Concentration and Distribution of Major Macro and Microelements In
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ISSN 00978078, Water Resources, 2015, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 340–351. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2015. Original Russian Text © A.V. Puzanov, S.V. Baboshkina, I.V. Gorbachev, 2015, published in Vodnye Resursy, 2015, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 298–310. WATER QUALITY AND PROTECTION: ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS Concentration and Distribution of Major Macro and Microelements in Surface Waters in the Altai A. V. Puzanov, S. V. Baboshkina, and I. V. Gorbachev Institute for Water and Environmental Problems, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Molodezhnaya 1, Barnaul, 656011 Russia email: [email protected], [email protected] Received March 26, 2013 − 2− – 2+ 2+ + + − − 3 ⎯ Abstract—The macroelement (HCO3 , SO4 , Cl , Ca , Mg , Na + K , as well as NO3, NO2, and PO4 ) and microelement (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, and V) composition of natural waters in different physiographical provinces of the Altai have been studied and characterized. It has been found that the con centrations of dissolved forms of metals in the waters of the examined rivers generally do not exceed the MACwm, though in some cases, they exceed the world averages and depend on the features of water nourish ment of rivers and the concentrations of mineral salts in water. A considerable portion of metals in Altai sur face waters has been found to be transported as a component of suspension, though the specific concentration of metals in suspension decreases with increasing water turbidity. The effect of the structure and properties of the soil cover on the drainage basins of various physiographic provinces of the Altai on surface water chemistry is most distinct in the case of macrocomponents and typomorphic elements (Fe, Mn, Ca), as well as under anthropogenic impact on the watershed. Keywords: surface waters, watershed, water chemistry, microelements, major macroions, dissolved forms, suspended forms, Altai DOI: 10.1134/S009780781503015X INTRODUCTION The objective of this work is to study the concentra The presentday scientific approach to studying tions and distributions of macro and microelements hydrological and hydrochemical processes in natural in the water–suspended matter system in surface waters implies the recognition of water objects as a com waters of the Altai, taking into account the bio ponent of geographic landscape. When studying the geochemical features of river drainage basins in differ formation mechanisms of the quality of natural surface ent physiographic provinces. Examined in this work waters, the researcher has to take into account that their are small and medium rivers of the Northern, North chemistry is governed by geomorphological and litho eastern, Eastern, Northwestern, and PreAltai prov logical features of drainage basins and the composition inces of the Altai [26], as well as the major types of soils and properties of soils and soilforming rocks and of accumulative and transaccumulative landscapes closely related with the zonal features of soil formation and their drainage areas. and the extent of anthropogenic load onto the environ In the Northern Altai, major tributaries of the ment and superaqual landscapes. The study should be Katun R. in its lower reaches, i.e., the rivers of Sema focused not only on the river channel or lake bed alone, (and its tributary—the Muna R.) and Chemal, as well but also on the relationship between the water body or as the Edigan and Elekmonar were studied. More stream and its drainage basin. detailed studies were focused on the tributary of the A vast body of field data on the concentrations of Katun R.—the Maima R. and its tributaries—the riv heavy metals in natural waters has been accumulated ers of the mediummountain (Biryulya, Saidys, by now [10, 14, 17, 31]. The fundamental works for Imerya) and lowmountain (Malaya Siul’ta, Ulala) assessing the migration of chemical elements in water belts. The rivers of the Charysh basin (Belaya, Inya, are the studies of V.I. Vernadsky [4] and A.I. Perel’man Sosnovka, and Maralikha) were studied in the North [19]. The authors of [16] believe that the microele western Altai province; and the Alei R. was studied in ment composition of continental water is worst known the PreAltai province (Fig. 1). among natural objects. The effect of soil cover struc Since the hydrochemical features of surface waters ture and the biogeochemical status of drainage area on are determined, primarily, by the peculiarities of the the physicochemical composition of surface waters is landscape–biogeochemical conditions on the drain also rarely mentioned in the literature. age areas, we will consider the governing factors of 340 CONCENTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF MAJOR MACRO AND MICROELEMENTS 341 N Rivers Lakes W E Biya R. S . i R le Ob R. A Katun R. M R Isha R. sh ai Kamga R. y m 2 ar 7 T h a C e R 3 . l e Kokshi R. 1 . R t h s s k 4 y R. oe 6 Maralikha R. 5 m r a o L S S . e Elekmonar R. ld . m o R Kyga R. Sosnovka R. a K ili . R h Ch R . C ul . Chemal R. i y a o s y R h a h m l s a a l' n e y Edigan R. o R B n . I . B R Charysh R. k le Alei R. e t n K e a S t un R . 100000 0 100000 200000 300000 km Fig. 1. Study objects—streams and water bodies in PreAltai, Northwestern, Northern, and Northeastern provinces of the Altai. Rivers: (1) Malaya Siul’ta R., (2) Ulala, (3) Saidys, (4) Biryulya, (5) Imerya, Sema ((6) Muny), Isha ((7) Malaya Isha). their formation in the basins of individual model riv areas, functioning and abandoned mining and process ers. The Northeastern Altai is the warmest and wettest ing plants, which serve as sources of uncontrollable and province [26]. In its part near Teletskoe Lake, longterm supply of heavy metals into the environment mediummountain flattopped areas, occupied by in the river basin [21]. cedarfir forests with mountainforest brown and per The mediumsize mountains in the central North mafrosttaiga soils alternate with vast, partially ern Altai are covered by mixed birch–aspen and fir– swampy depressions. The hydrological regime of aspen forests (the upper reaches of the Biryulya and Teletskoe Lake is determined by a considerable effect Saidys rivers), while larch park forests on blackearth of the drainage basin—the ratio of water area to drain like soils dominate in the southern part of the province age area is 1 : 90 (for the Baikal, it is 1 : 17 [24]). The (Sema R.). A quarter of the province area is under anthropogenic load onto the landscapes of the taiga steppes and steppe meadows on podzolized and near Lake Teletskoye is not very high. Lowmountain leached black earths; considerable areas here are landscapes with black highgrass forests on moun ploughed or used as hayfields or pastures (Maima R. tain–forest gray soils dominate in the northwestern basin). In their lower reaches, the rivers of the North part of the Northeastern Altai Province (the rivers of ern Altai drain landscapes, which are mostly subject to Isha and Malaya Isha), depressions are occupied by the effect of agriculture. river valleys or bogs [20, 26]. Water samples were taken at the mouthparts of Accumulative and piedmont drysteppe plains with rivers during summer lowwater period of 2007 and common and southern black earths, mostly ploughed, during spring flood of 2010, according to [8, 9]. The dominate in the landscape structure of the Alei R. basin samples were taken into clear polyethylene vessels, (Northwestern Altai and PreAltai Province). In addi filtered through a membrane filter, preserved by tion, the landscapes of the Alei R. watershed experience HNO3 (2 mL per 0.5 L) according to procedure [18], considerable anthropogenic load from industrial urban and transported in dark containers. WATER RESOURCES Vol. 42 No. 3 2015 342 PUZANOV et al. Table 1. Mean concentration of major cations and anions, mg/kg, and pH in river waters in different Altai provinces (given above the line is the mean ± error of the mean, below the line is the coefficient of variations, %; here and in Tables 2–4, bold typed are maximal values) 2− − Cl– 2− Ca2+ Mg2+ − − 3− pH CO3 HCO3 SO4 NO3 NO2 PPO4 Northern Altai 1.4± 0.2 ± 20 5.6± 0.4 4.5± 0.3 ± 3 ± 2 ± 0.2 ± 0.018 0.035± 0.002 7.1± 0.1 179 29 12 1.6 0.031 54 40 24 21 36 67 46 208 24 3 Northeastern and Eastern Altai 82± 7 4.8± 0.2 4.8± 0.3 16± 2 6.5± 1.9 0.8± 0.1 0.023± 0.002 7.1± 0.1 <3 <0.003 31 17 25 48 102 36 37 4 Northwestern and PreAltai provinces 6.3± 1.7 ± 30 ± 3.1 ± 1.8 ± 4 ± 1 0.9± 0.3 ± 0.020 0.044± 8 ± 0.2 182 9.6 6.3 22 15 0.050 7.7 <3–15 52 102 91 62 78 108 137 56 6 The macroion composition of surface water and variation of this characteristic within individual phys aqueous extracts from soils (1 : 5) was determined by iographic areas is insignificant (Cv < 40%), while vari standard procedures with titrimetric completion [1]. ation of the concentrations of various cations and The concentration of mineral nitrogencontaining anions, especially, watersoluble mineral phosphorus substances and phosphates was determined with (in the form of phosphates), nitrates, and nitrites is photocolorimetric completion; water pH was deter more significant. mined by potentiometry. The concentrations of microelements (As, Cd, Cu, The main feature in the runoff formation of small Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cr, Co, and V) were determined rivers is its close relationship with the biogeochemi in the Chemical Analytical Center, IWEP SB RAS by cal properties of the basin landscape.