control on groundwater geochemistry within the southern Mesilla Basin, western Texas and southern New Mexico

Hiebing, M.; Doser, Diane I.; Avila, V.; Ma, Lin

doi:10.1130/ges01567.1

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Agricultural water contribution is low (∼2-4%) and deep groundwater contribution is also low except at the RB-2 location where upwelling of groundwater is documented (∼23%). Indeed, the above salinity quantification is consistent with the previous notation that upwelling of deep saline groundwater and mixing with groundwater in shallow aquifers may be responsible for salinity increases in certain locations such as at the distal end of the Mesilla Basin, between Locations RG-12 and 15 (Phillips et al, 2003;Witcher et al, 2004;Hogan et al, 2007;Hiebing et al, 2018). Upwelling of geothermal groundwater to shallow aquifers has been also suggested in areas with uplifted basin basements such as in the hot spring district of Truth or Consequences, near Location RG-2 and 3 (Williams et al, 2013).…”

Section: Quantification Of Contributions Of Salinity Sources To Rio Grande: a Multi-isotope (U B And Sr) Mass Balance Approachsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…This contradicts previous suggestions that linked the salinity increases in the majority of the Rio Grande river channel with natural upwelling of deep brines. However, we acknowledge that some mixing with deep upwelling water may take place in the Rio Grande shallow alluvial aquifers (Hiebing et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Several locations along the Rio Grande such as near Lac Cruces, NM or El Paso, TX show relatively higher δ 11 B values as well as higher ( 234 U/ 238 U) ratios (Figures 5, 6), which could indicate that the salinity sources in the Rio Grande in this region may not be solely from agricultural activities. The addition of salinity from a groundwater source via deep seated faults in the alluvial basin is possible (Witcher et al, 2004;Hiebing et al, 2018). However, many fault zones are not located near the main channel of Rio Grande and these groundwater likely sourced salinity could be the result of artificial groundwater pumping for irrigation and municipal uses, not due to natural upwelling of groundwater similar to the northern Palomas Basin.…”

Section: Impacts Of Agricultural Salinity In Palomas Basin and Mesilla Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Combining Uranium, Boron, and Strontium Isotope Ratios (234U/238U, δ11B, 87Sr/86Sr) to Trace and Quantify Salinity Contributions to Rio Grande River in Southwestern United States

et al. 2021

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In semi-arid to arid regions, both anthropogenic sources (urban and agriculture) and deeper Critical Zone (groundwater with long flow paths and water residence times) may play an important role in controlling chemical exports to rivers. Here, we combined two anthropogenic isotope tracers: uranium isotope ratios (234U/238U) and boron isotope ratios (δ11B), with the 87Sr/86Sr ratios to identify and quantify multiple solute (salinity) sources in the Rio Grande river in southern New Mexico and western Texas. The Rio Grande river is a major source of freshwater for irrigation and municipal uses in southwestern United States. There has been a large disagreement about the dominant salinity sources to the Rio Grande and particularly significant sources are of anthropogenic (agriculture practices and shallow groundwater flows, groundwater pumping, and urban developments) and/or geological (natural groundwater upwelling) origins. Between 2014 and 2016, we collected monthly river samples at 15 locations along a 200-km stretch of the Rio Grande river from Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico to El Paso, Texas, as well as water samples from agricultural canals and drains, urban effluents and drains, and groundwater wells. Our study shows that due to the presence of localized and multiple salinity inputs, total dissolved solids (TDS) and isotope ratios of U, B, and Sr in the Rio Grande river show high spatial and temporal variability. Several agricultural, urban, and geological sources of salinity in the Rio Grande watershed have characteristic and distinguishable U, Sr, and B isotope signatures. However, due to the common issue of overlapping signatures as identified by previous tracer studies (such as δ18O, δD, δ34S), no single isotope tracer of U, Sr, or B isotopes was powerful enough to distinguish multiple salinity sources. Here, combining the multiple U, Sr, and B isotope and elemental signatures, we applied a multi-tracer mass balance approach to quantify the relative contributions of water mass from the identified various salinity end members along the 200-km stretch of the Rio Grande during different river flow seasons. Our results show that during irrigation (high river flow) seasons, the Rio Grande had uniform chemical and isotopic compositions, similar to the Elephant Butte reservoir where water is stored and well-mixed, reflecting the dominant contribution from shallow Critical Zone in headwater regions in temperate southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. In non-irrigation (low flow) seasons when the river water is stored at Elephant Butte reservoir, the Rio Grande river at many downstream locations showed heterogeneous chemical and isotopic compositions, reflecting variable inputs from upwelling of groundwater (deeper CZ), displacement of shallow groundwater, agricultural return flows, and urban effluents. Our study highlights the needs of using multi-tracer approach to investigate multiple solutes and salinity sources in rivers with complex geology and human impacts.

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Section: Quantification Of Contributions Of Salinity Sources To Rio Grande: a Multi-isotope (U B And Sr) Mass Balance Approachsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Impacts Of Agricultural Salinity In Palomas Basin and Mesilla Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Combining Uranium, Boron, and Strontium Isotope Ratios (234U/238U, δ11B, 87Sr/86Sr) to Trace and Quantify Salinity Contributions to Rio Grande River in Southwestern United States

et al. 2021

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“…The Rio Grande has been shown to have experienced substantial increases in salinity as it flows from north to south, in particular at the terminuses of the rift basins [60][61][62][63][64][65][66]. In the Basin, salinity increases in the Rio Grande have been documented by numerous researchers, and the source of the salinity has been the subject of multiple works [5,6,13,42,59,63,64,67]. Major salinity sources have been attributed to irrigation [68], evaporite mineral dissolution [67], and shallow evaporite brines [65,66].…”

Section: Salinitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Basin, salinity increases in the Rio Grande have been documented by numerous researchers, and the source of the salinity has been the subject of multiple works [5,6,13,42,59,63,64,67]. Major salinity sources have been attributed to irrigation [68], evaporite mineral dissolution [67], and shallow evaporite brines [65,66]. Some have also suggested that topographically driven groundwater flow, a concept originally described by Toth [69], is responsible for the higher-salinity groundwater located near the Paso del Norte [8,13,63,64,70].…”

Section: Salinitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesilla/Conejos-Médanos Basin: U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Water Resources

Robertson

Matherne

Pepin

et al. 2022

Water

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Synthesizing binational data to characterize shared water resources is critical to informing binational management. This work uses binational hydrogeology and water resource data in the Mesilla/Conejos-Médanos Basin (Basin) to describe the hydrologic conceptual model and identify potential research that could help inform sustainable management. The Basin aquifer is primarily composed of continuous basin-fill Santa Fe Group sediments, allowing for transboundary throughflow. Groundwater flow, however, may be partially or fully restricted by intrabasin uplifts and limited recharge. The shallow groundwater in the Rio Grande alluvium receives recharge from the Rio Grande and responds to changes in water supply and demand. About 11% of Rio Grande alluvial groundwater volume is recharged annually, an amount that is less than recent withdrawals. Potentially recoverable fresh to slightly brackish groundwater was estimated at 82,600 cubic hectometers in the U.S. portion of the Basin and 69,100 cubic hectometers in the Mexican portion. Alluvial groundwater geochemistry is governed by the evaporative concentration of the Rio Grande and agricultural diversions, whereas deeper groundwater geochemistry is governed by mixing and geochemical processes. Continued refinements to storage estimates, the water budget, and deep groundwater extent and geochemistry can improve estimates of sustainable use and inform alternative water sources.

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Macroinvertebrate Community Composition in Wetlands of the Desert Southwest is Driven by wastewater-associated Nutrient Loading Despite Differences in Salinity

Piña

Lougheed

2022

Wetlands

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The relatively rare freshwater ecosystems in the arid southwestern United States serve as biodiversity hotspots, yet they remain among the most threatened systems in the world due to human impacts and climate change. Globally, arid region wetlands remain understudied with respect to their ecology, making assessments of quality or restoration efforts challenging. To address these needs, this project aims to better understand the factors that drive water quality and macroinvertebrate community composition of wetlands of the US desert Southwest. Water quality and macroinvertebrate data were collected over three years from 14 different wetland and riparian sites spanning across West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated that salinity related variables such as chloride, sulfate and conductivity were the greatest drivers of environmental variance (32%) among sampled desert wetlands. Nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate described a second axis, with 22% of variation in environmental data explained, where we found a clear distinction between wastewater and non-wastewater wetlands. Nutrients were shown to have the greatest impact on macroinvertebrate communities with wetlands receiving wastewater showing more uneven distribution of functional feeding groups and lower Simpson Index scores. These sites were dominated by filter feeders and had lower relative abundances of predator and collector-gatherer taxa. There was also a significant decrease in metrics related to diversity and environmental sensitivity such as % Ephemeroptera-Odonata-Trichoptera (EOT) within high nutrient sites. Increased salinity levels were also shown to correlate with lower Simpson Index scores indicating that increased salinity resulted in a decline in macroinvertebrate diversity and evenness. Overall, the nutrients within effluent water have shown to significantly alter community composition especially in desert wetlands where macroinvertebrates may be more adapted to high salinity. Though macroinvertebrate communities in wastewater sites may not fully resemble those of natural wetlands over time, creation of these sites can still benefit landscape level diversity. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13157-022-01647-2.

show abstract

Geophysical studies of fault and bedrock control on groundwater geochemistry within the southern Mesilla Basin, western Texas and southern New Mexico

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

Combining Uranium, Boron, and Strontium Isotope Ratios (234U/238U, δ11B, 87Sr/86Sr) to Trace and Quantify Salinity Contributions to Rio Grande River in Southwestern United States

Combining Uranium, Boron, and Strontium Isotope Ratios (234U/238U, δ11B, 87Sr/86Sr) to Trace and Quantify Salinity Contributions to Rio Grande River in Southwestern United States

Mesilla/Conejos-Médanos Basin: U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Water Resources

Macroinvertebrate Community Composition in Wetlands of the Desert Southwest is Driven by wastewater-associated Nutrient Loading Despite Differences in Salinity

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