Hydrogeochemical investigations and groundwater quality assessment of Torbat-Zaveh plain, Khorasan Razavi, Iran

Abstract

Hydrogeochemical investigations of groundwater in Torbat-Zaveh plain have been carried out to assess the water quality for drinking and irrigation purposes. In this study, 190 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for physicochemical parameters and major ion concentrations. The abundance of major cations and anions was in the following order: Na(+) > Mg(2+) > Ca(2+) > K(+), and Cl(-) > [Formula: see text] > [Formula: see text] > [Formula: see text]. As a result, alkaline element (Na(+)) exceeds alkaline earth elements (Mg(2+) and Ca(2+)), and strong acids (Cl(-) and [Formula: see text]) dominate weak acids ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) in majority of the groundwater samples. Statistical analyses including Spearman correlation coefficients and factor analysis display good correlation between physicochemical parameters (EC, TDS and TH) and Na(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Cl(-) and [Formula: see text]. The results display that rock-weathering interactions and ion-exchange processes play important role in controlling groundwater chemistry. Saturation index values also indicate that water chemistry is significantly affected by carbonate minerals such as calcite, aragonite and dolomite. US Salinity Laboratory(USSL) and Wilcox diagrams together with permeability index values reveal that most of the groundwater samples are suitable for irrigation purpose. However, in some regions, the water samples do not indicate required irrigational quality.

Investigation of Geochemical Characteristics and Controlling Processes of Groundwater in a Typical Long-Term Reclaimed Water Use Area

“…The mineral equilibrium calculation results (SIgypsum < 1, SIanhydrite < 1) (Figure 9) indicate that all samples are under-saturated with the respect of gypsum and anhydrite, confirming the potential contributes of these two minerals dissolution. While the phenomenon that samples of both shallow and deep groundwater fall above the 1:1 line (Figure 8b), implying that Ca 2+ and SO4 2− are also included in some other different geochemical processes besides aforementioned processes [33].…”

“…Groundwater chemistry involves enormous vital information on suitability for domestic, irrigational and industrial purposes [31], and is very helpful in understanding and identifying the processes governing the hydrochemical quality of groundwater [32,33]. Statistical summary of the hydrogeochemical data of both SGW and DGW during the dry and rainy seasons is presented in the Table 1.…”

“…Gibbs diagrams, which are constructed by plotting ratios of Na + /Na + + Ca 2+ and Cl − /(Cl − + HCO3 − ) versus TDS [41], are widely used to identify natural processes, such as precipitation, rock-water interaction, evaporation/ crystallization, governing groundwater geochemistry [33,42,43]. As seen in Figure 7, all samples of both shallow and deep groundwater for both seasons are plotted in the rock dominance area, indicating that water-rock interaction is the main natural fundamental sources of groundwater chemical constituents in the study area.…”

Groundwater Recharge Assessment in the Karstic Aquifers of North Khorasan, Iran in APLIS Method

“…Since the resources are limited, proper maintenance and control on the one hand and appropriate consumption on the other hand require a comprehensive management (Esmaeili & Moore 2012;Nematollahi et al 2016). The study and management of karst formations are significant due to their profusion and potential in the creating underground aquifers.…”

Spatial Variability of Ground Water Quality Using HCA, PCA and MANOVA at Lawspet, Puducherry in India

“…The application of different multivariatestatistical approaches for the interpretation of these complex data matrices offers a better comprehension of water quality and ecological status of the studied systems, and it allows the detection of the possible factors/sources that control the ground water systems and suggests a useful tool for dependable supervision of water resources as well as quick solutions to pollution related problems. The basic aim of such an analysis is to study the hydro-geochemistry of an aquifer using various statistical methods and to assess and ascertain the deterioration of ground water quality [6] [7]. Further these multivariate statistical techniques also verify the spatial and temporal variations which are brought out by natural and anthropogenic factors.…”