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      Permanent link:
      https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jess/121/03/0625-0636

    • Keywords

       

      Hydrochemistry; weathering; Gangotri Glacier; Himalaya.

    • Abstract

       

      A detailed analytical study of major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+) and anions (SO$^{2−}_{4}$, HCO$^{−}_{3}$, Cl−, NO$^{−}_{3}$) of meltwater draining from Gangotri Glacier was carried out to understand major ion chemistry and to get an insight into geochemical weathering processes controlling hydrochemistry of the glacier. In the meltwater, the abundance order of cations and anions varied as follows: Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ > Na+ and SO$^{2−}_{4}$ > HCO$^{−}_{3}$ < Cl− > NO$^{−}_{3}$, respectively. Calcium and magnesium are dominant cations while sulphate and bicarbonate are dominant anions. Weathering of rocks is the dominant mechanism controlling the hydrochemistry of drainage basin. The relative high contribution of (Ca+Mg) to the total cations (TZ+), high (Ca+Mg)/(Na+K) ratio (2.63) and low (Na+K)/TZ+ ratio (0.29) indicate the dominance of carbonate weathering as a major source for dissolved ions in the glacier meltwater. Sulphide oxidation and carbonation are the main proton supplying geochemical reactions controlling the rock weathering in the study area. Statistical analysis was done to identify various factors controlling the dissolved ionic strength of Gangotri Glacier meltwater.

    • Author Affiliations

       

      Virendra Bahadur Singh1 A L Ramanathan1 Jose George Pottakkal1 Parmanand Sharma1 Anurag Linda1 Mohd Farooq Azam1 C Chatterjee1

      1. School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110 067, India.

    • Dates

       
      Published
      June 2012
      Manuscript received
      10 March 2011
      Manuscript revised
      8 December 2011
      Accepted
      20 December 2011

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