Recharge and dynamics of a karst groundwater system in Kakheti (Eastern Georgia)

Abstract Monitoring temporal variations of 18O and 2H isotopes in precipitation, groundwater and surface water was performed in the region of Kakheti (East Georgia). Data were collected from three meteorological stations at altitudes between 400 - 1,100 m a.s.l., from two shallow and one deep hydrogeological boreholes, and from two surface water monitoring stations (Alazani River and Patmasuri karstic stream). 18O values in precipitation show an annual variation between -22 ‰ and +1 ‰ and a distinct altitude effect. A clear correlation exists between the seasonal isotope composition of precipitation, shallow groundwater and surface water. A five-fold amplitude dampening and a delay of 10-15 days was observed. The data show that precipitation in the Caucasus Mountains to the North infiltrates into the Upper Jurassic - Lower Cretaceous karstic aquifer and travels to the Alazani valley towards south-east. The isotopic signature of winter precipitation is reflected in stream water as well as in shallow groundwater isotope data of groundwater in a 2,000-m-deep hydrogeological borehole at Heretiskari show a distinctly different character with δ18O ranging between -2.8 ‰ to -2.2 ‰ and a deuterium excess of -25 ‰.