Water source transformation in a semi-arid inland basin: Insights from an isotope-based integrated framework
Study region: The Xilin River Basin, a typical grassland-type inland basin in a semi-arid inland area of northern China. Study focus: To quantify the dynamic transformations among groundwater, river water, and precipitation at the basin scale, we integrated a fixed-covariate MixSIAR isotope mixing m...
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825004227 |
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| author | Jin Sun Yixuan Wang Tingxi Liu Guixin Zhang Limin Duan Shaojie Chu Bo Zhang Yajun Zhou Yixuan Zhang Ting Liu |
| author_facet | Jin Sun Yixuan Wang Tingxi Liu Guixin Zhang Limin Duan Shaojie Chu Bo Zhang Yajun Zhou Yixuan Zhang Ting Liu |
| author_sort | Jin Sun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Study region: The Xilin River Basin, a typical grassland-type inland basin in a semi-arid inland area of northern China. Study focus: To quantify the dynamic transformations among groundwater, river water, and precipitation at the basin scale, we integrated a fixed-covariate MixSIAR isotope mixing model, a structural equation model (SEM), and hydrogeological structural analysis. This integrated framework allowed us to systematically characterize the spatiotemporal transformation patterns and their driving mechanisms among the three water sources. New hydrological insights for the region: Both δ2H and δ18O values of precipitation and river water showed clear seasonal enrichment during the rainy season and depletion during the non-rainy season, with shallow groundwater exhibiting stronger seasonal isotopic responses than deeper groundwater. Model selection results identified “Section & Date” as the optimal fixed covariates for groundwater and river-water mixtures, while “Date” alone was optimal for precipitation. Under these optimal configurations, upper-reach river water during the rainy season was primarily recharged by groundwater (82.84 %) and precipitation (17.16 %), while in the non-rainy season, river water (80.88 %) and groundwater (19.12 %) in the lower basin were recycled to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration and contributed to local precipitation. SEM analysis revealed that meteorological factors (precipitation and temperature) and hydrological factors (runoff and groundwater level) were the dominant drivers of isotope dynamics and source partitioning, whereas ecological variables had relatively limited influence. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a89c3e151bae43bc8da016c9a3c06c60 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2214-5818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-a89c3e151bae43bc8da016c9a3c06c602025-07-23T05:24:36ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-08-0160102597Water source transformation in a semi-arid inland basin: Insights from an isotope-based integrated frameworkJin Sun0Yixuan Wang1Tingxi Liu2Guixin Zhang3Limin Duan4Shaojie Chu5Bo Zhang6Yajun Zhou7Yixuan Zhang8Ting Liu9State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China; Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology and High Efficient Utilization of Water Resources, Hohhot 010018, China; Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin Water Resources and Water Environment Comprehensive Management Autonomous Region Collaborative Innovation Center, Hohhot 010018, China; Corresponding authors at: State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China.State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China; Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology and High Efficient Utilization of Water Resources, Hohhot 010018, China; Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin Water Resources and Water Environment Comprehensive Management Autonomous Region Collaborative Innovation Center, Hohhot 010018, China; Corresponding authors at: State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China.State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China; Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology and High Efficient Utilization of Water Resources, Hohhot 010018, China; Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin Water Resources and Water Environment Comprehensive Management Autonomous Region Collaborative Innovation Center, Hohhot 010018, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, ChinaStudy region: The Xilin River Basin, a typical grassland-type inland basin in a semi-arid inland area of northern China. Study focus: To quantify the dynamic transformations among groundwater, river water, and precipitation at the basin scale, we integrated a fixed-covariate MixSIAR isotope mixing model, a structural equation model (SEM), and hydrogeological structural analysis. This integrated framework allowed us to systematically characterize the spatiotemporal transformation patterns and their driving mechanisms among the three water sources. New hydrological insights for the region: Both δ2H and δ18O values of precipitation and river water showed clear seasonal enrichment during the rainy season and depletion during the non-rainy season, with shallow groundwater exhibiting stronger seasonal isotopic responses than deeper groundwater. Model selection results identified “Section & Date” as the optimal fixed covariates for groundwater and river-water mixtures, while “Date” alone was optimal for precipitation. Under these optimal configurations, upper-reach river water during the rainy season was primarily recharged by groundwater (82.84 %) and precipitation (17.16 %), while in the non-rainy season, river water (80.88 %) and groundwater (19.12 %) in the lower basin were recycled to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration and contributed to local precipitation. SEM analysis revealed that meteorological factors (precipitation and temperature) and hydrological factors (runoff and groundwater level) were the dominant drivers of isotope dynamics and source partitioning, whereas ecological variables had relatively limited influence.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825004227Water source transformationMixSIAR modelSpatiotemporal covariatesStable isotopesStructural equation modeling |
| spellingShingle | Jin Sun Yixuan Wang Tingxi Liu Guixin Zhang Limin Duan Shaojie Chu Bo Zhang Yajun Zhou Yixuan Zhang Ting Liu Water source transformation in a semi-arid inland basin: Insights from an isotope-based integrated framework Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Water source transformation MixSIAR model Spatiotemporal covariates Stable isotopes Structural equation modeling |
| title | Water source transformation in a semi-arid inland basin: Insights from an isotope-based integrated framework |
| title_full | Water source transformation in a semi-arid inland basin: Insights from an isotope-based integrated framework |
| title_fullStr | Water source transformation in a semi-arid inland basin: Insights from an isotope-based integrated framework |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water source transformation in a semi-arid inland basin: Insights from an isotope-based integrated framework |
| title_short | Water source transformation in a semi-arid inland basin: Insights from an isotope-based integrated framework |
| title_sort | water source transformation in a semi arid inland basin insights from an isotope based integrated framework |
| topic | Water source transformation MixSIAR model Spatiotemporal covariates Stable isotopes Structural equation modeling |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825004227 |
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