Isotope evidence for quantifying river evaporation and recharge processes in the lower reaches of the Yellow River

Evaporation and recharge are important hydrological processes in the water cycle. However, accurately quantifying these two processes of river remains to be difficult due to their spatial heterogeneity and the limitations of traditional methods. In this study, a more reliable method of stable isotopes of δ ¹⁸O and δ ²H based on the Rayleigh distillation equation and mass conservation was used to estimate the evaporation and recharge of the rivers in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, North China Plain. Comprehensive sampling campaigns including 30 surface water samples from 10 rivers, 33 groundwater samples from domestic and observation wells, and two Yellow River water samples were conducted. The results showed that the evaporation proportion of the rivers based on δ ¹⁸O and δ ²H both averaged 14.4%. The evaporation proportions in each river did not completely follow a linear increasing trend along the flow path. This phenomenon could be mainly explained by the different proportions of recharge from groundwater and Yellow River water. With closer to the Yellow river, evaporation of the rivers decreased while the recharge by the Yellow River increased. Regression equations based on δ ¹⁸O, δ ²H, and their average revealed that the evaporation proportion respectively increased by 1.02, 0.79, and 0.90% with the increase in the distance to the Yellow River per 10 km. On the contrary, the recharge proportion decreased by 7.68, 5.51, and 6.59%, respectively. In addition, using δ ¹⁸O rather than δ ²H was more reliable in studying the spatial influence of the Yellow River on evaporation and recharge. Sensitivity analysis showed that the evaporation model was most sensitive to isotopic composition, rather than to air temperature or relative humidity. The results of this study provide insights into the determination of river hydrological processes and the management of water resources.