Abstract
Water resources are scarce in arid or semiarid areas; groundwater is an important water source to maintain residents’ lives and the social economy; and identifying the hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater and its seasonal changes is a prerequisite for sustainable use and protection of groundwater. This study takes the Hongjiannao Basin as an example, and the Piper diagram, the Gibbs diagram, the Gaillardet diagram, the Chlor-alkali index, the saturation index, and the ion ratio were used to analyze the hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater. Meanwhile, based on self-organizing maps (SOM), quantification error (QE), topological error (TE), and the K-means algorithm, groundwater chemical data analysis was carried out to explore its seasonal variability. The results show that (1) the formation of groundwater chemistry in the study area was controlled by water–rock interactions and cation exchange, and the hydrochemical facies were HCO3-Ca type, HCO3-Na type, and Cl-Na type. (2) Groundwater chemical composition was mainly controlled by silicate weathering and carbonate dissolution, and the dissolution of halite, gypsum, and fluorite dominated the contribution of ions, while most dolomite and calcite were in a precipitated state or were reactive minerals. (3) All groundwater samples in wet and dry seasons were divided into five clusters, and the hydrochemical facies of clusters 1, 2, and 3 were HCO3-Ca type; cluster 4 was HCO3-Na type; and cluster 5 was Cl-Na type. (4) Thirty samples changed in the same clusters, and the groundwater chemistry characteristics of nine samples showed obvious seasonal variability, while the seasonal changes of groundwater hydrogeochemical characteristics were not significant.
Highlights
Groundwater plays a crucial role in domestic and irrigation activities in arid–semiarid regions where surface water resources are short in supply or low in quality [1,2,3]
(2) Groundwater chemical composition was mainly controlled by silicate weathering and carbonate dissolution, and the dissolution of halite, gypsum, and fluorite dominated the contribution of ions, while most dolomite and calcite were in a precipitated state or were reactive minerals
Rapid urban and industrial growth has led to overexploitation of groundwater, causing increasingly prominent water-related problems in local areas [4,5]
Summary
Groundwater plays a crucial role in domestic and irrigation activities in arid–semiarid regions where surface water resources are short in supply or low in quality [1,2,3]. No studies on the characteristics and seasonal variability of the hydrogeochemical composition of the groundwater in this lake basin have been reported. The hydrogeochemical characteristics of the groundwater in the Hongjiannao Lake Basin were determined by analyzing samples collected during the rainy and dry seasons using techniques such as Piper, Gibbs, and Gaillardet diagrams; the chloro-alkaline indices (CAIs); the saturation index (SI); and ion ratio analysis. The seasonal variability of the hydrogeochemical characteristics of the groundwater in the study area was determined through correlation and cluster analysis of its hydrochemical parameters using SOMs, the quantization error (QE), the topological error (TE), and k-means clustering. The research approach introduced in this study can provide theoretical and technical support for investigating the seasonal variability of the hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater in similar areas. VVaarriiaattiioonn ooff tthhee aannnnuuaall pprreecciippiittaattiioonn aanndd eevvaappoorraattiioonn oovveerr aa mmuullttiiyyeeaarr ppeerriioodd
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