TITLE:
Stable Isotopes Studies in the Urucu Oil Province, Amazon Region, Brazil
AUTHORS:
Eliene Lopes de Souza, Paulo Galvao, Roseli de Almeida, Cleane Pinheiro, Marcus Baessa, Marcio Cabral
KEYWORDS:
Stable Isotopes, Hydrogeology, Water Management, Surface Water, Groundwater
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.7 No.3,
February
6,
2015
ABSTRACT: The study
area is the Urucu Oil Province, Municipality of Coari, State of Amazonas,
Brazil. This research represents a contribution to the hydrogeological
knowledge in the northern region of Brazil, particularly in the central part of
the Amazon rainforest, where researches on isotopic are still incipient. The
primary goal was to determine, by stable isotopes 18O and 2H
measurements, interrelationships between surface water and groundwater, in
order to understand the origin and mechanisms of groundwater recharge and
discharge. For this, samples of rainwater, superficial water and groundwater
were collected between June 2008 and May 2009 for stable isotopic analyzes.
This understanding is important in cases of eventual contaminations of the
area, which could degrade the water resources. The results show that the
superficial waters are typically light waters and have meteoric origin, and the
groundwater recharge is by direct rainfall infiltration with primary
evaporation before reaching the groundwater table in the Icá-Solimoes Aquifer System. The
isotopic signatures similarities between groundwater and superficial waters
indicate both waters’ contributions in the streams and, therefore, in the Urucu
river.