Prevalence of rare earth elements in natural waters of Khanty-Mansiysk

Abstract

Relevance. New data on the content of lanthanides in the water–rock system are important for understanding the behavior of rare-earth elements in the environment, open up the possibility of using them as indicators of geochemical processes and anthropogenic factor, taking into account the specialities of their migration and fractionation. Aim. Assessment of the quantitative content and distribution of rare-earth elements (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu) in the surface and underground waters of Khanty-Mansiysk to identify the main patterns of their behavior. Objects. Surface and underground waters of the natural reserve Samarovsky Chugas, as well as ground deposits and products of secondary mineral formation. Methods. The bulk analysis of water is performed by a standard set of spectral and electrochemical methods. The rare-earth content was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Chemical composition of ground deposits and secondary mineral formation products – by neutron activation analysis. Results. The paper demonstrates rare-earth elements behavior in aqueous medium, ground deposits and products of secondary mineral formation. Different approaches to rare-earth elements rationing in waters and solid sediments showed comparability of lanthanide distribution spectra to each other and made it possible to identify some features of the rare-earth elements distribution pattern in different environments. In the waters, there are positive anomalies of europium and gadolinium and negative anomaly of cesium. Gadolinium anomalies were detected in ground deposits, and europium in secondary mineral formation products. The high migration activity of the entire considered series of rare-earth elements in the solution coming from the holding deposits was established. During following geochemical processes, mainly middle lanthanides (Sm, Eu, Gd, and Tb) fall out of the solution in the form of secondary mineral formation products.