Groundwater-surface water interactions: application of hydrochemical and stable isotope tracers to the lake bosumtwi area in Ghana

This research demonstrated the application of hydrochemical data and stable water isotopes of delta O-18 and delta D (or delta 2H) for evaluating the relationship between surface water in Lake Bosumtwi and the underlying groundwater system. It aimed at determining the presence or absence of a hydraulic relationship and for evaluating the possible direction of flow at the interface between the two reservoirs. The study also estimated evaporative losses of infiltrating rainwater as it transits the unsaturated zone and provided important information on the hydrological processes prevailing in the area. The results of Q-Mode hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) clearly differentiate the lake water from the groundwater based on their spatial relationship. These results indicated that groundwater recharge occurs on the hilltops of the crater, where it is slightly acidic with low levels of dissolved ions, characterised by short residence time and rapid unrestricted vertical infiltration and recharge. The groundwater becomes more mineralized with longer contact times and deeper circulation with the host rock, while it flows from the recharge areas towards the lake at lower elevations. Analyses of delta O-18 and delta D showed a high evaporation rate on the lake surface (90%) with a significant evaporative enrichment, whereas groundwater showed no significant isotopic variations. Thus suggesting that the aquifers have been recharged by recent meteoric water that has undergone some evaporative enrichment since the study established an evaporation rate of water infiltrating the unsaturated zone ranging from 54 to 60%. Both reservoirs do not appear to be hydraulically connected, and where such a connection exists, it is expected to favour the lake.