Spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry, source identification and health risks in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau
Groundwater pollution of the loess plateau regions has become a global concern due to its vulnerability to natural and anthropogenic influences. In this study, 146 water samples were investigated to identify the spatiotemporal variability in groundwater chemistry, pollution sources and nitrate healt...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324015057 |
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| author | Zijun Li Qingchun Yang Chuan Xie Hongyun Ma Bin Wu Yanli Wang |
| author_facet | Zijun Li Qingchun Yang Chuan Xie Hongyun Ma Bin Wu Yanli Wang |
| author_sort | Zijun Li |
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| description | Groundwater pollution of the loess plateau regions has become a global concern due to its vulnerability to natural and anthropogenic influences. In this study, 146 water samples were investigated to identify the spatiotemporal variability in groundwater chemistry, pollution sources and nitrate health risks in two interconnected river basins of a typical loess region. The results showed that except for bicarbonate, spatiotemporal variability of hydrochemical components in Malian River Basin (ML) was generally greater than that in Upper Jinghe River basin (JH-U) due to the hydrogeological conditions, and the hydrochemical facies in two river basins transformed from SO4·Cl and Cl·SO4 types to HCO3 and HCO3·SO4 types. The results of integrated-weight quality index (IWQI) showed that 77.8 % (1970s), 33.3 % (2004), 34.3 % (2015) of samples in ML exceeded the standard limits of Class IV groundwater quality, displaying a high pollution level with an improvement trend, while groundwater quality in JH-U indicated a very low pollution level with a deterioration trend. The geogenic source was identified as a main factor affecting groundwater quality, with contributions of 59.2 % and 48.7 % in JH-U and ML (2015), respectively. The anthropogenic sources including agricultural activities (20.7 % and 21.8 % in JH-U and ML) and coal mining activities (20.1 % and 29.5 % in JH-U and ML) also played a role in affecting groundwater quality. The nitrate health risk assessment demonstrated that 39.1 % and 20.3 % of groundwater samples (2015) significantly exceeded the standard threshold (Hazard Index = 1), implying a higher health risk to children than adults, and the nitrate health risk in ML was obviously greater than that in JH-U. This study provides novel insight into the spatiotemporal variability in groundwater chemistry, quality and health risk in loess regions under the influence of geogenic and anthropogenic factors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2f0c7ebf28404cab988fa59dafa0c59e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0147-6513 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety |
| spelling | doaj-art-2f0c7ebf28404cab988fa59dafa0c59e2025-01-23T05:25:30ZengElsevierEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety0147-65132025-01-01289117429Spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry, source identification and health risks in the southern Chinese Loess PlateauZijun Li0Qingchun Yang1Chuan Xie2Hongyun Ma3Bin Wu4Yanli Wang5School of Geographical Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China; Hebei Key Laboratory of Environment Change and Ecological Construction, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China; Hebei Technology Innovation Center for Remote Sensing Identification of Environmental Change Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, ChinaKey Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China; Corresponding authors.Geothermal Institute, Hebei Hydrological Engineering Geology Survey, Shijiazhuang 050000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Groundwater and Ecology in Arid and Semi-arid Areas, Xi’an Center of Geological Survey, CGS, Xi’an 710054, ChinaTechnical Centre for Soil, Agriculture and Rural Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100012, PR China; Corresponding authors.Limited Company of Beijing Satellite Manufacturing Factory, Beijing 100094, PR ChinaGroundwater pollution of the loess plateau regions has become a global concern due to its vulnerability to natural and anthropogenic influences. In this study, 146 water samples were investigated to identify the spatiotemporal variability in groundwater chemistry, pollution sources and nitrate health risks in two interconnected river basins of a typical loess region. The results showed that except for bicarbonate, spatiotemporal variability of hydrochemical components in Malian River Basin (ML) was generally greater than that in Upper Jinghe River basin (JH-U) due to the hydrogeological conditions, and the hydrochemical facies in two river basins transformed from SO4·Cl and Cl·SO4 types to HCO3 and HCO3·SO4 types. The results of integrated-weight quality index (IWQI) showed that 77.8 % (1970s), 33.3 % (2004), 34.3 % (2015) of samples in ML exceeded the standard limits of Class IV groundwater quality, displaying a high pollution level with an improvement trend, while groundwater quality in JH-U indicated a very low pollution level with a deterioration trend. The geogenic source was identified as a main factor affecting groundwater quality, with contributions of 59.2 % and 48.7 % in JH-U and ML (2015), respectively. The anthropogenic sources including agricultural activities (20.7 % and 21.8 % in JH-U and ML) and coal mining activities (20.1 % and 29.5 % in JH-U and ML) also played a role in affecting groundwater quality. The nitrate health risk assessment demonstrated that 39.1 % and 20.3 % of groundwater samples (2015) significantly exceeded the standard threshold (Hazard Index = 1), implying a higher health risk to children than adults, and the nitrate health risk in ML was obviously greater than that in JH-U. This study provides novel insight into the spatiotemporal variability in groundwater chemistry, quality and health risk in loess regions under the influence of geogenic and anthropogenic factors.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324015057Groundwater chemistrySpatiotemporal variabilitySource identificationNitrate health risk assessmentStable isotope analysis |
| spellingShingle | Zijun Li Qingchun Yang Chuan Xie Hongyun Ma Bin Wu Yanli Wang Spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry, source identification and health risks in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Groundwater chemistry Spatiotemporal variability Source identification Nitrate health risk assessment Stable isotope analysis |
| title | Spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry, source identification and health risks in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_full | Spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry, source identification and health risks in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry, source identification and health risks in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry, source identification and health risks in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_short | Spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry, source identification and health risks in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title_sort | spatiotemporal variability of groundwater chemistry source identification and health risks in the southern chinese loess plateau |
| topic | Groundwater chemistry Spatiotemporal variability Source identification Nitrate health risk assessment Stable isotope analysis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324015057 |
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