The hydrochemical and isotopic signature of the Middle Paraná River downflow the confluence of Paraguay and Upper Paraná rivers: surface water mixing or groundwater inflow?
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Date
2014Author
Campodonico, Verena A.
García, M. Gabriela
Pasquini, Andrea I.
Formica, Stella M.
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Show full item recordAbstract
The Paraná River basin is one of the largest hydrological systems in South America (~2.6
x 106
km
2
). Most large rivers exhibit transverse and longitudinal inhomogeneities downflow
the confluence of tributaries, which can be detected for tens or even hundreds of kilometers
(e.g., Yang et al., 1996). A noticeable cross-sectional chemical asymmetry regarding the
major dissolved constituents was earlier distinguished in the Middle Paraná River, after the
confluence of its main tributaries, i.e., the Paraguay and Upper Paraná rivers (Drago and
Vasallo, 1980). In this study we present new chemical and stable and radiogenic isotopic
data of the Paraná River drainage basin in order to explain the dissimilar composition of
water observed across the main channel of the Middle Paraná River.