scholarly journals Application of Multiple Approaches to Investigate the Hydrochemistry Evolution of Groundwater in an Arid Region: Nomhon, Northwestern China

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuan Yang ◽  
Guangcai Wang ◽  
Zheming Shi ◽  
Dan Zhao ◽  
Wanjun Jiang ◽  
...  

Groundwater is a critical water resource for human survival and economic development in arid and semi-arid areas. It is crucial to understand the groundwater circulation and hydrochemical evolution for sustainable management and utilization of groundwater resources in those areas. To this end, an investigation of the hydrochemical characteristics of surface water and groundwater was conducted in Nomhon, an arid area located in the Qaidam Basin, northwest China, by using hydrochemical (major and trace elements) and stable isotopes (δD and δ18O) approaches. Stable isotopes and ion ratios were analyzed to determine the recharge sources, hydrochemistry characteristics, and major hydrogeochemical processes. Meanwhile, inverse geochemistry modeling was applied to quantitatively determine the mass transfer of hydrogeochemical processes. The results showed that groundwater in the study area is mainly recharged by atmospheric precipitation in mountainous areas, and the groundwater in the center of basin might originate from ancient water in cold and humid environments. Along the groundwater flow path, the TDS of groundwater increased gradually from fresh to salty (ranging from 462.50 to 19,604.40 mg/L), and the hydrochemical type changed from Cl·HCO3–Na·Mg·Ca to Cl–Na. Groundwater chemical composition and mass balance modeling results indicated that from alluvial fan to lacustrine plain, the main hydrogeochemical processes changed from the dissolution of halite and albite and the precipitation of dolomite and kaolinite to the dissolution of halite and gypsum, precipitation of calcite, redox (SO42− reduction), and cation exchange. This study would be helpful for water resources management in this area and other similar areas.

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Tsuchihara ◽  
Katsushi Shirahata ◽  
Satoshi Ishida ◽  
Shuhei Yoshimoto

Paddy rice fields on an alluvial fan not only use groundwater for irrigation but also play an important role as groundwater recharge sources. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution of isotopic and hydrochemical compositions of groundwater in the Nasunogahara alluvial fan in Japan and applied a self-organizing map (SOM) to characterize the groundwater. The SOM assisted with the hydrochemical and isotopic interpretation of the groundwater in the fan, and clearly classified the groundwater into four groups reflecting the different origins. Two groundwater groups with lower isotopic ratios of water than the mean precipitation values in the fan were influenced by the infiltration of river water flowing from higher areas in the catchments and were differentiated from each other by their Na+ and Cl− concentrations. A groundwater group with higher isotopic ratios was influenced by the infiltration of paddy irrigation water that had experienced evaporative isotopic enrichment. Groundwater in the fourth group, which was distributed in the upstream area of the fan where dairy farms dominated, showed little influence of recharge waters from paddy rice fields. The findings of this study will contribute to proper management of the groundwater resources in the fan.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biao Zhang ◽  
Dan Zhao ◽  
Pengpeng Zhou ◽  
Shen Qu ◽  
Fu Liao ◽  
...  

Groundwater is undoubtedly important for water supplies and eco-environment protection, especially for arid and semi-arid regions. Analyzing the characteristics and evolution of groundwater is significant for the rational management of groundwater resources. This study investigated the hydrogeochemical characteristics and evolutions of groundwater in the Delingha area, northeast of the Qaidam Basin, northwest China, with a total of 123 water samples, including 105 unconfined groundwater samples, 12 confined groundwater samples, and 6 surface water samples. Hydrochemical results showed that the unconfined and confined groundwater presented diversity in ion concentration. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of the unconfined groundwater increased from 146.5 to 8954 mg/L along the groundwater flow direction. The groundwater hydrochemical types were HCO3-Ca·Mg and HCO3·SO4-Ca·Mg in the mountain front area, SO4·HCO3-Ca·Mg and SO4·Cl-Ca·Mg types in the alluvial-lacustrine plain, and Cl·SO4-Na and Cl-Na types in the lacustrine plain. The saturation index showed that parts of the groundwater samples were supersaturated with carbonate minerals (calcite and dolomite); however, all the samples were undersaturated with evaporite minerals (halite and gypsum). Groundwater chemical evolution is mainly controlled by evaporite and carbonate mineral dissolutions, aluminosilicates weathering, and cation exchange.


Geochemistry ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Cao ◽  
Ming Wu ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
Kai Hu ◽  
Lizeng Bian ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 133-146
Author(s):  
F Zhang ◽  
J Wang ◽  
X Zou ◽  
R Mao ◽  
DY Gong ◽  
...  

Wind erosion is largely determined by wind erosion climatic erosivity. In this study, we examined changes in wind erosion climatic erosivity during 4 seasons across northern China from 1981-2016 using 2 models: the wind erosion climatic erosivity of the Wind Erosion Equation (WEQ) model and the weather factor from the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) model. Results showed that wind erosion climatic erosivity derived from the 2 models was highest in spring and lowest in winter with high values over the Kumtag Desert, the Qaidam Basin, the boundary between Mongolia and China, and the Hulunbuir Sandy Land. In spring and summer, wind erosion climatic erosivity showed decreasing trends in whole of northern China from 1981-2016, whereas there was an increasing trend in wind erosion climatic erosivity over the Gobi Desert from 1992-2011. For the weather factor of the RWEQ model, the difference between northern Northwest China and the Gobi Desert and eastern-northern China was much larger than that of the wind erosion climatic erosivity of the WEQ model. In addition, in contrast to a decreasing trend in the weather factor of the RWEQ model over southern Northwest China during spring and summer from 1981-2016, the wind erosion climatic erosivity of the WEQ model showed a decreasing trend for 1981-1992 and an increasing trend for 1992-2011 over southern Northwest China. According to a comparison between dust emission and wind erosion climatic erosivity, the 2 models have the ability to project changes in future wind erosion in northern China.


2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-306
Author(s):  
Li WANG ◽  
Zongxing LI ◽  
Chenglin LIU ◽  
Bo PENG ◽  
Xinxin FANG ◽  
...  

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