Climate Change Impact on the Evolution of the Saline Lakes of the Soan-Sakaser Valley (Central Salt Range; Pakistan): Evidences from Hydrochemistry and Water (δD, δ18O) and Chlorine (δ37Cl) Stable Isotopes

The surfaces of saline lakes are shrinking at a threatening rate worldwide. Likewise, the Uchhali complex (formed by three saltwater lakes located in the Salt Range, Pakistan) that serves as a major regional source of water for humans and as a habitat for water birds must be monitored. With this objective in mind, we conducted a study coupling hydrochemistry and stable isotope compositions (δ37Cl, δ18O and δD) in order to characterize its hydrochemical properties and the main processes controlling them. Results showed that the Uchhali complex salinity has dramatically increased compared to other similar lakes in the world. While the Uchhali (UL) and Khabbeki (KL) lakes present a sodium-chloride hydrofacies, the Jahlar (JL) is of a sodium-bicarbonate type. Hydrochemistry parameters indicate that the weathering of surrounding rocks is the major vector for the increase of total dissolved solids in the water. On the other hand, the observed enrichment in heavy isotopes of the water stable isotope compositions implies that the different lakes are undergoing a long history of intense evaporation. The study of the corresponding δ37Cl isotope compositions supports the conclusion that evaporation, along with weathering, are the main driving processes. Besides climate effects that result in the decrease of annual precipitation and the increase of evaporation, water consumption for domestic purposes (household and agriculture) aggravates the rise of the lakes’ salinity.

[1]  M. Sultan,et al.  Chlorine isotopes as tracers of solute origin and age of groundwaters from the Eastern Desert of Egypt , 2019, Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

[2]  S. Shekhar,et al.  Tracing groundwater recharge sources in the northwestern Indian alluvial aquifer using water isotopes (δ18O, δ2H and 3H) , 2018 .

[3]  A. Boyce,et al.  Delineating sources of groundwater recharge in an arsenic-affected Holocene aquifer in Cambodia using stable isotope-based mixing models , 2018 .

[4]  O. Pokrovsky,et al.  Using stable isotopes to assess surface water source dynamics and hydrological connectivity in a high-latitude wetland and permafrost influenced landscape , 2018 .

[5]  Sarah E. Null,et al.  Decline of the world's saline lakes , 2017 .

[6]  B. Lehner,et al.  Estimating the volume and age of water stored in global lakes using a geo-statistical approach , 2016, Nature Communications.

[7]  C. Eastoe.  Stable chlorine isotopes in arid non-marine basins: Instances and possible fractionation mechanisms , 2016 .

[8]  H. Celle-Jeanton,et al.  Residence time, mineralization processes and groundwater origin within a carbonate coastal aquifer with a thick unsaturated zone , 2016 .

[9]  Weiguo Liu,et al.  An isotope study (δ18O and δD) of water movements on the Loess Plateau of China in arid and semiarid climates , 2016 .

[10]  Hong Yang,et al.  Influence of aquatic plants on the hydrogen isotope composition of sedimentary long-chain n-alkanes in the Lake Qinghai region, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau , 2016, Science China Earth Sciences.

[11]  S. N. Huda,et al.  Geochemistry and quality parameters of dug and tube well water of Khipro, District Sanghar, Sindh, Pakistan , 2017, Applied Water Science.

[12]  I. Hussain,et al.  Controlling Factors of the Stable Isotope Composition in the Precipitation of Islamabad, Pakistan , 2015 .

[13]  Farhan Hussain Wagan,et al.  AN OVERVIEW ON EMERGING WATER SCARCITY IN PAKISTAN, ITS CAUSES, IMPACTS AND REMEDIAL MEASURES , 2015 .

[14]  A. Ueda,et al.  A multi-tracer approach for assessing the origin, apparent age and recharge mechanism of shallow groundwater in the Lake Nyos catchment, Northwest, Cameroon , 2015 .

[15]  K. Okiongbo,et al.  Evaluation of major factors influencing the geochemistry of groundwater using graphical and multivariate statistical methods in Yenagoa city, Southern Nigeria , 2015, Applied Water Science.

[16]  H. Eggenkamp.  The Geochemistry of Stable Chlorine and Bromine Isotopes , 2014 .

[17]  Yuxu Zhang,et al.  Stable isotope fractionation of chlorine during the precipitation of single chloride minerals , 2014 .

[18]  A. Aldosari,et al.  Strategic Program for Biodiversity and Water Resource Management and Climate Change Adaptation in Pakistan , 2014 .

[19]  Dongmei Han,et al.  Chemical and isotopic constraints on evolution of groundwater salinization in the coastal plain aquifer of Laizhou Bay, China , 2014 .

[20]  M. Arshad,et al.  Avifauna studies in co-relation with alteration in climatic patterns and hydrology of Uchalli lake, Punjab, Pakistan. , 2014 .

[21]  T. Pirzada,et al.  Geochemical study of groundwater of Uthal and Bela areas, Balochistan and its appraisal for drinking and irrigation water quality , 2013 .

[22]  A. MacDonald,et al.  Residence times of shallow groundwater in West Africa: implications for hydrogeology and resilience to future changes in climate , 2013, Hydrogeology Journal.

[23]  R. Amundson,et al.  The stable isotope composition of halite and sulfate of hyperarid soils and its relation to aqueous transport , 2012 .

[24]  P. Pavelic,et al.  Recharge sources and hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in alluvial basins in arid central Australia , 2011 .

[25]  U. Farooq,et al.  The State of Food Security in Pakistan: Future Challenges and Coping Strategies , 2010 .

[26]  M. I. Bhanger,et al.  Lithological influences on occurrence of high-fluoride groundwater in Nagar Parkar area, Thar Desert, Pakistan. , 2010, Chemosphere.

[27]  M. I. Bhanger,et al.  Geochemical factors controlling the occurrence of high fluoride groundwater in the Nagar Parkar area, Sindh, Pakistan. , 2009, Journal of hazardous materials.

[28]  A. Begum,et al.  An overview of the status of shorebirds and internationally important sites in Pakistan. , 2009 .

[29]  Asghar Ali,et al.  SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN PHYSIOCHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF ADIANTUM CAPILLUS VENERIS FROM SOONE VALLEY OF SALT RANGE (PAKISTAN) , 2008 .

[30]  U. Beyerle,et al.  Chlorine stable isotope studies of old groundwater, southwestern Great Artesian Basin, Australia , 2007 .

[31]  Jing Su,et al.  Hydrochemical characteristics and salinity of groundwater in the Ejina Basin, Northwestern China , 2005 .

[32]  A. Vengosh,et al.  Sources of salinity and boron in the Gaza strip: Natural contaminant flow in the southern Mediterranean coastal aquifer , 2005 .

[33]  A. Khan,et al.  CLIMATE CHANGE PERSPECTIVE IN PAKISTAN , 2005 .

[34]  C. Eastoe,et al.  A secondary isotopic reference material of chlorine from selected seawater , 2002 .

[35]  A. Long,et al.  Stable chlorine isotopes in halite and brine from the Gulf Coast Basin : Brine genesis and evolution , 2001 .

[36]  K. Ali,et al.  Selenium Speciation Studies from Soan-Sakesar Valley, Salt Range, Pakistan , 2000 .

[37]  Liu Wei-guo,et al.  Variations in isotopic compositions of chlorine in evaporation-controlled salt lake brines of Qaidam Basin, China , 2000 .

[38]  R. Cliff,et al.  Chlorine isotopes in fluid inclusions: determination of the origins of salinity in magmatic fluids , 2000 .

[39]  G. Kraft,et al.  Impacts of Irrigated Vegetable Agriculture on a Humid North‐Central U.S. Sand Plain Aquifer , 1999 .

[40]  Shaun K. Frape,et al.  History of McMurdo Dry Valley lakes, Antarctica, from stable chlorine isotope data , 1999 .

[41]  Ashutosh Kumar Singh,et al.  Environmental geochemistry of Damodar River basin, east coast of India , 1999 .

[42]  M. Younas,et al.  PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL LANDS OF THE SOAN-SAKESAR VALLEY, SALT RANGE, PAKISTAN , 1999 .

[43]  M. Younas,et al.  Temporal Variability of the Water Quality of Saline Lakes from the Soan-Sakesar Valley, Salt Range, Pakistan , 1998 .

[44]  R. Fisher,et al.  Hydrochemical Evolution of Sodium-Sulfate and Sodium-Chloride Groundwater Beneath the Northern Chihuahuan Desert, Trans-Pecos, Texas, USA , 1997 .

[45]  W. Williams.  What Future for Saline Lakes , 1996 .

[46]  H. Eggenkamp,et al.  Chlorine stable isotope fractionation in evaporites , 1995 .

[47]  A. Hounslow.  Water Quality Data: Analysis and Interpretation , 1995 .

[48]  Weiguo Liu,et al.  Precise Measurement of Chlorine Isotopes Based on Cs2Cl2 by Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry , 1995 .

[49]  P. Michael,et al.  Chlorine stable isotope composition of the oceanic crust: Implications for Earth's distribution of chlorine , 1995 .

[50]  H. Eggenkamp.  δ37Cl : the geochemistry of chlorine isotopes , 1994 .

[51]  C. Eastoe,et al.  Chlorine stable isotope distribution of Michigan Basin formation waters , 1993 .

[52]  K. Sami.  Recharge mechanisms and geochemical processes in a semi-arid sedimentary basin, Eastern Cape, South Africa , 1992 .

[53]  A. Chivas,et al.  Direct determination of boron and chlorine isotopic compositions in geological materials by negative thermal-ionization mass spectrometry , 1989 .

[54]  R. Stallard,et al.  Geochemistry of the Amazon: 2. The influence of geology and weathering environment on the dissolved load , 1983 .

[55]  H. Craig.  Isotopic Variations in Meteoric Waters , 1961, Science.

[56]  I. Chebotarev.  Metamorphism of natural waters in the crust of weathering—1 , 1955 .