Hydrogeologic and Geochemical Distinctions in Freshwater‐Brine Systems of an Andean Salar
Abstract
The Salar de Atacama contains one of the world's most important lithium resources and hosts unique and fragile desert ecosystems. Water use issues of the hyper‐arid region have placed it at the center of global attention. This work combines geochemical and hydrogeologic data with remote sensing analysis to address differences in water zones in the marginal environments of the salar. Water samples from across the inflow to brine transition were collected over the period 2012–2016 and analyzed for ẟD, 3 H, 87 Sr/86 Sr and major and minor elements. The ẟD values range from about −64‰ to +20‰, 3 H as R mod from 0.01 to 0.36 and the 87 Sr/86 Sr from 0.70750 to 0.70804 with highest ẟD and 3 H occurring in the regions of open water. Geochemical modeling results indicate inflow and shallow transition zone waters are saturated with respect to calcite, whereas all others are saturated with respect to calcite, gypsum, and halite. Long‐term remote‐sensing of surface water body extents indicate that extreme precipitation events are the primary driver of surface area changes as exemplified by an increase in size of the lagoons by a factor of 2.7 after a storm. A new conceptual model of the freshwater to brine transition zone that incorporates variability in aquifer geology, hydrology and geochemistry to explain important marginal water bodies is presented. The subsurface brines in the transition zone and the halite nucleus are geochemically distinct compared to the groundwater discharge features (e.g., lagoons) over modern time scales which aids in conceptualizing the transition zone system.
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Sampled waters were grouped into seven physical water types based on extensive knowledge of the regional hydrogeology gathered during more than 10 field campaigns, previously published works, and scrutiny of geochemical signatures.
“Sampled waters were grouped into seven physical water types to facilitate the interpretation and communication of our results. These distinctions are based on extensive knowledge of the regional hydrogeology gathered during more than 10 field campaigns, previously published works, and scrutiny of geochemical signatures (Munk et al., 2021).”
From Relic Groundwater and Prolonged Drought Confound Interpretations of Water Sustainability and Lithium Extraction in Arid Lands (2022) · cites this paper as Munk et al., 2021
Munk et al. (2021) found that brines in the marginal zone and center of the salar are disconnected from the shallow groundwater system.
“From a hydrogeologic standpoint, Munk et al. (2021) found that brines in the marginal zone and center of the salar are disconnected from the shallow groundwater system.”
From S-LCA of lithium mining in Chile and its potential impacts on water and the local community (2025) · cites this paper as Munk et al. 2021
The transitional zone (TZ) is the most sensitive part of salar systems, hosting precious and delicate ecosystems.
“The TZ, comprised of surface water bodies (lagunas), vegas and peatlands, is the most sensitive part of salar systems, hosting precious and delicate ecosystems (Marazuela et al., 2018;Garcés and Alvarez, 2020;Munk et al., 2021).”
From Life cycle assessment and water use impacts of lithium production from salar deposits: Challenges and opportunities (2024) · cites this paper as Munk et al., 2021
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- Authors
- Munk, L. A., Boutt, D. F., Moran, B. J., McKnight, S. V., & Jenckes, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Alaska Anchorage (US)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- Corresponding author
- Munk, L. A.
- Venue
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 2021-03
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 3
- ISSN
- 1525-2027 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3122975968
- Cited by
- 49
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6
- FWCI
- 4.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1443226)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Water Quality and Resources Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Karst Systems and Hydrogeology
- Keywords
- Salar de Atacama, lithium brines, stable isotopes, tritium, strontium isotopes, groundwater discharge, lagoons, conceptual hydrogeological model, hydrogeochemistry
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