@article{7afbb320c70c4547bf6c7fd774ad4abb,
title = "Where does the chilean aconcagua river come from? Use of natural tracers for water genesis characterization in glacial and periglacial environments",
abstract = "The Aconcagua river basin (Chile, 32◦S) has suffered the effects of the megadrought over the last decade. The severe snowfall deficiency drastically modified the water supply to the catchment headwaters. Despite the recognized snowmelt contribution to the basin, an unknown streamflow buffering effect is produced by glacial, periglacial and groundwater inputs, especially in dry periods. Hence, each type of water source was characterized and quantified for each season, through the combination of stable isotope and ionic analyses as natural water tracers. The δ18O and electric conductivity were identified as the key parameters for the differentiation of each water source. The use of these parameters in the stable isotope mixing “simmr” model revealed that snowmelt input accounted 52% in spring and only 22–36% during the rest of the year in the headwaters. While glacial supply contributed up to 34%, both groundwater and periglacial exhibited a remarkable contribution around 20% with some seasonal variations. Downstream, glacial contribution averaged 15–20%, groundwater seasonally increased up to 46%, and periglacial input was surprisingly high (i.e., 14–21%). The different water sources contribution quantification over time for the Aconcagua River reported in this work provides key information for water security in this territory.",
keywords = "Central Andes, Glaciers, Groundwater, Natural tracers, Rock glaciers, Snow, Stable isotopes, Water sources",
author = "Crespo, {Sebasti{\'a}n Andr{\'e}s} and C{\'e}line Lavergne and Francisco Fernandoy and Mu{\~n}oz, {Ariel A.} and Leandro Cara and Sim{\'o}n Olfos-Vargas",
note = "Funding Information: Funding: The research work was supported by ANID FONDECYT Postdoctoral project No. 3180682, led by S.A.C. specifically. Authors S.A.C. and A.A.M. thanks to project ANID FONDAP No.1511009. C. Lavergne was funded by ANID FONDECYT Postdoctoral project No.3180374. A. Mu{\~n}oz was supported by ANID FONDECYT No.1201714. The authors also acknowledge the Research Nucleus in Nature Based Solutions of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valpara{\'i}so (PUCV) 39.431/2020. Funding Information: The research work was supported by ANID FONDECYT Postdoctoral project No. 3180682, led by S.A.C. specifically. Authors S.A.C. and A.A.M. thanks to project ANID FONDAP No.1511009. C. Lavergne was funded by ANID FONDECYT Postdoctoral project No.3180374. A. Mu?oz was supported by ANID FONDECYT No.1201714. The authors also acknowledge the Research Nucleus in Nature Based Solutions of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valpara?so (PUCV) 39.431/2020. To Isabella Aguilera, Karin Klock, Ivonne Quintanilla, Luis Mu?oz Gaete, Isadora Schneider, Ezequiel Toum and Julio Segura for lab support. To Catherine Kenrick, Tomas Dinges, Juli Vidal and Anibal from the ?Parque Andino Juncal? for access permission and fieldwork support. To Ana Mar?a C?rdova, David Poblete, Marcelo Madariaga, Lucas Dominguez, Lisbet Cartacho, Christian Bringas, Valeria Atucha, Guillermo Fuentes, Montserrat Ternicien and Isadora Schneider for fieldwork support. We appreciate the collaboration of APRs Las Coimas and La Troya, and Rodrigo Ahumada and Agr?cola Uniagri for facilitating our field works. Finally, we would like to especially acknowledge Paul Overduin from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and to Laboratorio de An?lisis Isot?picos (Andres Bello University), for their analytical support and data validation. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2020",
month = sep,
doi = "10.3390/w12092630",
language = "English",
volume = "12",
journal = "Water (Switzerland)",
issn = "2073-4441",
number = "9",
}