Ionic and stable isotope chemistry as indicators of water sources to the Upper Mendoza River basin, Central Andes of Argentina
- Crespo, Sebastián Andrés
- Aranibar, Julieta Nelida
- Gomez, Maria Laura
- Schwikowski, Margit
- Alzugaray, Sabina Norma
- Cara, Leandro
- Villalba, Ricardo
DOIAbstract
Mendoza river is mainly dependent on the melting of snow and ice in the upper Andes. Since predicted changes in climate would modify snow accumulation and glacial melting, it is important to understand the relative contribution of each water source to river discharge. The two main mountain ranges in the basin, Cordillera Principal and Cordillera Frontal, present differences in geology and receive diverse proportions of precipitation from Atlantic and Pacific moisture sources. We propose that differences in the origin of precipitation, geology, and sediment contact times across the basin generate ionic and stable isotopic signatures to the water, allowing the differentiation of water sources. Waters from Cordillera Principal had higher salin...
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