Identification of spatio-seasonal hydrogeochemical characteristics of the unconfined groundwater in the Red River Delta, Vietnam

Groundwater has been the primary source of daily water supplies for people living in the Red River Delta, the second largest delta in Vietnam. For this reason, identification of hydrogeochemical properties of the groundwater is indispensable for sustainable utilization of groundwater sources. In this study, the spatio-seasonal hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater in the unconfined aquifer of the Red River Delta have been investigated by systematically applying self-organizing maps (SOM) and Gibbs diagrams. The groundwater chemistry dataset used in the analysis is composed of eight major dissolved ions (i.e., Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3−, Cl−, SO42−, and CO32−) and total dissolved solids that are collected from 47 groundwater monitoring wells within the study area during the dry and rainy seasons. The SOM application classified the hydrogeochemical data into five clusters, which revealed three basic representative water types: high salinity (one cluster), low salinity (two clusters), and freshwater (two clusters). The spatial distribution of clusters and water types were identified. In particular, the low-salinity type was found not only in the downstream area but also in the northeastern parts of the upstream and middle-stream areas, where the groundwater was mainly classified into one specific cluster, in which agricultural activities were considered to influence groundwater chemistry. Cluster changes from the dry to rainy seasons were detected in approximately one-fifth of the observations wells. Dilution by surface water may significantly affect the chemical characteristics of the unconfined aquifer during the rainy season. Based on Gibbs diagrams, rock weathering was found to be the main process in the evolution of chemical composition of freshwater type, whereas the chemical structure of the low- and high-salinity types was primarily controlled by saltwater intrusion or anthropogenic activities.