Impacts of soil conservation on groundwater recharge in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Soil conservation measures undertaken to address land degradation can alter the hydrologic cycle by changing partitioning of water fluxes at the land surface. While effects on runoff are well documented, impacts of soil conservation activities on fluxes to groundwater are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to examine fluxes to groundwater in a semi-arid area of China’s Loess Plateau that has been subject to extensive soil conservation activities. Unsaturated zone pore-water pressures and concentrations of chloride show that impacts on deep drainage differ between ecological and structural soil conservation approaches. High matric potentials and low chloride beneath cultivated terrace and gulley sites are consistent with deep drainage occurring at these sites. Estimated recharge rates for dryland cultivated upland sites were approximately 55??0?mm/year (11??8% of mean annual rainfall) based upon chloride mass balance. In contrast, results suggest that mature tree and shrub plantations prevent deep drainage. Stable isotope signatures of unsaturated-zone moisture and groundwater indicate that focused infiltration through gullies and other topographic lows is likely to be the primary recharge mechanism. The results of this study highlight the potential for inadvertent effects of some soil conservation approaches on regional water resources.     

包气带在干旱半干旱地区地下水补给研究中的应用

在干旱半干旱地区,包气带的溶质和同位素剖面不但可以提供较长时间尺度上的地下水补给信息,而且记录了过去气候变化与环境变化信息。本文基于学科组近10年的研究成果,以鄂尔多斯盆地为例（包括南部的黄土高原和北部的沙漠高原）,将包气带和饱和带结合起来,利用多种环境示踪技术,提升了包气带在干旱半干旱地区地下水研究中的潜力,并将其应用到地下水补给历史重建、地下水补给机制确定、植被变化对地下水补给影响评价和地下水污染物全过程示踪中。研究表明,由于在干旱半干旱地区,包气带较厚且补给量有限,地下水和现今的浅表水文过程未达到水力平衡,如在沙漠高原西部,近2 500 a降水尚储存在包气带13 m以浅,地下水是4 000 a以前补给的,其水化学特征与浅部包气带水差异巨大;而在黄土高原,补给量较大,但包气带巨厚,年降水仍需要几十到上百年时间入渗到地下水（但并不意味着没有补给,其土壤水在包气带中平均入渗速率为0.1~0.3 m·a-1）,包气带浅部溶质含量较深部和地下水中的高;典型黄土塬区的地下水均不含氚,地下水年龄在几百到上万年。黄土内部层状均匀的土壤质地特征和相对较老的地下水年龄揭示的均匀活塞流入渗是黄土塬区浅层地下水补给的主要方式。黄土高原退耕还林还草和沙漠区植被恢复导致地下水补给呈现不同程度的减少,反映在包气带上表现为溶质含量的增加,可用于定量化确定地下水补给量的变化。本文强化了包气带在干旱半干旱地区地下水补给研究中的作用,在未来地下水资源评价、地下水污染全过程刻画中应得到重视。     

长武黄土塬区土地利用变化对潜水补给的影响

通过长武黄土塬区不同土地利用方式下深剖面土壤水分的长期定位监测以及氢氧稳定同位素示踪技术的使用,分析了该区域土地利用变化对地下潜水补给的影响。结果表明:① 降水补给地下水过程中存在着活塞流和优先流两种机制,由活塞流补给的地下水量,以休闲地居高,低产农田次之,最后是高产农田;② 随着该区域农田生产力大幅提升以及大面积农田转换为果园,地下水活塞流补给量逐年减少,加之地下水开采量增加,导致地下水位逐年下降,年均降幅达0.3 m;③ 同位素证据表明,目前长武塬区地下水补给以优先流形式为主。为了实现黄土塬区潜水资源的有效补给与可持续利用,需要合理调控土地利用结构,保持适度生产力水平。     

Soil water movement and deep drainage through thick vadose zones on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountain: Croplands vs. natural lands

Regional aridity is increasing under global climate change, and therefore the sustainable use of water resources has drawn attention from scientists and the public. Land-use changes can have a significant impact on groundwater recharge in arid regions, and quantitative assessment of the impact is key to sustainable groundwater resources management. In this study, the changes of groundwater recharge after the conversion of natural lands to croplands were investigated and compared in inland and arid region, i.e., the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountain. Stable isotopes suggest that soil water in topsoil (< 2 m) has experienced stronger evaporation under natural lands than croplands, and then moves downward as a piston flow. Recharge was estimated by the tracer-based mass balance method, i.e., chloride and sulfate. Recharge rates under natural conditions estimated by the chloride mass balance (CMB) method were estimated to be 0.07 mm/a in deserts and 0.4 mm/a in oases. In contrast, the estimated groundwater recharge ranged from 61.2 mm/a to 44.8 mm/a in croplands, indicating that groundwater recharge would increase significantly after land changes from natural lands to irrigated croplands in arid regions. Recharge estimated by the sulfate mass balance method is consistent with that from the CMB method, indicating that sulfate is also a good tracer capable of estimating groundwater recharge.     

Groundwater recharge mechanism in an integrated tableland of the Loess Plateau,northern China: insights from environmental tracers

Assessing groundwater recharge characteristics (recharge rate, history, mechanisms (piston and preferential flow)) and groundwater age in arid and semi-arid environments remains a difficult but important research frontier. Such assessments are particularly important when the unsaturated zone (UZ) is thick and the recharge rate is limited. This study combined evaluations of the thick UZ with those of the saturated zone and used multiple tracers, such as Cl, NO₃, Br, ²H, ¹⁸O, ¹³C, ³H and ¹⁴C, to study groundwater recharge characteristics in an integrated loess tableland in the Loess Plateau, China, where precipitation infiltration is the only recharge source for shallow groundwater. The results indicate that diffuse recharge beneath crops, as the main land use of the study area, is 55–71 mm yr^?1 based on the chloride mass balance of soil profiles. The length of time required for annual precipitation to reach the water table is 160–400 yrs. The groundwater is all pre-modern water and paleowater, with corrected ¹⁴C age ranging from 136 to 23,412 yrs. Most of the water that eventually becomes recharge originally infiltrated in July–September. The Cl and NO₃ contents in the upper UZ are considerably higher than those in the deep UZ and shallow groundwater because of recent human activities. The shallow groundwater has not been in hydraulic equilibrium with present near-surface boundary conditions. The homogeneous material of the UZ and relatively old groundwater age imply that piston flow is the dominant recharge mechanism for the shallow groundwater in the tableland.     

Application of remote sensing and GIS for delineating groundwater recharge potential zones of Kovilpatti Municipality,Tamil Nadu using IF technique

During the last three decades, remotely sensed data (both satellite images and aerial photographs) have been increasingly used in groundwater exploration and management exercises. An integrated approach has been adopted in the present study to delineate groundwater recharge potential zones using RS and GIS techniques. IRS-1C satellite imageries and Survey of India toposheets are used to prepare various thematic layers viz. geology, soil, land-use, slope, lineament and drainage. These layers were then transformed in to raster data using feature to raster converter tool in ArcGIS 9.3 software. The raster maps of these factors are allocated a fixed score and weight computed from Influencing Factor (IF) technique. The weights of factors contributing to the groundwater recharge are derived using aerial photos, geology maps, a land use database, and field verification. Subjective weights are assigned to the respective thematic layers and overlaid in GIS platform for the identification of potential groundwater recharge zones within the study area. Then these potential zones were categories as ‘high’, ‘moderate’, ‘low’, ‘poor’. The resulted map shows that 19 % of the area has highest recharge potential, mainly confined to buried pediplain, agriculture land-use and river terraces (considerable amount of precipitated water percolates into subsurface), 28 % of the area has moderate groundwater recharge potentiality and rest of the area has low to poor recharge potentiality. The residual hills and linear ridges with steep slopes are not suitable for artificial recharge sites. Finally, 13 % of total average annual precipitated water (840 mm) percolates downward and ultimately contributes to recharge the aquifers in the Kovilpatti Municipality area. The paper is an attempt to suggest for maintaining the proper balance between the groundwater quantity and its exploitation.     

Estimating groundwater recharge using GIS-based distributed water balance model in an environmental protection area in the city of Sete Lagoas (MG), Brazil

Improvement in modern water resource management has become increasingly reliant on better characterizing of the spatial variability of groundwater recharge mechanisms. Due to the flexibility and reliability of GIS-based index models, they have become an alternative for mapping and interpreting recharge systems. For this reason, an index model by integrating water balance parameters (surface runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and percolation) calculated by Thornthwaite and Mather’s method, with maps of soil texture, land cover, and terrain slope, was developed for a sustainable use of the groundwater resources. The Serra de Santa Helena Environmental Protection Area, next to the urbanized area of Sete Lagoas (MG), Brazil, was selected as the study area. Rapid economic growth has led to the subsequent expansion of the nearby urban area. Large variability in soil type, land use, and slope in this region resulted in spatially complex relationships between recharge areas. Due to these conditions, the study area was divided into four zones, according to the amount of recharge: high (>?100 mm/year), moderate (50–100 mm/year), low (25–50 mm/year), and incipient (>?25 mm/year). The technique proved to be a viable method to estimate the spatial variability of recharge, especially in areas with little to no in situ data. The success of the tool indicates it can be used for a variety of groundwater resource management applications.     

Comparison of groundwater recharge estimation methods for the semi-arid Nyamandhlovu area, Zimbabwe

The Nyamandhlovu aquifer is the main water resource in the semi-arid Umguza district in Matebeleland North Province in Zimbabwe. The rapid increase in water demand in the city of Bulawayo has prompted the need to quantify the available groundwater resources for sustainable utilization. Groundwater recharge estimation methods and results were compared: chloride mass balance method (19–62 mm/year); water-table fluctuation method (2–50 mm/year); Darcian flownet computations (16–28 mm/year); ¹⁴C age dating (22–25 mm/year); and groundwater modeling (11–26 mm/year). The flownet computational and modeling methods provided better estimates for aerial recharge than the other methods. Based on groundwater modeling, a final estimate for recharge (from precipitation) on the order of 15–20 mm/year is believed to be realistic, assuming that part of the recharge water transpires from the water table by deep-rooted vegetation. This recharge estimate (2.7–3.6% of the annual precipitation of 555 mm/year) compares well with the results of other researchers. The advantages/disadvantages of each recharge method in terms of ease of application, accuracy, and costs are discussed. The groundwater model was also used to quantify the total recharge of the Nyamandhlovu aquifer system (20?×?10⁶–25?×?10⁶ m³/year). Groundwater abstractions exceeding 17?×?10⁶ m³/year could cause ecological damage, affecting, for instance, the deep-rooted vegetation in the area.     

Spatial and temporal variation of groundwater recharge in shallow aquifer in the Thepkasattri of Phuket,Thailand

Whether groundwater resources can be sustainably utilized is largely determined and characterized by hydrogeological parameters.Estimating the groundwater recharge is one of the essential parameters for managing water resources and protecting water resources from contamination.This study researched the spatial and temporal variation of groundwater recharge in the Thepkasattri sub-district through integrating chloride mass balance(CMB)and water table fluctuation(WTF)methods.The chloride content of representative rainfall and groundwater samples was analyzed.Besides,WTF method was adopted from groundwater level data from 2012 to 2015.According to the CMB method,the mean recharge was estimated to be 1172 mm per year,accounting for 47%of the annual rainfall.Moreover,the estimated recharge from the WTF method took 26%of annual rainfall in 2015.The recharge was underestimated according to the WTF method,because of the uncertainty in specific yield estimates and the number of representative wells in the study area.Moreover,the correlation between rainfall and water table fluctuation data indicated the positive linear relationship between two parameters.The spatial recharge prediction indicated that recharge was higher(1200-1400 mm/yr)in the eastern and western catchment,while that in the central floodplains was between 800 mm/yr and 1100 mm/yr.In addition,low recharge value between 450 mm/yr and 800 mm/yr was observed in the south-west part of Thepkasattri.The spatial variation of recharge partly reflects the influences of land use and land cover of the study area.     

Estimation of groundwater recharge of shallow aquifer on humid environment in Yaounde,Cameroon using hybrid water-fluctuation and hydrochemistry methods

A study of environmental chloride and groundwater balance has been carried out in order to estimate their relative value for measuring average groundwater recharge under a humid climatic environment with a relatively shallow water table. The hybrid water fluctuation method allowed the split of the hydrologic year into two seasons of recharge (wet season) and no recharge (dry season) to appraise specific yield during the dry season and, second, to estimate recharge from the water table rise during the wet season. This well elaborated and suitable method has then been used as a standard to assess the effectiveness of the chloride method under forest humid climatic environment. Effective specific yield of 0.08 was obtained for the study area. It reflects an effective basin-wide process and is insensitive to local heterogeneities in the aquifer system. The hybrid water fluctuation method gives an average recharge value of 87.14 mm/year at the basin scale, which represents 5.7% of the annual rainfall. Recharge value estimated based on the chloride method varies between 16.24 and 236.95 mm/year with an average value of 108.45 mm/year. It represents 7% of the mean annual precipitation. The discrepancy observed between recharge value estimated by the hybrid water fluctuation and the chloride mass balance methods appears to be very important, which could imply the ineffectiveness of the chloride mass balance method for this present humid environment.     

Groundwater recharge estimation using chloride,stable isotopes and tritium profiles in the sands of northwestern Senegal

A study of environmental chloride, deuterium, oxygen-18, and tritium in deep sand profiles (35 m) has been carried out in order to estimate their relative value for measuring average groundwater recharge. The investigation was located at a 0.1-km² site in Quaternary sands near the northwestern coast of Senegal in a zone of rainfed agriculture. By using a steady-state model for duplicate unsaturated zone chloride profiles, the long-term average recharge at the site was estimated to be 30 mm yr^–1 or around 10% of the average precipitation (290 mm). The chloride concentration of adjacent shallow groundwater was relatively uniform and comparable to the unsaturated zone average, while the spatial variability in the depth distribution of Cl^– in the unsaturated zone was considerable. Stable isotope (deuterium and oxygen-18) data show that there is some isotopic enrichment due to direct evaporation through the soil surface. The degree of heavy isotope enrichment is proportional to the extent of evaporative loss and there is good correspondance with the chloride enrichment. Nevertheless, stable isotopes cannot be used quantitatively to estimate the recharge. The excellent preservation of the peak in thermonuclear tritium in precipitation in the unsaturated zone at depths between 12 and 20 m enables an estimated annual recharge of 24 mm yr^–1 in this area to be calculated, using the piston flow model. Agreement therefore between Cl and³H as tools for recharge measurement is reasonable over the site.     

A 70-year groundwater recharge record from sandy loess in northwestern China and its climatic implications

The processes and rates of groundwater recharge in arid and semiarid environments are highly related to local climate parameters, particularly precipitation. The chloride profile of an unsaturated zone in an arid and semiarid region can be used to infer the recharge history and past changes in climate, by extension. In this study, a 17-m chloride profile was collected from the sandy loess in the northwestern Chinese Loess Plateau, which also lies in the transition zone between desert and loess. A 71-year groundwater recharge history was reconstructed using the chloride mass balance method with an annual Cl^? input of 0.84 g/m²/year. The reconstructed history revealed a long-term decline in recharge with multiple shorter-term oscillations. Five recharge stages between 1938–1946, 1947–1955, 1956–1975, 1976–2000, and 2001–2008 AD were identified, where the lowest average recharge value was 25.1 mm/a in 1976–2000 AD and the highest was 71.7 mm/a in 1947–1955 AD. Climate conditions during these five periods were also inferred based on the reconstructed recharge rates with the knowledge that high recharge corresponds to more humid climates. The climate over the past 71 years generally became drier in the study area, despite some fluctuations. The reconstructed recharge rates, calculated from 1/Cl^? in the profile, exhibited the same variability as annual precipitation measured in the region, both in long- and short-term oscillations over the period from 1955 to 2008. The chloride concentration variations in the profile, indicating changes in recharge flux, also well correlated with annual precipitation anomalies in the region to the east of 100°E in China for the whole study period. These comparisons verified that it is feasible to study not only groundwater recharge, but also past climate change using a chloride profile from the sandy loess area. The results suggested that unsaturated zones of sandy loess may be valuable archives for reconstructing recharge history and regional paleoclimate changes in the region.     

Conversion relationship of rainfall-soil moisture-groundwater in Quaternary thick cohesive soil in Jianghan Plain,Hubei Province,China

The scientific field test site of rainfall-soil moisture-groundwater conversion in Dabie Mountain Area–Jianghan Plain is located in the northern region of the Jianghan Plain, the transition zone between the Dabie Mountain Area and Jianghan Plain. It’s a great field test site to study the material and energy exchange among rainfall, soil moisture, and groundwater of the Earth ’s critical zone in subtropical monsoon climate plain areas. This paper analyzed the connection between rainfall and volume water content (VWC) of soil at different depths of several soil profiles, and the dynamic feature of groundwater was discussed, which reveals the rainfall infiltration recharge of Quaternary Upper Pleistocene strata. The results show that the Quaternary Upper Pleistocene aquifer groundwater accepts a little direct rainfall recharge, while the lateral recharge is the main supplement source. There were 75 effective rainfall events among 120 rainfall events during the monitoring period, with an accumulated amount of 672.9 mm, and the percentages of effective rainfall amount and duration time were 62.50% and 91.56%, respectively. The max evaporation depth at the upper part in Quaternary cohesive soil was no less than 1.4 m. The soil profile was divided into four zones: (1) The sensitive zone of rainfall infiltration within 1.4 m, where the material and energy exchange frequently near the interface between atmosphere and soil; (2) the buffer zone of rainfall infiltration between 1.4 m and 3.5 m; (3) the migration zone of rainfall infiltration between 3.5 m and 5.0 m; and (4) the rainfall infiltration and groundwater level co-influenced zone below 5.0 m. The results revealed the reaction of soil moisture and groundwater to rainfall in the area covered by cohesive soil under humid climate in Earth ’s critical zone, which is of great theoretical and practical significance for groundwater resources evaluation and development, groundwater environmental protection, ecological environmental improvement, drought disaster prevention, and flood disaster prevention in subtropical monsoon climate plain areas.     

Estimating recharge at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA: comparison of methods

Obtaining values of net infiltration, groundwater travel time, and recharge is necessary at the Yucca Mountain site, Nevada, USA, in order to evaluate the expected performance of a potential repository as a containment system for high-level radioactive waste. However, the geologic complexities of this site, its low precipitation and net infiltration, with numerous mechanisms operating simultaneously to move water through the system, provide many challenges for the estimation of the spatial distribution of recharge. A variety of methods appropriate for arid environments has been applied, including water-balance techniques, calculations using Darcy's law in the unsaturated zone, a soil-physics method applied to neutron-hole water-content data, inverse modeling of thermal profiles in boreholes extending through the thick unsaturated zone, chloride mass balance, atmospheric radionuclides, and empirical approaches. These methods indicate that near-surface infiltration rates at Yucca Mountain are highly variable in time and space, with local (point) values ranging from zero to several hundred millimeters per year. Spatially distributed net-infiltration values average 5 mm/year, with the highest values approaching 20 mm/year near Yucca Crest. Site-scale recharge estimates range from less than 1 to about 12 mm/year. These results have been incorporated into a site-scale model that has been calibrated using these data sets that reflect infiltration processes acting on highly variable temporal and spatial scales. The modeling study predicts highly non-uniform recharge at the water table, distributed significantly differently from the non-uniform infiltration pattern at the surface. Electronic Publication     

干旱区植被盖度增加对降水入渗补给地下水的影响——试验研究与数值模拟

随着西北旱区生态恢复工程的实施,该区生态环境持续改善,植被盖度不断增加。但植被冠层截留与蒸腾耗水加剧了包气带水分的亏空程度,减小了降雨对地下水的补给。采用原位试验方法,分析了植被覆盖区和裸土区不同深度土壤水势的变化规律。结果表明,受蒸发和蒸腾的共同作用,植被覆盖区平均土壤水势(-74k Pa)远低于裸土区(-16k Pa),且变化剧烈,土壤水以向上运动为主。而裸土区土壤水势高,变化小,40cm以下土壤水向下运移,因此可以持续补给地下水。采用Hydrus-1D软件进行了长序列土壤水数值模拟,定量分析了植被盖度增加与地下水补给的关系。数值模拟结果表明,在裸土条件下,降雨对地下水的补给量介于82~333mm/a之间,平均值为197mm/a,平均降水入渗补给系数为0.53。而在植被覆盖的情况下,地下水的补给量几乎为0。最后,从植被蒸腾耗水和冠层降水截留2个方面讨论了旱区植被盖度增加对降雨入渗补给地下水的影响,提出了旱区水与生态和谐发展的建议。     

The impact of intensive groundwater abstraction on recharge to a shallow regional aquifer system: evidence from Bangladesh

Quantitative evaluations of the impact of groundwater abstraction on recharge are rare. Over a period (1975??007) during which groundwater abstraction increased dramatically in the Bengal Basin, changes in net groundwater recharge in Bangladesh are assessed using the water-table fluctuation method. Mean annual groundwater recharge is shown to be higher (300??00?mm) in northwestern and southwestern areas of Bangladesh than in southeastern and northeastern regions (<100?mm) where rainfall and potential recharge are greater. Net recharge in many parts of Bangladesh has increased substantially (5??5?mm/year between 1985 and 2007) in response to increased groundwater abstraction for irrigation and urban water supplies. In contrast, net recharge has slightly decreased (??.5 to ???mm/year) in areas where groundwater-fed irrigation is low (<30% of total irrigation) and where abstraction has either decreased or remained unchanged over the period of 1985??007. The spatio-temporal dynamics of recharge in Bangladesh illustrate the fundamental flaw in definitions of “safe yield??based on recharge estimated under static (non-pumping) conditions and reveal the areas where (1) further groundwater abstraction may increase actual recharge to the shallow aquifer, and (2) current groundwater abstraction for irrigation and urban water supplies is unsustainable.     

Estimation of groundwater recharge using a GIS-based distributed water balance model in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

Sustainable groundwater management requires knowledge of recharge. Recharge is also an important parameter in groundwater flow and transport models. Spatial variation in recharge due to distributed land-us.e, soil texture, topography, groundwater level, and hydrometeorological conditions should be accounted for in recharge estimation. However, conventional point-estimates of recharge are not easily extrapolated or regionalized. In this study, a spatially distributed water balance model WetSpass was used to simulate long-term average recharge using land-use, soil texture, topography, and hydrometeorological parameters in Dire Dawa, a semiarid region of Ethiopia. WetSpass is a physically based methodology for estimation of the long-term average spatial distribution of surface runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge. The long-term temporal and spatial average annual rainfall of 626 mm was distributed as: surface runoff of 126 mm (20%), evapotranspiration of 468 mm (75%), and recharge of 28 mm (5%). This recharge corresponds to 817 l/s for the 920.12 km² study area, which is less than the often-assumed 1,000 l/s recharge for the Dire Dawa groundwater catchment.     

Sustainable Irrigation with Brackish Groundwater in Heilonggang Region, China

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Identification of potential groundwater recharge zones in Vaigai upper basin,Tamil Nadu,using GIS-based analytical hierarchical process (AHP) technique

Groundwater recharge is an important process for the management of both surface and subsurface water resources. The present study utilizes the application of analytical hierarchical process (AHP) on geospatial analysis for the exploration of potential zones for artificial groundwater recharge along Vaigai upper basin in the Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India. The morphology of earth surface features such as geology, geomorphology, soil types, land use and land cover, drainage, lineament, and aquifers influence the groundwater recharge in either direct or indirect way. These thematic layers are extracted from Landsat ETM+ image, topographical map, and other collateral data sources. In this study, the multilayers were weighed accordingly to the magnitude of groundwater recharge potential. The AHP technique is a pair-wise matrix analytical method was used to calculate the geometric mean and normalized weight of individual parameters. Further, the normalized weighted layers are mathematically overlaid for preparation of groundwater recharge potential zone map. The results revealed that 21.8 km² of the total area are identified as high potential for groundwater recharge. The gentle slope areas in middle-east and central part have been moderately potential for groundwater recharge. Hilly terrains in south are considered as unsuitable zone for groundwater recharge processes.     

Hydrochemical study of groundwater in recharge area,Wadi Fatimah basin,Saudi Arabia

The present study deals with the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in the upper catchment of Wadi Fatimah basin. The analysis of data indicated strongly that the chloride and sulfate in the groundwater are mainly of marine origin, concentrated by high evaporation processes. Flushing is the most important factor that modifies the ionic concentrations and almost stands for the short-term variation in groundwater chemistry. Weathering reactions of the rock-forming minerals take place under relatively high P_CO2 condition in water and soil zone; it can be an important long-term neutralization process. It is accounted as a contributor for Ca and Mg ions in the groundwater. Using the chloride method the recharge rate has been estimated at 72 mm yr^–1.