Abstract
The utilization for water resource has been of great concern to human life. To assess the natural water system in Kangding County, the integrated methods of hydrochemical analysis, multivariate statistics and geochemical modelling were conducted on surface water, groundwater, and thermal water samples. Surface water and groundwater were dominated by Ca-HCO3 type, while thermal water belonged to Ca-HCO3 and Na-Cl-SO4 types. The analyzing results concluded the driving factors that affect hydrochemical components. Following the results of the combined assessments, hydrochemical process was controlled by the dissolution of carbonate and silicate minerals with slight influence from anthropogenic activity. The mixing model of groundwater and thermal water was calculated using silica-enthalpy method, yielding cold-water fraction of 0.56–0.79 and an estimated reservoir temperature of 130–199 °C, respectively. δD and δ18O isotopes suggested that surface water, groundwater and thermal springs were of meteoric origin. Thermal water should have deep circulation through the Xianshuihe fault zone, while groundwater flows through secondary fractures where it recharges with thermal water. Those analytical results were used to construct a hydrological conceptual model, providing a better understanding of the natural water system in Kangding County.
Highlights
Water is an incredibly important resource, and has significant uses in agriculture, industry and domestic use
We investigated the occurrence of fractures, interpreted hydrochemical characteristics, and conducted δD and δ18 O isotopic analysis for surface water, groundwater, and thermal water
Surface water and groundwater are dominated by Ca-HCO3 type, while thermal water belongs
Summary
Water is an incredibly important resource, and has significant uses in agriculture, industry and domestic use. Water quality is determined by the hydrochemistry affected by different hydrochemical processes. Hydrochemical processes are determined by natural physical-chemical activities, e.g., ion exchange, mineral dissolution and precipitation, water-rock interaction, and redox transformation [5,6,7]. Hydrochemical analysis [8,9], multivariate statistical analysis [10,11], and geochemical modelling [12,13] have proven to be efficient for constraining the hydrochemical process of natural. The ratios of major ions provide critical clues to explain different hydrochemical processes of water resource [14,15]. Geochemical modelling using saturation index can specify mineral precipitation and dissolution in natural water system [18,19]. Geochemical modelling using saturation index can specify mineral precipitation and dissolution in natural water system [18,19]. δD and δ18 O isotopes are ideal tracers for the source and pathways of groundwater recharge [20,21,22]
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