Abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) provides a pathway for economic reuse and storage of CO2, a greenhouse gas. One challenge with this practice is ensuring CO2 injection does not result in target reservoir fluids migrating into overlying shallow (\textless1000 m) groundwater formations. Effective monitoring for leakage from storage formations could involve measuring sensitive chemical indicators in overlying groundwater units and within the producing formation itself for evidence of deviation from an initial state. In this study, produced waters and overlying groundwaters were monitored over a five-year period to evaluate which geochemical signals may be useful to ensure that oilfield produced waters did not impact overlying groundwaters. During this five-year period, a mature carbonate oil reservoir in the Permian Basin transitioned from a waterflooding operation to a water-alternating-gas injection (WAG), in which the formation was flooded with CO2 and various mixtures of produced water. Significant increases in dissolved inorganic constituents [alkalinity, TDS, Na+, Cl−, SO42−] were observed in produced waters following CO2 injection; however, carbonate reservoir dissolution-precipitation reactions appear to be minimal and injected CO2 appears to be stored via solubility trapping. Although there are statistically significant geochemical variations following CO2 injection, applying isometric log-ratios to certain parameters establishes a narrow range for post-CO2 injection produced waters. This narrow range can be considered a baseline for post-CO2 injection produced waters; this baseline can be utilized to monitor overlying local groundwaters for produced water intrusion. Additionally, certain parameters [Na+, Ca2+, K+, Cl−, alkalinity, and TDS] display large concentration disparities between produced water and overlying groundwaters; these parameters would be sensitive indicators of produced water intrusion into overlying groundwaters.

Abstract: The quantification of groundwater resources is essential especially in water scarce countries like Namibia. The chloride mass balance (CMB) method and isotopic composition were used in determining groundwater recharge along a precipitation gradient at three sites, namely: Tsumeb (600 mm/a precipitation); Waterberg (450 mm/a precipitation) and Kuzikus/Ebenhaezer (240 mm/a precipitation). Groundwater and rainwater were collected from year 2016–2017. Rainwater was collected monthly while groundwater was collected before, during and after rainy seasons. Rainwater isotopic values for δ18O and δ2H range from −10.70 to 6.10‰ and from −72.7 to 42.1‰ respectively. Groundwater isotopic values for δ18O range from −9.84 to −5.35‰ for Tsumeb; from −10.85 to −8.60‰ for Waterberg and from −8.24 to −1.56‰ for Kuzikus/Ebenhaezer, while that for δ2H range from −65.6 to −46.7‰ for Tsumeb; −69.4 to −61.2‰ for Waterberg and −54.2 to −22.7‰ for Kuzikus/Ebenhaezer. Rainwater scatters along the GMWL. Rainwater collected in January, February and March are more depleted in heavy isotopes than those in November, December, April and May. Waterberg groundwater plots on the GMWL which indicates absence of evaporation. Tsumeb groundwater plots on/close to the GMWL with an exception of groundwater from the karst Lake Otjikoto which is showing evaporation. Groundwater from Kuzikus/Ebenhaezer shows an evaporation effect, probably evaporation occurs during infiltration since it is observed in all sampling seasons. All groundwater from three sites plot in the same area with rainwater depleted in stable isotopic values, which could indicates that recharge only take place during January, February and March. CMB method revealed that Waterberg has the highest recharge rate ranging between 39.1 mm/a and 51.1 mm/a (8.7% – 11.4% of annual precipitation), Tsumeb with rates ranging from 21.1 mm/a to 48.5 mm/a (3.5% – 8.1% of annual precipitation), and lastly Kuzikus/Ebenhaezer from 3.2 mm/a to 17.5 mm/a (1.4% – 7.3% of annual precipitation). High recharge rates in Waterberg could be related to fast infiltration and absence of evaporation as indicated by the isotopic ratios. Differences in recharge rates cannot only be attributed to the precipitation gradient but also to the evaporation rates and the presence of preferential flow paths. Recharge rates estimated for these three sites can be used in managing the savannah aquifers especially at Kuzikus/Ebenhaezer where evaporation effect is observed that one can consider rain harvesting.

Abstract: Both seasonal and annual mean precipitation and evaporation influence patterns of water availability impacting society and ecosystems. Existing global climate studies rarely consider such patterns from non-parametric statistical standpoint. Here, we employ a non-parametric analysis framework to analyze seasonal hydroclimatic regimes by classifying global land regions into nine regimes using late 20th century precipitation means and seasonality. These regimes are used to assess implications for water availability due to concomitant changes in mean and seasonal precipitation and evaporation changes using CMIP5 model future climate projections. Out of 9 regimes, 4 show increased precipitation variation, while 5 show decreased evaporation variation coupled with increasing mean precipitation and evaporation. Increases in projected seasonal precipitation variation in already highly variable precipitation regimes gives rise to a pattern of “seasonally variable regimes becoming more variable”. Regimes with low seasonality in precipitation, instead, experience increased wet season precipitation.