Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2025

Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
Hydrochemistry and stable isotopes revealed focused and diffuse recharge processes in the Sonora River basin, Mexico
Juan Pérez Quezadas1, Yesica Guadalupe Cabrera Sillas2, Rogelio Monreal2
1Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México.
Abstract:
A hydro-geochemical characterization was conducted in the northern part of the Sonora River basin, covering an area of 9400 km2. Equipotential lines indicated that groundwater circulation coincided with the surface water flow direction. Based on the groundwater temperature measured (on average ∼21 °C), only one spring exhibited thermalism (51 °C). Electrical conductivity (160-1750 μS/cm), chloride and nitrate concentrations (>10 and >45 mg/L) imply highly ionized water and anthropogenic pollution. In the river network, δ18O values revealed a clear modern meteoric origin. Focused recharge occurred mainly from the riverbeds during the rainy season. During the dry season, diffuse recharge was characterized by complex return flows from irrigation, urban, agricultural, mining, and livestock. Drilled wells (>50 m) exhibited a strong meteoric origin from higher elevations during the rainy season with minimal hydrochemical anomalies. Our results contribute to the knowledge of mountain-front and mountain-block recharge processes in a semi-arid and human-altered landscape in northern Mexico, historically characterized by limited hydrogeological data.
Related Concept Videos
Precipitation and Co-precipitation
The Water Cycle
Electrodeposition
Electrodeposition can...
Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs

