Isotopes in groundwater as indicators of climate change

Philippe Négrel (1) , Emmanuelle Petelet-Giraud (1)

1 BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)

Isotopes of the water molecule (δ18O and δ2H) are a well-used tool for investigating groundwater origin and history, i.e. tracing the recharge conditions over time, processes occurring during infiltration of the rain water towards aquifers and those issued from the water-rock interaction and mixing of different waters. This paper proposes a review of several large European aquifers (Portugal, France, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Poland) investigated in terms of the recharge conditions and the story of the groundwater at large scale, involving recent, Holocene and Pleistocene components and eventually mixing between them.

Mots clés: hydrogeology; stable isotopes; Groundwater; Recharge; Climate change

Domaines: Géochimie; Milieux et Changements globaux

Philippe Négrel, Emmanuelle Petelet-Giraud. Isotopes in groundwater as indicators of climate change. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 2011, 30 (8), pp.1279-1290. ⟨10.1016/j.trac.2011.06.001⟩. ⟨hal-00677286⟩