Erosion and transport of sediments in watersheds of southwest Puerto Rico determined from strontium isotopes and mixing models

Sediment outflow from streams to coastal regions can adversely affect water quality and the health of ecosystems including Puerto Rico's southwestern carbonate platform with shallow marine communities. Knowledge of sediment provenance and erosional areas would aid effective restoration to reduce excessive sedimentation. Strontium (Sr) isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) can be used to differentiate between sediment eroded into streams from different lithologies, or rock types, and used in mixing models to estimate proportions of source materials in downstream mixtures. The goal of this study was to use Sr isotopes to differentiate between river sediments in drainages with distinct geologies and present a case study where Sr isotope mixing models are used to identify sediment sourcing to Río Loco and Bahía de Guánica, a priority watershed of the U.S. Coral Reefs Task Force. For the Río Loco watershed, model results indicate that serpentinites in the uplands contributed approximately 71 % of sediment to Bahía de Guánica. About 21 % of sediment was from trachy-andesitic basalts in the foothills, and the remaining 8 % originated from sources on the coastal plain. Neither the uppermost headwater region of Río Loco, the Canal Principal De Riego Valle De Lajas, nor the tributary Quebrada Susúa appeared to be significant sources of sediment to Río Loco's mainstem or Bahía de Guánica at the time of the study. Our results demonstrate that sediment from the serpentinite-bearing areas of Río Loco watershed was effectively transported to the lowlands, which then discharge into Guánica Bay, and highlight the potential use of Sr isotopes as tracers of sediment provenance. This will, in turn, enable better science-based restoration efforts aimed at reducing terrestrial sediment erosion and impacts to marine ecosystems.