Top

Hydrogeology Journal

Published in:

27-07-2018 | Report

Groundwater age dating and recharge mechanism of Arusha aquifer, northern Tanzania: application of radioisotope and stable isotope techniques

Authors: Nyamboge Chacha, Karoli N. Njau, George V. Lugomela, Alfred N. N. Muzuka

Published in: Hydrogeology Journal | Issue 8/2018

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

The continuous abstraction of groundwater from Arusha aquifers in northern Tanzania has resulted in a decline in water levels and subsequent yield reduction in most production wells. The situation is threatening sustainability of the aquifers and concise knowledge on the existing groundwater challenge is of utmost importance. To gain such knowledge, stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, and radiocarbon dating on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), were employed to establish groundwater mean residence time and recharge mechanism.¹⁴C activity of DIC was measured in groundwater samples and corrected using a δ¹³C mixing method prior to groundwater age dating. The results indicated that groundwater ranging from 1,400 years BP to modern is being abstracted from deeper aquifers that are under intensive development. This implies that the groundwater system is continuously depleted due to over-pumping, as most of the sampled wells and springs revealed recently recharged groundwater. High ¹⁴C activities observed in spring water (98.1 ± 7.9 pMC) correspond with modern groundwater in the study area. The presence of modern groundwater suggests that shallow aquifers are actively recharged and respond positively to seasonal variations.

previous article Chemical and isotopic investigations (δ18O, δ2H, 3H, 87Sr/86Sr) to define groundwater processes occurring in a deep-seated landslide in flysch

next article An alternative approach to understanding groundwater flow in sparse channel networks supported by evidence from ‘background’ fractured crystalline rocks

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Available only for authorised users

AA.VV. (1983) Arusha Quarter Degree Sheet 55 scale 1:125,000, Geological Survey of Tanzania, Dodoma, Tanzania

Anderson J, Baker M, Bede J (2012) Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the Yaeda Valley, northern Tanzania. Carbon Tanzania, Arusha, Tanzania, 33 pp

Arıkan F, Ulusay R, Aydın N (2007) Characterization of weathered acidic volcanic rocks and a weathering classification based on a rating system. Bull Eng Geol Environ 66:415CrossRef

AUWSA (2014) Medium term strategic plan (2015–2020) Report. Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority, Arusha, Tanzania, 4 pp

Bakari SS, Aagaard P, Vogt RD, Ruden F, Brennwald MS, Johansen I, Gulliksen S (2012a) Groundwater residence time and paleorecharge conditions in the deep confined aquifers of the coastal watershed, south-east Tanzania. J Hydrol 466:127–140CrossRef

Bakari SS, Aagaard P, Vogt RD, Ruden F, Johansen I, Vuai SA (2012b) Delineation of groundwater provenance in a coastal aquifer using statistical and isotopic methods, southeast Tanzania. Environ Earth Sci 66:889–902CrossRef

Bretzler A, Osenbrück K, Gloaguen R, Ruprecht JS, Kebede S, Stadler S (2011) Groundwater origin and flow dynamics in active rift systems: a multi-isotope approach in the Main Ethiopian Rift. J Hydrol 402:274–289CrossRef

Chen Z, Wei W, Liu J, Wang Y, Chen J (2011) Identifying the recharge sources and age of groundwater in the Songnen plain (Northeast China) using environmental isotopes. Hydrogeol J 19:163–176CrossRef

Clark ID, Fritz P (1997) Environmental isotopes in hydrogeology. CRC, Boca Raton, FL

Corcho Alvarado JA, Purtschert R, Barbecot F, Chabault C, Rueedi J, Schneider V, Aeschbach-Hertig W, Kipfer R, Loosli HH (2007) Constraining the age distribution of highly mixed groundwater using 39Ar: a multiple environmental tracer (3H/3He, 85Kr, 39Ar, and 14C) study in the semiconfined Fontainebleau Sands Aquifer (France). Water Resour Res 43(3)

Custodio E (2002) Aquifer overexploitation: what does it mean? Hydrogeol J 10:254–277CrossRef

Dansgaard W (1964) Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16:436–468CrossRef

Douglas AA, Osiensky JL, Keller CK (2007) Carbon-14 dating of ground water in the Palouse Basin of the Columbia River basalts. J Hydrol 334:502–512CrossRef

Flint AL, Flint LE, Bodvarsson GS, Kwicklis EM, Fabryka-Martin J (2001) Evolution of the conceptual model of unsaturated zone hydrology at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. J Hydrol 247:1–30CrossRef

Fontes JC, Garnier JM (1979) Determination of the initial 14C activity of the total dissolved carbon: a review of the existing models and a new approach. Water Resour Res 15:399–413CrossRef

Froehlich K, Gibson J, Aggarwal P (2001) Deuterium excess in precipitation and its climatological significance. IAEA-CSP 13:54–66

Ghiglieri G, Balia R, Oggiano G, Ardau F, Pittalis D (2008) Hydrogeological and geophysical investigations for groundwater in the Arumeru District (northern Tanzania). Rendiconti Online SGI 2:431–432

Ghiglieri G, Balia R, Oggiano G, Pittalis D (2010) Prospecting for safe (low fluoride) groundwater in the Eastern African Rift: the Arumeru District (northern Tanzania). Hydrol Earth Syst Sci Discuss 14:1081–1091CrossRef

Ghiglieri G, Pittalis D, Cerri G, Oggiano G (2012) Hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of an alkaline volcanic area: the NE Mt. Meru slope (East African Rift–northern Tanzania). Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 16:529–541CrossRef

GITEC, WEMA (2011) Groundwater Assessment of the Pangani Basin, Tanzania. The Pangani Basin Water Board (PBWB) and Internation Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Moshi, Tanzania, 151 pp

Gleeson T, Befus KM, Jasechko S, Luijendijk E, Cardenas MB (2016) The global volume and distribution of modern groundwater. Nat Geosci 9:161CrossRef

Gorokhovich Y (2005) Abandonment of Minoan palaces on Crete in relation to the earthquake induced changes in groundwater supply. J Archaeol Sci 32:217–222CrossRef

Hagedorn B (2015) Hydrochemical and 14C constraints on groundwater recharge and interbasin flow in an arid watershed: Tule Desert, Nevada. J Hydrol 523:297–308CrossRef

Han D, Currell MJ, Cao G, Hall B (2017) Alterations to groundwater recharge due to anthropogenic landscape change. J Hydrol 554:545–557CrossRef

Hoque MA, Burgess WG (2012) 14 C dating of deep groundwater in the Bengal aquifer system, Bangladesh: implications for aquifer anisotropy, recharge sources and sustainability. J Hydrol 444:209–220CrossRef

Kabanda T, Jury M (1999) Inter-annual variability of short rains over northern Tanzania. Clim Res 13:231–241CrossRef

Kaihura F, Stocking M, Kahembe E (2001) Soil management and agrodiversity: a case study from Arumeru, Arusha, Tanzania. Proceedings of the Symposium on Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Systems, Montreal, November 2001

Kashaigili JJ (2010) Assessment of groundwater availability and its current and potential use and impacts in Tanzania. Report prepared for the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka

Katsuyama M, Yoshioka T, Konohira E, Tayasu I, Tani M (2011) Spatial distribution of oxygen-18 and deuterium in stream-and groundwaters across the Japanese archipelago. AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 1114, AGU, Washington, DC

Katsuyama M, Yoshioka T, Konohira E (2015) Spatial distribution of oxygen-18 and deuterium in stream waters across the Japanese archipelago. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 19:1577–1588CrossRef

Kijazi AL, Reason C (2009) Analysis of the 2006 floods over northern Tanzania. Int J Climatol 29:955–970CrossRef

Kitagawa Y, Koizumi N, Takahashi M, Matsumoto N, Sato T (2006) Changes in groundwater levels or pressures associated with the 2004 earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra (M9. 0). Earth Planet Space 58:173–179CrossRef

Kløve B, Ala-Aho P, Bertrand G, Gurdak JJ, Kupfersberger H, Kværner J, Muotka T, Mykrä H, Preda E, Rossi P (2014) Climate change impacts on groundwater and dependent ecosystems. J Hydrol 518:250–266CrossRef

Malago J, Makoba E, Muzuka AN (2017) Fluoride levels in surface and groundwater in Africa: a review. Am J Water Sci Eng 3:1–17CrossRef

Mathouchanh E, Aeschbach-Hertig W (2015) Krypton separation from argon for Atom Trap Trace Analysis of 85 Kr and 81 Kr. MSc Thesis, University Paris SUD, France and University of Heidelberg, Germany

Mazor E (1993) Interrelations between groundwater dating, palaeoclimate and palaeohydrology. In: Isotope techniques in the study of past and current environmental changes in the hydrosphere and the atmosphere. IAEA, Vienna, pp 249–258

Muzuka AN, Ryner M, Holmgren K (2004) 12,000-year, preliminary results of the stable nitrogen and carbon isotope record from the Empakai Crater Lake sediments. North Tanz J Af Earth Sci 40:293–303CrossRef

Muzuka AN, Dubi AM, Muhando CA, Shaghude YW (2010) Impact of hydrographic parameters and seasonal variation in sediment fluxes on coral status at Chumbe and Bawe reefs, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 89:137–144CrossRef

Nanyaro J, Aswathanarayana U, Mungure J, Lahermo P (1984) A geochemical model for the abnormal fluoride concentrations in waters in parts of northern Tanzania. J Af Earth Sci (1983) 2:129–140

NBS (2013) The 2012 population and housing census: population distribution by administrative areas. United Republic of Tanzania, Dodoma, Tanzania

Nesbitt H, Young G (1984) Prediction of some weathering trends of plutonic and volcanic rocks based on thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 48:1523–1534CrossRef

Nigate F, Ayenew T, Belete W, Walraevens K (2017) Overview of the hydrogeology and groundwater occurrence in the Lake Tana Basin, Upper Blue Nile River Basin. In: Social and ecological system dynamics. AESS Series, Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland, pp 77–91

Nonga H, Mwabonimana M, Ngowi H, Mellau L, Karimuribo E (2009) A retrospective survey of liver fasciolosis and stilesiosis in livestock based on abattoir data in Arusha, Tanzania. Trop Anim Health Prod 41:1377CrossRef

Öberg H, Norström E, Ryner MM, Holmgren K, Westerberg L-O, Risberg J, Eddudóttir SD, Andersen TJ, Muzuka A (2013) Environmental variability in northern Tanzania from AD 1000 to 1800, as inferred from diatoms and pollen in Lake Duluti. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 374:230–241CrossRef

Ong’or BTI, Long-Cang S (2007) Groundwater overdraft vulnerability and environmental impact assessment in Arusha. Environ Geol 51:1171–1176CrossRef

Pearson F, Hanshaw B (1970) Sources of dissolved carbonate species in groundwater and their effects on carbon-14 dating. Isotope Hydrol 1970:271–285

Plummer LN, Eggleston JR, Andreasen D, Raffensperger J, Hunt A, Casile G (2012) Old groundwater in parts of the upper Patapsco aquifer, Atlantic coastal plain, Maryland, USA: evidence from radiocarbon, chlorine-36 and helium-4. Hydrogeol J 20:1269–1294CrossRef

Raiber M, Webb J, Cendón D, White P, Jacobsen G (2015) Environmental isotopes meet 3D geological modelling: conceptualising recharge and structurally-controlled aquifer connectivity in the basalt plains of South-Western Victoria, Australia. J Hydrol 527:262–280CrossRef

Rice E, Bridgewater L (2012) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC

Rose S, Peters NE (2001) Effects of urbanization on streamflow in the Atlanta area (Georgia, USA): a comparative hydrological approach. Hydrol Process 15:1441–1457CrossRef

Rozanski K, Araguas-Araguas L, Gonfiantini R (1996) Isotope patterns of precipitation in the East African region. IAEA, Vienna, pp 79–93

Sigstedt SC, Phillips FM, Ritchie AB (2016) Groundwater flow in an ‘underfit’ carbonate aquifer in a semiarid climate: application of environmental tracers to the Salt Basin, New Mexico (USA). Hydrogeol J 24:841–863CrossRef

Steen-Larsen HC, Sveinbjörnsdottir AE, Peters AJ, Masson-Delmotte V, Guishard MP, Hsiao G, Jouzel J, Noone D, Warren JK, White JWC (2014) Climatic controls on water vapor deuterium excess in the marine boundary layer of the North Atlantic based on 500 days of in situ, continuous measurements. Atmos Chem Phys 14:7741–7756CrossRef

Stewart MK (2012) A 40-year record of carbon-14 and tritium in the Christchurch groundwater system, New Zealand: dating of young samples with carbon-14. J Hydrol 430:50–68CrossRef

Sturchio N, Du X, Purtschert R, Lehmann B, Sultan M, Patterson L, Lu ZT, Müller P, Bigler T, Bailey K (2004) One million year old groundwater in the Sahara revealed by krypton-81 and chlorine-36. Geophys Res Lett 31CrossRef

Sukhija B, Nagabhushanam P, Reddy D (1996) Groundwater recharge in semi-arid regions of India: an overview of results obtained using tracers. Hydrogeol J 4:50–71CrossRef

Sültenfuβ J, Purtschert R, Führböter JF (2011) Age structure and recharge conditions of a coastal aquifer (northern Germany) investigated with 39Ar, 14C, 3H, He isotopes and Ne. Hydrogeol J 19:221–236CrossRef

Szabo Z, Rice D, Plummer L, Busenberg E, Drenkard S, Schlosser P (1996) Age dating of shallow groundwater with chlorofluorocarbons, tritium/helium: 3, and flow path analysis, southern New Jersey coastal plain. Water Resour Res 32:1023–1038CrossRef

Van Camp M, Mtoni Y, Mjemah IC, Bakundukize C, Walraevens K (2014) Investigating seawater intrusion due to groundwater pumping with schematic model simulations: the example of the Dar Es Salaam coastal aquifer in Tanzania. J Afr Earth Sci 96:71–78CrossRef

Vogel J (1970) Carbon-14 dating of groundwater. Isotope Hydrol 1970:225–240

Wassenaar L, Aravena R, Fritz P (1991) Radiocarbon contents of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon in shallow groundwater systems. Implications for groundwater dating. Proceedings of a Symposium, Isotope Techniques in Water Resources Development, Vienna, March 1991, pp 143–151

Wilkinson P, Mitchell J, Cattermole P, Downie C (1986) Volcanic chronology of the Men–Kilimanjaro region. North Tanz J Geol Soc 143:601–605CrossRef

Wilson JL, Guan H (2004) Mountain-block hydrology and mountain-front recharge. In: Groundwater recharge in a desert environment: the southwestern United States. AGU, Washington, DC, pp 113–137CrossRef

Zomlot Z, Verbeiren B, Huysmans M, Batelaan O (2017) Trajectory analysis of land use and land cover maps to improve spatial–temporal patterns, and impact assessment on groundwater recharge. J Hydrol 554:558–569CrossRef

Zongyu C, Zhenlong N, Zhaoji Z, Jixiang Q, Yunju N (2005) Isotopes and sustainability of ground water resources, North China Plain. Ground Water 43:485–493CrossRef

Zorita E, Tilya FF (2002) Rainfall variability in northern Tanzania in the March–May season (long rains) and its links to large-scale climate forcing. Clim Res 20:31–40CrossRef

Title: Groundwater age dating and recharge mechanism of Arusha aquifer, northern Tanzania: application of radioisotope and stable isotope techniques
Authors: Nyamboge Chacha
Karoli N. Njau
George V. Lugomela
Alfred N. N. Muzuka
Publication date: 27-07-2018
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Hydrogeology Journal / Issue 8/2018
Print ISSN: 1431-2174
Electronic ISSN: 1435-0157
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-018-1832-0

Springer Professional

Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Technik"

Other articles of this Issue 8/2018

Well-screen and well-head clogging by hydrous ferric oxides

Monitoring runoff coefficients and groundwater levels using data from GRACE, GLDAS, and hydrometeorological stations: analysis of a Colombian foreland basin

Dynamics of greenhouse gases in the river–groundwater interface in a gaining river stretch (Triffoy catchment, Belgium)

Structural-permeability favorability in crystalline rocks and implications for groundwater flow paths: a case study from the Aar Massif (central Switzerland)

An alternative approach to understanding groundwater flow in sparse channel networks supported by evidence from ‘background’ fractured crystalline rocks

Spatial and temporal variation of natural recharge in the semi-arid valley of Aguascalientes, Mexico