Isotopic and geochemical surveys of lakes in coastal B.C.: Insights into regional water balance and water quality controls

Abstract

Study region: This study was conducted within a 100,000 km2 area of British Columbia, (B.C.) Canada including Vancouver Island, the Georgia Basin, and the Pacific and Kitimat mountain ranges rising from the Pacific Ocean. Study focus: A stable isotope mass balance method is applied to estimate evaporation loss and water yield from a remote network of 560 lakes on Vancouver Island and coastal B.C., based on helicopter sampling surveys conducted between 2008 and 2015. Spatial patterns in derived hydrological parameters are compared to water quality indicators and watershed characteristics to provide insight into water quantity and water quality relationships in the region, to be incorporated within a future critical loads assessment. New hydrological insights for the region: Regional trends in lake water balance, underlying physical drivers, and geochemical processes potentially influencing critical loads of acidity are described. Dominant non-anthropogenic regional drivers of geochemistry include sea spray, lithology, weathering and elevation. Significant contrast is noted in alkalinity between the sedimentary and volcanic substrates on Vancouver Island and igneous intrusive substrates of the Pacific and Kitimat ranges. A positive correlation is found between elevation and water yield to lakes, while the opposite is observed for rivers, which is interpreted to reflect disconnection of low elevation lakes from regional drainage networks. This may invalidate use of river gauge data for critical loads assessment in this or similar regions.

Keywords

• Stable isotopes
• Geochemistry
• Lakes
• Water yield
• Vancouver island
• Coastal ranges