Chemical and isotopic tracers combined with mixing models for tracking nitrate contamination in the Pampa de Pocho aquifer, Argentina.

In recent years, it has become evident that human activities have significantly disrupted the nitrogen cycle surpassing acceptable environmental thresholds. In this study, chemical and isotopic tracers were combined with a mathematical mass balance model (EMMA), PHREEQC inverse mixing model, and statistical analyses to evaluate groundwater quality, across an area experiencing substantial human activities, with a specific focus on tracing the origin of nitrate (NO) with potential water mixing processes. This multi-technique approach was applied to an unconfined aquifer underlying an agricultural area setting in an inter-mountain depression (i.

Comparative evaluation of urban versus agricultural nitrate sources and sinks in an unconfined aquifer by isotopic and multivariate analyses.

Nitrate (NO) is one of the most widespread contaminants in groundwater primarily due to agricultural activities utilizing N-containing fertilizers and the presence of animal wastes. Hydrochemical and nitrate isotope data (δN-NO and δO-NO) from the unconfined aquifer in the urban area of Del Campillo city and its surrounding rural area with different land-use types, i.e.

Application of isotope techniques to enhance the conceptual hydrogeological model and to assess groundwater sustainability in the Pampean plain in Córdoba, Argentina.

The objective of this work is to enhance the conceptual hydrogeological model in the Río Cuarto River basin by using isotope and hydrochemical techniques. The precipitation pattern, as reflected in the average values of H and O in stations located in the plains and in the mountains, showed an isotope depletion from the East to the West, attributed to continental and altitude effects. Groundwater quality is mainly the result of two controlling factors: lithology and flow distances from recharge.