The Hydrochemistry, Ionic Source, and Chemical Weathering of a Tributary in the Three Gorges Reservoir

Qianzhu Zhang (), Ke Jin, Linyao Dong, Ruiyi Zhao, Wenxiang Liu, Yang Lu, Xiaoqing Gan, Yue Hu and Cha Zhao
Additional contact information
Qianzhu Zhang: Chongqing Branch Institute, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Chongqing 400026, China
Ke Jin: Chongqing Branch Institute, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Chongqing 400026, China
Linyao Dong: Soil and Water Conservation Department, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430000, China
Ruiyi Zhao: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Wenxiang Liu: Chongqing Branch Institute, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Chongqing 400026, China
Yang Lu: Chongqing Branch Institute, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Chongqing 400026, China
Xiaoqing Gan: Chongqing Branch Institute, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Chongqing 400026, China
Yue Hu: Chongqing Branch Institute, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Chongqing 400026, China
Cha Zhao: Chongqing Branch Institute, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Chongqing 400026, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Riverine dissolved matter reflects geochemical genesis information, which is vital to understand and manage the water environment in a basin. The Ganjing River located in the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir was systematically investigated to analyze the composition and spatial variation of riverine ions, probe the source and influencing factors, and assess the chemical weathering rates and CO 2 consumption. The results showed that the total dissolved solid value (473.31 ± 154.87 mg/L) with the type of “HCO 3 − –Ca 2+ ” was higher than that of the global rivers’ average. The hydrochemical parameters were relatively stable in the lower reservoir area of the Ganjing River, which was largely influenced by the backwater of Three Gorges Reservoir. The carbonate weathering source contributed 69.63% of TDS (Total dissolved solids), which generally dominated the hydrochemical characteristics. The contribution rates of atmospheric rainfall were relatively low and stable in the basin, with an average of 4.01 ± 1.28%. The average contribution rate of anthropogenic activities was 12.05% in the basin and even up to 27.80% in the lower reservoir area of the Ganjing River, which illustrated that the impoundment of Three Gorges Reservoir had brought great challenges to the water environment in the reservoir bay. The empirical power functions were tentatively proposed to eliminate the dilution effect caused by runoff discharge on the basis of previous studies. Accordingly, the rock weathering rate was calculated as 23.54 t/km 2 in the Ganjing River Basin, which consumed atmospheric CO 2 with a flux of 6.88 × 10 5 mol/y/km 2 . These results highlight the geochemical information of tributaries in the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir, have significant implications for understanding the impact of impoundment, and provide data support for the integrated management of water resources in the Ganjing River Basin.

Keywords: hydrochemistry; source apportionment; weathering rate; CO 2 consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/15376/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/15376/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:22:p:15376-:d:977356

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().