Saltwater intrusion into groundwater systems in the Mekong Delta and links to global change

In recent decades, changes in temperature, wind, and rainfall patterns of Southeast Asia induced by climate warming in the Tibetan Plateau result in many environmental changes that have serious impacts on the lower reach of the Mekong River basin, a region already battling severe water-related environmental problems such as pollution, saltwater intrusion, and intensified flooding. In the densely populated Mekong Delta located at the mouth of the Mekong River basin in southern Vietnam, the hydrogeological systems have been transformed from an almost undisturbed to a human-impacted state and saltwater intrusion into surface water and groundwater systems has grown to be a detrimental issue recently, seriously threatening freshwater supply and degrading the eco-environment. In this article, the impacts of human activities and climate change (e.g., groundwater over-exploitation, relative sea-level rise, storm surge, changing precipitation and temperature regimes, uncontrolled drainage canals, operation of hydropower dams, and rapid development of aquaculture) on saltwater intrusion into groundwater systems in the Mekong Delta are briefly reviewed. Based on current status of research findings regarding saltwater intrusion and the subsequent groundwater quality degradation under the impacts of human activities and climate change, major knowledge gaps and challenges are identified and discussed, including thickness and permeability of the silt and clay aquitard, present-day highly heterogeneous 3D distribution of saline groundwater zones, dynamic variation of saltwater/freshwater transition zone, and the most effective and economical control measure. To bridge these gaps, future work should: 1) apply environmental isotope techniques in combination with borehole tests to gain detailed hydrogeological information regarding spatial variation of permeability and thickness of the silt and clay aquitard; 2) intensify regular groundwater monitoring and collect as much groundwater samples from multiple hydro-stratigraphic units at different depths as possible to visualize the present-day highly heterogeneous 3D distribution of saline groundwater; 3) develop a series of variable-density coupled groundwater flow and salt transport models representing various scenarios of human activities and climate change for predicting future extent of saltwater intrusion; and 4) identify the dominant factor causing saltwater intrusion and determine the most effective and economical engineering technique to address saltwater intrusion problems in the Mekong Delta.