Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 649, Issue -, Pages 571-581Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.316
Keywords
Rivers; Water chemistry; Trace elements; Tibetan Plateau
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [41807346, 41721091]
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science [SKLCS-ZZ-2017]
- Academy of Finland [268170]
- Startup Foundation for Introducing Talent of NUIST [2018r001]
- Academy of Finland (AKA) [268170, 268170] Funding Source: Academy of Finland (AKA)
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As the Water Tower of Asia, rivers originating from the Tibetan Plateau provide water resources for more than one billion residents in both its local and surrounding areas. With respect to the essential role that this region plays in terms of water resources in Asia, we provide an overview of the mechanisms governing the water quality, including the major ions and trace elements release, in eleven rivers of the Tibetan Plateau. Overall, the rivers running on the Tibetan Plateau reflect an alkaline aquatic environment, with an average pH of 8.5; and the total dissolved solids (TDS, -339 mg L-1)are much higher than the global average value. Over 80% of the water ionic budget in the rivers of the plateau is comprised of Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO(3)(- )and SO42-. The main mechanisms that control the river water chemistry on the Tibetan Plateau are natural processes and present a visible spatial heterogeneity. For instance, in rivers of the southern Tibetan Plateau, the water quality is mainly controlled by the rock-weathering, while rivers of the central and northern Tibetan Plateau are also largely affected by evaporation-crystallization processes. In general, most of the rivers on the Tibetan Plateau are uncontaminated and still in a pristine condition. However, it should be noted that due to the natural process such as rock-weathering and groundwater leaching, and anthropogenic activities such as urbanization and mining operations, the concentrations of several toxic elements (e.g., As, Cd, Pb, Mn, Hg and TI) in some of the basins are higher than the China national standard (GB) and the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water. With increasing anthropogenic activities on the plateau and changes in the river basins, it is necessary to conduct the long-term monitoring of the river water chemistry of this dimate-sensitive and eco-fragile region. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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