Using soil water stable isotopes (?18O and ?2H) in the unsaturated zone to assess groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration in Nordic humid region dominated by snowmelt

The groundwater recharge is the quantity of water reaching, through infiltration, the groundwater already existed in the geological formation. The groundwater recharge is considered as relevant parameter for evaluating the water resources. In Nordic countries including Canada, the highest groundwater recharge is often associated with snowmelt, and it is affected by the geology of site and the environment conditions (e.g., sites covered by dense vegetation, slopped sites, etc.). Accordingly, it is important to understand the snowmelt infiltration process to better quantify the groundwater recharge. The proposed research project consists to use the stable isotope depth profiles, which could be obtained from the isotopic analysis of deeper sampled soils cores, for estimating the groundwater recharge in Nordic humid zone dominated by snowmelt. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Romain Chesnaux

Student:

Partner:

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Education

University:

Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Program: