Hydrogeochemical Characteristics Refine the Conceptual Model of Groundwater Flow in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada

• Published in: Water
• Main Authors: Judit Déri-Takács, Benjamin, Carl Mendoza, Judit Mádl-Szőnyi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022
• Subjects: Wood Buffalo National Park; Northern Alberta; hydrochemistry; isotopes; groundwater flow systems; surface water-groundwater interactions; Hydraulic engineering; TC1-978; Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes; TD201-500; Canada; Wood Buffalo; Peace-Athabasca Delta
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/w14060965; https://doaj.org/article/c36805fbb10f476c8182f31384f8869c

Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP), the largest national park of Canada, has unique and complex ecosystems that depend on specific water quantity and quality. We characterize groundwaters and surface waters in WBNP by determining their chemical compositions and water types, the dominant hydrochemical processes affecting their compositions, and their hydrochemical characteristics in relation to interpreted groundwater flow systems. Total Dissolved Solid concentrations in groundwaters and surface waters range from ≤10 mg/L to ≥300,000 mg/L. Four distinct water type groups are found: (1) Ca-SO 4 -type waters occur in multiple clusters across the area in outcrop areas of Devonian evaporites; (2) Na-Cl-type waters predominantly occur in the Salt plains region along the central eastern boundary, overlapping evaporite and carbonate-dominated bedrock formations; (3) Ca-HCO 3 -type waters dominate the Peace-Athabasca Delta-region in the south and most of the central region; and (4) “mixed” waters. Solutes in the waters originate from three main processes: dissolution of halite, dissolution of sulphate minerals, and dissolution of carbonates. The spatial occurrence of hydrochemical characteristics correlate with hypothesized groundwater flow systems, i.e., Ca-SO 4 and Na-Cl-type waters coincide with discharge areas of intermediate to regional groundwater flow paths, and Ca-HCO 3 -type waters overlap with recharge areas. The findings of this study contribute to advancing knowledge on the hydrochemical characteristics of this remote and highly protected region of Alberta, Canada, and are important components of any further, comprehensive assessment of the natural water conditions.