Hydro-geochemical characteristics of glacial meltwater from Naradu Glacier catchment, Western Himalaya

Rajesh Kumar; Ramesh Kumar; Shaktiman Singh; Atar Singh; Anshuman Bhardwaj; Himanshu Chaudhary

doi:10.1007/s12665-019-8687-0

Hydro-geochemical characteristics of glacial meltwater from Naradu Glacier catchment, Western Himalaya

Rajesh Kumar, Ramesh Kumar^*, Shaktiman Singh, Atar Singh, Anshuman Bhardwaj, Himanshu Chaudhary

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The pattern of changing hydro-geochemical characteristics of water in Himalayan rivers is primarily controlled by sediment load from natural sources in higher altitudes and anthropogenic sources such as the burning of fossil fuels for domestic use, vehicular emissions, and wind transported industrial pollutants in the downstream region. The assessment of water quality is critical for the comparison of natural and anthropogenic sources in the downstream areas due to the dependence of the population on the glacial meltwater for freshwater supply. In the present study, we investigate the physical and ionic characteristics of glacial meltwater from Naradu Glacier catchment concerning the dominant weathering process. The freshwater samples were collected during the ablation period of 2016 and 2017 from specified locations. The physical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, and temperature) were measured in the field while the analyses for concentrations of major cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺) and major anions (Cl⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, HCO₃ ⁻, NO₃ ⁻) were done in the laboratory. The anions (HCO₃ ⁻ > SO4²⁻ > Cl⁻ > NO₃ ⁻) and cations (Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > Na⁺ > K⁺) concentrations were observed to have similar trends for both of the ablation period. The statistical analysis shows the predominance of geological weathering processes in the catchment as the controlling factor for the variation in concentration of different ionic species. The catchment was found to be rich in rocks with carbonate mineral making the Ca²⁺ and HCO₃ ⁻ the most dominant ions in the glacial meltwater.

Original language	English
Article number	683
Number of pages	12
Journal	Environmental Earth Sciences
Volume	78
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8687-0
Publication status	Published - 3 Dec 2019

Bibliographical note

The research is a part of the research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India on Naradu Glacier. The support of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES/PAMC/H&C/61/2015-PCII, dated March 03, 2016) and Department of Science and Technology SB/DGH-92/2014 dated 19/12/2014 and DST/CCP/NHC/159/2018(G), dated March 28, 2019 through the research project on glacier sanctioned to Dr. Rajesh Kumar (the PI of the project) is thankfully acknowledged. Authors would also like to acknowledge the permission and support by Prof. Ravindra Kumar Sinha, Vice Chancellor, Nalanda Open University and Dr. Anupma Kumari, Environmental Biology Laboratory, Dept. of Zoology, Patna University for using their laboratory and their keen guidance during the chemical analysis of water samples.

Keywords

Anions
Carbonate weathering
Cations
Hydro-geochemistry
Naradu Glacier

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title = "Hydro-geochemical characteristics of glacial meltwater from Naradu Glacier catchment, Western Himalaya",

abstract = "The pattern of changing hydro-geochemical characteristics of water in Himalayan rivers is primarily controlled by sediment load from natural sources in higher altitudes and anthropogenic sources such as the burning of fossil fuels for domestic use, vehicular emissions, and wind transported industrial pollutants in the downstream region. The assessment of water quality is critical for the comparison of natural and anthropogenic sources in the downstream areas due to the dependence of the population on the glacial meltwater for freshwater supply. In the present study, we investigate the physical and ionic characteristics of glacial meltwater from Naradu Glacier catchment concerning the dominant weathering process. The freshwater samples were collected during the ablation period of 2016 and 2017 from specified locations. The physical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, and temperature) were measured in the field while the analyses for concentrations of major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+) and major anions (Cl−, SO4 2−, HCO3 −, NO3 −) were done in the laboratory. The anions (HCO3 − > SO42− > Cl− > NO3 −) and cations (Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+) concentrations were observed to have similar trends for both of the ablation period. The statistical analysis shows the predominance of geological weathering processes in the catchment as the controlling factor for the variation in concentration of different ionic species. The catchment was found to be rich in rocks with carbonate mineral making the Ca2+ and HCO3 − the most dominant ions in the glacial meltwater.",

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author = "Rajesh Kumar and Ramesh Kumar and Shaktiman Singh and Atar Singh and Anshuman Bhardwaj and Himanshu Chaudhary",

note = "The research is a part of the research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India on Naradu Glacier. The support of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES/PAMC/H&C/61/2015-PCII, dated March 03, 2016) and Department of Science and Technology SB/DGH-92/2014 dated 19/12/2014 and DST/CCP/NHC/159/2018(G), dated March 28, 2019 through the research project on glacier sanctioned to Dr. Rajesh Kumar (the PI of the project) is thankfully acknowledged. Authors would also like to acknowledge the permission and support by Prof. Ravindra Kumar Sinha, Vice Chancellor, Nalanda Open University and Dr. Anupma Kumari, Environmental Biology Laboratory, Dept. of Zoology, Patna University for using their laboratory and their keen guidance during the chemical analysis of water samples. ",

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AU - Kumar, Rajesh

AU - Kumar, Ramesh

AU - Singh, Shaktiman

AU - Singh, Atar

AU - Bhardwaj, Anshuman

AU - Chaudhary, Himanshu

N1 - The research is a part of the research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India on Naradu Glacier. The support of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES/PAMC/H&C/61/2015-PCII, dated March 03, 2016) and Department of Science and Technology SB/DGH-92/2014 dated 19/12/2014 and DST/CCP/NHC/159/2018(G), dated March 28, 2019 through the research project on glacier sanctioned to Dr. Rajesh Kumar (the PI of the project) is thankfully acknowledged. Authors would also like to acknowledge the permission and support by Prof. Ravindra Kumar Sinha, Vice Chancellor, Nalanda Open University and Dr. Anupma Kumari, Environmental Biology Laboratory, Dept. of Zoology, Patna University for using their laboratory and their keen guidance during the chemical analysis of water samples.

PY - 2019/12/3

Y1 - 2019/12/3

N2 - The pattern of changing hydro-geochemical characteristics of water in Himalayan rivers is primarily controlled by sediment load from natural sources in higher altitudes and anthropogenic sources such as the burning of fossil fuels for domestic use, vehicular emissions, and wind transported industrial pollutants in the downstream region. The assessment of water quality is critical for the comparison of natural and anthropogenic sources in the downstream areas due to the dependence of the population on the glacial meltwater for freshwater supply. In the present study, we investigate the physical and ionic characteristics of glacial meltwater from Naradu Glacier catchment concerning the dominant weathering process. The freshwater samples were collected during the ablation period of 2016 and 2017 from specified locations. The physical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, and temperature) were measured in the field while the analyses for concentrations of major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+) and major anions (Cl−, SO4 2−, HCO3 −, NO3 −) were done in the laboratory. The anions (HCO3 − > SO42− > Cl− > NO3 −) and cations (Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+) concentrations were observed to have similar trends for both of the ablation period. The statistical analysis shows the predominance of geological weathering processes in the catchment as the controlling factor for the variation in concentration of different ionic species. The catchment was found to be rich in rocks with carbonate mineral making the Ca2+ and HCO3 − the most dominant ions in the glacial meltwater.

AB - The pattern of changing hydro-geochemical characteristics of water in Himalayan rivers is primarily controlled by sediment load from natural sources in higher altitudes and anthropogenic sources such as the burning of fossil fuels for domestic use, vehicular emissions, and wind transported industrial pollutants in the downstream region. The assessment of water quality is critical for the comparison of natural and anthropogenic sources in the downstream areas due to the dependence of the population on the glacial meltwater for freshwater supply. In the present study, we investigate the physical and ionic characteristics of glacial meltwater from Naradu Glacier catchment concerning the dominant weathering process. The freshwater samples were collected during the ablation period of 2016 and 2017 from specified locations. The physical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, and temperature) were measured in the field while the analyses for concentrations of major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+) and major anions (Cl−, SO4 2−, HCO3 −, NO3 −) were done in the laboratory. The anions (HCO3 − > SO42− > Cl− > NO3 −) and cations (Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+) concentrations were observed to have similar trends for both of the ablation period. The statistical analysis shows the predominance of geological weathering processes in the catchment as the controlling factor for the variation in concentration of different ionic species. The catchment was found to be rich in rocks with carbonate mineral making the Ca2+ and HCO3 − the most dominant ions in the glacial meltwater.

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KW - Carbonate weathering

KW - Cations

KW - Hydro-geochemistry

KW - Naradu Glacier

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JO - Environmental Earth Sciences

JF - Environmental Earth Sciences

M1 - 683

ER -

Hydro-geochemical characteristics of glacial meltwater from Naradu Glacier catchment, Western Himalaya

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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