RT Journal Article
T1 A multidisciplinary approach using hydrogeochemistry, δ15NNO3 isotopes, land use, and statistical tools in evaluating nitrate pollution sources and biochemical processes in Costa Rican volcanic aquifers
A1 Madrigal-Solís, Helga
A1 Vadillo-Pérez, Iñaki
A1 Jiménez-Gavilán, Pablo
A1 Fonseca-Sánchez, Alicia
A1 Quesada-Hernández, Luis
A1 Calderón-Sánchez, Hazel
A1 Gómez-Cruz, Alicia
A1 Herrera-Murillo, Jorge
A1 Pérez-Salazar, Roy
K1 Acuíferos - Contaminación - Costa Rica
AB Nitrate pollution threatens the Barva and Colima multi-aquifer system, the primary drinking water source in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica. In addressing nitrate contamination dynamics, this study proposes an integrated approach by combining multivariate statistical analyses, hydrochemical parameters, sewage discharge, and regional land-use and land-cover patterns to assess the extent and degree of contamination, dominant biogeochemical processes, and refine the interpretation of nitrate sources previously derived solely from δ15NNO3 information. Over seven years (2015–2022), 714 groundwater samples from 43 sites were analyzed for nitrate and major ions, including two sampling campaigns for dissolved organic and inorganic carbon, nitrite, ammonium, FeTotal, MnTotal, and δ15NNO3 analyses. The findings presented elevated nitrate concentrations in urban and agricultural/urban areas, surpassing the Maximum Concentration Levels on several occasions, and oxidizing conditions favoring mineralization and nitrification processes in unconfined Barva and locally confined Upper Colima/Lower Colima aquifers. Similar nitrate contents and spatial patterns in agricultural and urban zones in the shallow Barva aquifer suggest comparable contributions from nitrogen fertilizers and urban wastewaters despite the gradual increase in urban land cover and the reduction of agricultural areas. Isotopic analyses and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) indicate a shift in nitrate sources from agricultural to urban areas in both Barva and Colima aquifers. Principal Component and Hierarchical Cluster Analyses link land use, nitrate sources, and water quality. Three distinct sample clusters aligned with forest/grassland, agricultural/urban, and urban land use, emphasizing the impact of anthropogenic activities on groundwater quality, even in the deeper Colima aquifers.
PB Elsevier
SN 0048-9697
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/35678
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/35678
LA eng
NO Helga Madrigal-Solís, Iñaki Vadillo-Pérez, Pablo Jiménez-Gavilán, Alicia Fonseca-Sánchez, Luis Quesada-Hernández, Hazel Calderón-Sánchez, Alicia Gómez-Cruz, Jorge Herrera Murillo, Roy Pérez Salazar, A multidisciplinary approach using hydrogeochemistry, δ15NNO3 isotopes, land use, and statistical tools in evaluating nitrate pollution sources and biochemical processes in Costa Rican volcanic aquifers, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 951, 2024, 174996, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174996
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026