Evaluation of hydrogeochemical processes in the Pleistocene aquifers of Middle Ganga Plain, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Authors: | Janardhana Raju Nandimandalam |
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| Institution: | (1) School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110 067, India |
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| Abstract: | Evaluation of major ion chemistry and solute acquisition process controlling water chemical composition were studied by collecting
a total of fifty-one groundwater samples in shallow (<25 m) and deep aquifer (>25 m) in the Varanasi area. Hydrochemical facies,
Mg-HCO3 dominated in the largest part of shallow groundwater followed by Na-HCO3 and Ca-HCO3 whereas Ca-HCO3 is dominated in deep groundwater followed by Mg-HCO3 and Na-HCO3. High As concentration (>50 μg/l) is found in some of the villages situated in northeastern parts (i.e. adjacent to the concave
part of the meandering Ganga river) of the Varanasi area. Arsenic contamination is confined mostly in tube wells (hand pump)
within the Holocene newer alluvium deposits, whereas older alluvial aquifers are having arsenic free groundwater. Geochemical
modeling using WATEQ4F enabled prediction of saturation state of minerals and indicated dissolution and precipitation reactions
occurring in groundwater. Majority of shallow and deep groundwater samples of the study area are oversaturated with carbonate
bearing minerals and under-saturated with respect to sulfur and amorphous silica bearing minerals. Sluggish hydraulic conductivity
in shallow aquifer results in higher mineralization of groundwater than in deep aquifer. But the major processes in deep aquifer
are leakage of shallow aquifer followed by dominant ion-exchange and weathering of silicate minerals. |
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