Determination of groundwater discharge rates and water residence time of groundwater-fed lakes by stable isotopes of water (18O, 2H) and radon (222Rn) mass balances

Lacustrine groundwater discharge (LGD) and the related water residence time are crucial parameters for quantifying lake matter budgets and assessing its vulnerability to contaminant input. Our approach utilizes the stable isotopes of water (O-18, H-2) and the radioisotope radon (Rn-222) for determining long-term average and short-term snapshots in LGD. We conducted isotope balances for the 0.5-km(2) Lake Ammelshainer See (Germany) based on measurements of lake isotope inventories and groundwater composition accompanied by good quality and comprehensive long-term meteorological and isotopic data (precipitation) from nearby monitoring stations. The results from the steady-state annual isotope balances that rely on only two sampling campaigns are consistent for both O-18 and H-2 and suggested an overall long-term average LGD rate that was used to infer the water residence time of the lake. These findings were supported by the good agreement of the simulated LGD-driven annual cycles of O-18 and H-2 lake inventories with the observed lake isotope inventories. However, radon mass balances revealed lower values that might be the result of seasonal LGD variability. For obtaining further insights into possible seasonal variability of groundwater-lake interaction, stable water isotope and radon mass balances could be conducted more frequently (e.g., monthly) in order to use the derived groundwater discharge rates as input for time-variant isotope balances.