Data articleOpen access
The exploratory dataset of isotopic composition of different water sources across Kazakhstan
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2024.110360
Highlights
- 399 samples: precipitation 130 (event 108, monthly 22), surface water 175, groundwater 85, tap water 9.
- Groundwater: 76 shallow (unconfined), 8 artesian (free-flowing), 1 spring.
- Sampling periods: 2017–2018 and 2020–2023.
- Astana meteoric water line from 87 event samples (2021–2023): δ²H = 7.05 ± 0.16 δ¹⁸O − 2.79 ± 2.48, R² = 0.96.
- Precision: Picarro < 0.05‰ for δ¹⁸O and < 0.3‰ for δ²H; LGR ≤ ±0.2‰ for δ¹⁸O and ±0.8‰ for δ²H.
Abstract
This work presents the dataset of stable water isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen measured in water samples from different sources (precipitation, surface water, groundwater, tap water) across Kazakhstan from 2017 to 2018 and from 2020 to 2023. The dataset includes results on isotopic composition of 399 water samples, namely precipitation: event-based (n = 108), cumulative monthly (n = 22); surface water: lakes, reservoirs, brooks, rivers, channels (n = 175), groundwater: shallow and artesian groundwater, spring (n = 85), tapwater (n = 9). For each sample name of the source, location, latitude, longitude and date of sampling, measurement uncertainty (one standard deviation) are available. The samples were assessed by plotting the data in dual δ18O vs. δ2H isotope space with reference to values found in the published literature and fitting a linear regression equation for Astana (event) precipitation. Overall, this is the first dataset covering wide range of sources across Kazakhstan, which could be used by global and regional water resource assessments and studies such as tracing water sources, hydrograph separation and end-member analyses, isotope mass balance, evapotranspiration partitioning, residence time analysis and groundwater recharge.
The authors’ abstract, reproduced under CC BY 4.0.
Keywords
- stable isotopes
- isotope hydrology
- oxygen-18
- deuterium
- local meteoric water line
- Central Asia
In plain English
The dataset holds stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios for 399 water samples collected across Kazakhstan in 2017–2018 and 2020–2023: 130 precipitation samples (108 from single events and 22 monthly), 175 surface-water samples from rivers, brooks, channels, lakes and reservoirs, 85 groundwater samples and 9 tap-water samples. The groundwater includes 76 shallow, unconfined samples, 8 from free-flowing artesian wells and one spring.
Each sample has its source, location, coordinates, date and measurement uncertainty. Samples from 2017–2018 were analysed at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam and those from 2020–2023 at Nazarbayev University. The surface waters include large endorheic lakes such as Balkhash, the North (Small) Aral Sea and Issyk-Kul, Kambash lake in the Aral Sea basin, and rivers including the Syr Darya, Nura, Yesil and Ertis. Event precipitation in Astana gives a local meteoric water line.
The authors present it as the first dataset of its kind covering the whole country, for use in tracing water sources, isotope mass balance, residence-time analysis and groundwater recharge studies. The data are published on Mendeley Data.
How to cite
Vadim Yapiyev, Nurlan Ongdas, Sylvia Pinkerneil, Kanat Samarkhanov, Arman Kabdeshev, Yergali Karakulov, Murat Muzdybaev, Aksholpan Atalikhova, Catalin Stefan, Jay Sagin and Milovan Fustic (2024). The exploratory dataset of isotopic composition of different water sources across Kazakhstan. Data in Brief, vol. 54, 110360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2024.110360