Damming effects on dissolved inorganic carbon in different kinds of reservoirs in Jialing River, Southwest China

Abstract

To assess the effects of river damming on dissolved inorganic carbon in the Jialing River, a total of 40 water samples, including inflow, outflow, and stratified water in four cascade reservoirs (Tingzikou, Xinzheng, Dongxiguan, Caojie) were collected in January and July, 2016. The major cations, anions, and δ13CDIC values were analyzed. It was found that the dissolved compositions are dominated by carbonate weathering, while sulfuric acids may play a relatively important role during carbonate weathering and increasing DIC concentration. Different reservoirs had variable characteristics of water physiochemical stratification. The DIC concentrations of reservoir water were lower in summer than those in winter due to the dilute effects and intensive aquatic photosynthesis, as well as imported tributaries. The δ13CDIC values in Tingzikou Reservoir were higher during summer than those in winter, which indicated that intensive photosynthesis increased the δ13CDIC values in residual water, but a similar trend was not obvious in other reservoirs. Except for in Xinzheng Reservoir, the δ13CDIC values in inflow and outflow reservoir water were lower than those in the surface water of stratified sampling in summer. For stratified sampling, it could be found that, in summer, the Tingzikou Reservoir δ13CDIC values significantly decreased with water depth due to the anaerobic breakdown of organic matter. The significant correlation (p < 0.01 or 0.05) between the DIC concentrations, the δ13CDIC values and anthropogenic species (Na++K+, Cl–, \({\text{SO}}_{4}^{2 - }\)and \({\text{NO}}_{3}^{ - }\)) showed that the isotope composition of DIC can be a useful tracer of contaminants. In total, Tingzikou Reservoir showed lacustrine features, Xinzheng Reservoir and Dongxiguan Reservoir had “transitional” features, and Caojie Reservoir had a total of “fluvial” features. Generally, cascade reservoirs in the Jialing River exhibited natural river features rather than typical lake features due to characteristics of reservoir water in physiochemical stratification, spatiotemporal variations of DIC concentrations and isotopic compositions. It is evident that the dissolved inorganic carbon dynamics of natural rivers had been partly remolded by dam building.