Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3473–3491, 2018 https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3473-2018 © Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Delineating multiple salinization processes in a coastal plain aquifer, northern China: hydrochemical and isotopic evidence Dongmei Han1,2 and Matthew J. Currell3 1Key Laboratory of Water Cycle & Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China 2College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China 3School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia Correspondence: Dongmei Han (
[email protected]) Received: 16 October 2017 – Discussion started: 7 November 2017 Revised: 13 May 2018 – Accepted: 4 June 2018 – Published: 28 June 2018 Abstract. Groundwater is an important water resource for dent locally (e.g., in the Zaoyuan well field); however, more agricultural irrigation and urban and industrial utilization in widespread nitrate contamination due to other local sources the coastal regions of northern China. In the past 5 decades, such as fertilizers and/or domestic wastewater is evident on coastal groundwater salinization in the Yang–Dai river plain the basis of NO3 = Cl ratios. This study provides an exam- has become increasingly serious under the influence of an- ple of how multiple geochemical indicators can delineate dif- thropogenic activities and climatic change. It is pivotal for ferent salinization processes and guide future water manage- the scientific management of coastal water resources to ac- ment practices in a densely populated water-stressed coastal curately understand groundwater salinization processes and region.