Enrichment of High Arsenic Groundwater Controlled by Hydrogeochemical and Physical Processes in the Hetao Basin, China

Wengeng Cao (), Yu Ren, Qiuyao Dong (), Zeyan Li and Shunyu Xiao
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Wengeng Cao: Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
Yu Ren: Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
Qiuyao Dong: Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
Zeyan Li: Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
Shunyu Xiao: College of Geosciences and Engineering, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450011, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: Based on 447 samples collected from a shallow aquifer (depths from 0 to 150 m) in the Hetao Basin, Northern China, an integrated hydrogeochemical approach was used in this study to conceptualize the enrichment of high arsenic groundwater in the Hetao Basin. An unconventional method of distinguishing hydrogeochemical and physical processes from a dataset was tested by investigating the cumulative frequency distribution of ionic ratios expressed on a probability scale. By applying cumulative frequency distribution curves to characterize the distribution of ionic ratios throughout the Hetao Basin, hydrogeochemical indicators were obtained that distinguish the series of hydrogeochemical processes that govern groundwater composition. All hydrogeochemical processes can basically be classified as recharge intensity of groundwater, evaporation concentration intensity, and reductive degree controlling the spatial distribution of arsenic. By considering the three processes, we found that the concentration of arsenic was more than 10 μg/L when the (HCO 3 − +CO 3 2− )/SO 4 2− ratio was over 4.1 (strong reductive area). As the evaporation concentration intensity increased, the median value of arsenic increased from 10.74 to 382.7 μg/L in the median reductive area and rapidly increased from 89.11 to 461.45 μg/L in the strong reductive area. As the river recharge intensity increased (with the intensity index increasing from 0 to 5), the median value of arsenic dropped from 40.2 to 6.8 μg/L in the median reductive area and decreased more markedly from 219.85 to 23.73 μg/L in the strong reductive area. The results provide a new insight into the mechanism of As enrichment in groundwater.

Keywords: high arsenic groundwater; cumulative frequency curve; ionic relationship; hydrogeochemical process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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