A review of environmental tracer-based research of interaction between surface water and groundwater

Abstract

Interaction between surface water and groundwater is one of the important factors in hydrological cycle. In this paper, the last 10-year research trends of interaction between surface water and groundwater are reviewed based on the number of articles of scientific journals, the locations of study sites and classification of research methods. The environmental tracer-based method, which can provide hydrological information and understanding of interaction between surface water and groundwater as well as hydrometric observation and model-based analysis, is characterized by the choice of tracers and the scales of study sites. The review shows that many environmental tracers have been used for investigating the interaction at regional and watershed scales. On the other hands, the studies focusing on interaction at the local scale such as hyporheic and riparian zones are increasing since the 2000s. Future works need widespread investigations using environmental tracers at different hydrological settings or sites, field demonstrations of new tracers, and establishment of the technique to select and apply adequate tracers over a range of spatial and temporal scales in order to help explain the complex hydrological processes of interaction between surface water and groundwater.