Seasonal changes in groundwater quality deterioration and chemometric analysis of pollution source identification in South India
- 31 May 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Environmental Science and Pollution Research
- Vol. 27 (16), 20037-20054
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08258-6
Abstract
Hydrogeochemical understanding of groundwater is essential for the effective management of groundwater. This study has been carried out to have concrete data for the seasonal variations in hydrogeochemistry of groundwater in central Tamilnadu forming a complex geological terrain with a varied lithology. A total of 244 groundwater samples were collected during four different seasons, viz, southwest monsoon (SWM), summer (SUM), postmonsoon (POM), and northeast monsoon (NEM) from bore wells. The physical parameters such as pH, temperature, TDS, ORP, humidity, and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured insitu, whereas major ions were analyzed in the lab adopting standard procedures. Overall, higher EC and NO3 values were observed and exceeded the WHO permissible limit irrespective of seasons, except for NO3 in SWM. Na and HCO3 are the dominant cation and anion in the groundwater irrespective of seasons. The highest average values of Na (65.06 mg L-1) and HCO3 (350.75 mg L-1) were noted during SWM. Statistical analysis was carried out to elucidate the hydrogeochemistry of the region. Initially, to understand the ionic relationship, correlation matrix was used followed by factor analysis for determination of major geochemical control and later factor scores were derived to understand the regional representations. An attempt has also been made to identify the samples influenced by multiple geochemical processes and to understand their spatial variation in the study period. Correlation of geochemical parameters reveals a excellent positive correlation between Ca and NO3 in SUM, SWM, and NEM due to the dominant of anthropogenic sources and minor influence of weathering process. Strongly loaded factor scores are found to be mostly in the following order POM > NEM > SWM > SUM. Principal component analysis of different seasons indicates the interplay of natural weathering and anthropogenic factors. Overall, the predominant geochemical processes in this region, irrespective of seasons are weathering and, ion exchange and anthropogenic activities.Keywords
Funding Information
- Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (2012/35/12/BRNS/1918)
This publication has 66 references indexed in Scilit:
- Assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation use in Alathur Block, Perambalur District, Tamilnadu, South IndiaApplied Water Science, 2013
- Identification of the geochemical processes in groundwater by factor analysis in hard rock aquifers of Madurai District, South IndiaArabian Journal of Geosciences, 2013
- Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Groundwater Chemistry in a Small Tropical Island of MalaysiaInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2013
- Geochemical modeling of groundwater in the El Eulma area, AlgeriaDesalination and Water Treatment, 2013
- Impacts of seawater intrusion on soil salinity and alkalinity in Bafra Plain, TurkeyEnvironmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2012
- Applying Factor Analysis Combined with Kriging and Information Entropy Theory for Mapping and Evaluating the Stability of Groundwater Quality Variation in TaiwanInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2011
- Hydrochemical profile for assessing the groundwater quality of Sambhar lake City and its Adjoining areaEnvironmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2010
- Evaluation of regional groundwater quality using PCA and geostatistics in the urban coastal aquifer, East Coast of IndiaInternational Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2010
- Anaerobic, Nitrate-Dependent Oxidation of U(IV) Oxide Minerals by the Chemolithoautotrophic Bacterium Thiobacillus denitrificansApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2005
- Hydrologic and geologic factors controlling surface and groundwater chemistry in Indian Wells-Owens Valley area, southeastern California, USAJournal of Hydrology, 2003