The Formation and Balance of the Atmospheric Precipitations, Surface Water, and Groundwater on the Southern Slopes of the Khibiny Massif (Based on Data on the Isotopic Composition of Oxygen and Hydrogen)

• Published in: Water resources Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 124 - 132
• Main Authors: Gudkov, A. V., Tokarev, I. V., Tolstikhin, I. N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric precipitations; Chemical composition; Composition; Deuterium; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Groundwater; Hydrogen; Hydrogeology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Interaction between Continental Waters and the Environment; Isotope composition; Isotopes; Lakes; Massifs; Northern Hemisphere; Oxygen; Precipitation; Rain; Rain water; Snowmelt; Surface water; Surface-groundwater relations; Waste Water Technology; Water bodies; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; rivers; precipitation; the Khibins; isotopes; groundwater; hydrogen; oxygen
• ISSN: 0097-8078; 1608-344X
• DOI: 10.1134/S0097807821010164

The δ
2
H and δ
18
O values of the atmospheric precipitations in the Khibins vary within the range –147 ≤ δ
2
H ≤ –37‰, –20 ≤ δ
18
О ≤ –4‰ and are close to the global line of the precipitations for the northern hemisphere; the light values (with a positive deuterium excess) are typical of snow, while the heavy values are typical of rains. The data on the isotopic composition of water in open water bodies and groundwaters suggest their formation from the precipitations. Their flow (and subsurface migration) is accompanied by mixing of snowmelt and rain water; the efficiency of mixing can be evaluated by a decrease in the variation range of the values of δ
2
H and δ
18
О. According to isotopic data, the water of Lake Imandra, the major water body in the region, has formed through mixing of snowmelt and rain water in a proportion close to 1 : 1.