Published October 30, 2025
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A Dataset of Water Stable Isotopes in Iran's Main Aquifers.

Creators

  • 1. Department of Water Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, University of Tehran, Tehran, 3391653755, Iran.
  • 2. University of Tehran
  • 3. Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, 1417853111, Iran. noor@ut.ac.ir.
  • 4. School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
  • 5. Korea University
  • 6. Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, and Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
  • 7. University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 8. UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa, Muckleneuk Ridge, Pretoria, 392, South Africa.
  • 9. Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Department, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Isfahan, Iran.
  • 10. Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, 1417853111, Iran.
  • 11. Iran Water Resources Management Company, R&D Department, Tehran, Iran.
  • 12. State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
  • 13. Tongji University
  • 14. Department of Civil Engineering, American University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  • 15. Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101, Beijing, China.
  • 16. Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • 17. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
  • 18. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • 19. Université de Corse Pascal Paoli, Département d'Hydrogéologie, Campus Grimaldi, BP 52, 20250, Corte, France.
  • 20. CNRS UMR 6134 SPE, BP 52, 20250, Corte, France.
  • 21. HydroSciences Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34090, Montpellier, France.
  • 22. University of Montpellier

Description

Although the number of global water stable isotope databases (δ18O and δ2H) is growing, accessible groundwater stable isotope data on developing countries (e.g., Iran), are conspicuously lacking. To fill this gap, we conducted a sampling campaign during October 2023 to measure δ18O and δ2H in 202 wells, springs, and qanats across 10 main aquifers in Iran. We also calculated the second-order water isotopic variables, namely deuterium-excess (D-excess) and line-conditioned excess (LC-excess), in the studied aquifers, which provide insight into precipitation production and dynamics. Additionally, we determined the local meteoric water line (LMWL) for each aquifer. δ2H, δ18O, D-excess, and LC-excess values in the studied aquifers varied from -79.21 to -27.81 (‰), -11.95 to -4.68 (‰), -5.99 to 24.26 (‰), and -8.18 to 4.37 (‰), respectively. Eight out of the 10 calculated LMWLs for the studied aquifers had a lower slope than the global meteoric water line. Our dataset offers new insights into hydro-meteorological and pollution pathways in the studied aquifers, which supply the water needs for over half of Iran's population.
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