Abstract
Tongling is a significant non-ferrous metal mining city in China, which produces waste that negatively impacts the area’s water environment. It is essential to comprehend the hydrochemical properties and formation processes of groundwater to safeguard and utilize it efficiently. We explored major ions, strontium, and its isotopes in water and river-bottom samples from the northern (i.e., A-A’ section) and southern (i.e., B-B’ section) areas. The hydrochemical facies show the mining activities have a greater impact on surface water than on groundwater. Groundwater hydrochemical formation results from several factors, with water–rock interaction and ion exchange being primary. Additionally, the dissolution of calcite, dolomite, and feldspar, oxidation of pyrite, and hydrolysis of carbonate minerals also impact the formation of groundwater chemistry. Our analysis of strontium and its isotopes indicates that carbonate dissolution primarily occurred in the recharge area; the runoff from the recharge to the discharge area results in the dissolution of certain silicate rocks; calcite dissolution sources account for > 70% contribution in both surface water and groundwater water–rock interactions, whereas silicate rock dissolution sources and dolomite dissolution sources account for < 30%. Due to changed order of dissolved carbonate and silicate minerals during groundwater flow, the distribution of strontium and its isotopes in the A-A’ section is opposite to that in the B-B’ section. The findings provide a basis for developing, utilizing, managing, and protecting groundwater resources, especially in similar mining areas.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot be shared at this time as the data also forms part of an ongoing study.
References
Abdelazeem M, Salem ZE, Fathy MS, Saleh M (2020) Impact of lithofacies and structures on the hydrogeochemistry of the lower Miocene Aquifer at Moghra Oasis, North Western Desert, Egypt. Nat Resour Res 29:3789–3817. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-020-09679-3
Adams S, Titus R, Pietersen K, Tredoux G, Harris C (2001) Hydrochemical characteristics of aquifers near Sutherland in the Western Karoo, South Africa. J Hydrol 241:91–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(00)00370-X
Akcil A, Koldas S (2006) Acid mine drainage (AMD): causes, treatment and case studies. J Clean Prod 14:1139–1145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.09.006
Bhakar P, Singh AP (2018) Groundwater quality assessment in a hyper-arid region of Rajasthan, India. Nat Resour Res 28:505–522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-018-9405-4
Capo RC, Stewart BW, Chadwick OA (1998) Strontium isotopes as tracers of ecosystem processes: theory and methods. Geoderma 82:197–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(97)00102-X
Eikenberg J, Tricca A, Vezzu G, Stille P, Bajo S, Ruethi M (2001) 228Ra/226Ra/224Ra and 87Sr/86Sr isotope relationships for determining interactions between ground and river water in the upper Rhine valley. J Environ Radioact 54:133–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0265-931x(00)00171-5
Gaillardet J, Dupre B, Allegre CJ, Négrel P (1997) Chemical and physical denudation in the Amazon River Basin. Chem Geol 142:141–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0009-2541(97)00074-0
Gaillardet J, Dupre B, Louvat P, Allegre CJ (1999) Global silicate weathering and CO2 consumption rates deduced from the chemistry of large rivers. Chem Geol 159:3–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2541(99)00031-5
General Administration of Quality Supervision (2017) Standard for groundwater quality, GB/T14848—2017. Standards Press of China, Beijing, China (in Chinese)
Gibbs RJ (1970) Mechanisms controlling world water chemistry. Science 170:1088–1090. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.170.3962.1088
Hajkowicz SA, Heyenga S, Moffat K (2011) The relationship between mining and socio-economic well being in Australia’s regions. Resour Policy 36:30–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2010.08.007
Hem JD (1985) Study and interpretation of the chemical characteristics of natural water. US Geological Survey Water, Reston, VA
Hounslow AW (1995) Water quality data: analysis and interpretation. CRC Press, New York
Junbing PU, Daoxian Y, Cheng Z, Heping Z (2012) Identifying the sources of solutes in Karst groundwater in Chongqing, China: a combined sulfate and strontium isotope approach. Acta Geol Sin - English Edition 86:980–992. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-6724.2012.00722.x
Keesari T, Kulkarni UP, Deodhar A, Ramanjaneyulu PS, Sanjukta AK, Saravana Kumar U (2013) Geochemical characterization of groundwater from an arid region in India. Environ Earth Sci 71:4869–4888. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2878-x
Keesari T, Roy A, Mohokar H, Pant D, Sinha UK (2019) Characterization of mechanisms and processes controlling groundwater recharge and its quality in drought-prone region of Central India (Buldhana, Maharashtra) using isotope hydrochemical and end-member mixing modeling. Nat Resour Res 29:1951–1973. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-019-09550-0
Keesari T, Sabarathinam C, Sinha UK, Pethaperumal, R T, Kamaraj P (2022) Fate and transport of strontium in groundwater from a layered sedimentary aquifer system. Chemosphere 307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136015
Kumar SK, Rammohan V, Sahayam JD, Jeevanandam M (2009) Assessment of groundwater quality and hydrogeochemistry of Manimuktha River basin, Tamil Nadu, India. Environ Monit Assess 159:341–351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0633-7
Lagos G, Blanco E (2010) Mining and development in the region of Antofagasta. Resour Policy 35:265–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2010.07.006
Lang Y, Liu C, Han G, Zhao Z, Li S (2005) Characterization of water-rock interaction and pollution of karstic hydrological system: a study on water chemistry and sr isotope of surface/ground water of the guiyang area. Quat Sci 655–662 https://doi.org/10.3321/j.issn:1001-7410.2005.05.015. (in Chinese)
Li X, Dong DL, Lin G, Yan RW, Li SQ (2020) Water use for energy production and conversion in Hebei Province, China. Front Energy Res 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2020.558536
Lin Y, Ren HX, Wu YZ, Cao FL, Jia FJ, Qu PC (2019) The evolution of hydrogeochemical characteristics of a typical piedmont karst groundwater system in a coal-mining area, Northern China. Environ Earth Sci 78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8563-y
Liu YL, Jin MG, Wang JJ (2018) Insights into groundwater salinization from hydrogeochemical and isotopic evidence in an arid inland basin. Hydrol Process 32:3108–3127. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13243
Liu Q, Wang G, Zhang F (2004) Geochemical environment of trace element strontium (Sr) enriched in mineral waters. Hydrogeol Eng Geol 19–23 (in Chinese)
Liu H, Huang S, Hu Z, Wu M, Wang Q (2007) Advances of strontium isotope in sedimentology. Lithologic Reservoirs 19:59–65. (in Chinese)
Liu J, Wu J, Feng W, Li X (2020) Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in water bodies around typical copper mines in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124315
Lorens RB (1981) Sr, Cd, Mn and Co distribution coefficients in calcite as a function of calcite precipitation rate. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 45:553–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(81)90188-5
Lyons WB, Tyler SW, Gaudette HE, Long DT (1995) The use of strontium isotopes in determining groundwater mixing and brine fingering in a playa spring zone, Lake Tyrrell, Australia. J Hydrol 167:225–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(94)02601-7
Maliva RG (1998) Skeletal aragonite neomorphism — quantitative modelling of a two-water diagenetic system. Sed Geol 121:179–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(98)00080-3
Maliva RG, Missimer TM, Walker CW, Owosina ES, Dickson JAD, Fallick AE (2001) Carbonate diagenesis in a high transmissivity coastal aquifer, Biscayne Aquifer, southeastern Florida, USA. Sed Geol 143:287–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(01)00104-X
McKay J, Lenczewski M, Leal-Bautista RM (2020) Characterization of flowpath using geochemistry and 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios in the Yalahau Region, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Water 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092587
Meybeck M (1987) Global chemical weathering of surficial rocks estimated from river dissolved loads. Am J Sci 287:401–428. https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.287.5.401
Ministry of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China (2021) Methods for analysis of groundwater quality—Part 49: determination of carbonate, bicarbonate ions, hydroxy—Titration, DZ/T0064.49–2021. Geological Publishing House, Beijing, China. (in Chinese)
Moye J, Picard-Lesteven T, Zouhri L, El Amari K, Hibti M, Benkaddour A (2017) Groundwater assessment and environmental impact in the abandoned mine of Kettara (Morocco). Environ Pollut 231:899–907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.07.044
Mu WP, Wu X, Wu C, Hao Q, Deng RC, Qian C (2021) Hydrochemical and environmental isotope characteristics of groundwater in the Hongjiannao Lake Basin, Northwestern China. Environ Earth Sci 80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09281-z
Musgrove M (2021) The occurrence and distribution of strontium in U.S. groundwater. Appl Geochem 126:104867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2020.104867
Négrel P (2006) Water–granite interaction: clues from strontium, neodymium and rare earth elements in soil and waters. Appl Geochem 21:1432–1454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2006.04.007
Okeke HC, Okoyeh EI, Utom AU, Anike OL, Enekwechi EK (2014) Evaluation of the physico-chemical properties of groundwater from shallow wells in Enugu town, Nigeria. Environ Earth Sci 73:325–332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3427-y
Palmer MR, Edmond JM (1992) Controls over the strontium isotope composition of river water. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 56:2099–2111. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(92)90332-d
Piper AM (1944) A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water-analyses. Trans Am Geophys Union 25. https://doi.org/10.1029/TR025i006p00914
Qian C, Wu X, Mu WP, Fu RZ, Zhu G, Wang ZR, Wang DD (2016) Hydrogeochemical characterization and suitability assessment of groundwater in an agro-pastoral area, Ordos Basin, NW China. Environ Earth Sci 75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-6123-2
Ren XH, Gao ZJ, An YH, Liu JT, Wu X, He MH, Feng JG (2020) Hydrochemical and isotopic characteristics of groundwater in the Jiuquan East Basin, China. Arab J Geosci 13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05573-7
Santoni S, Huneau F, Garel E, Aquilina L, Vergnaud-Ayraud V, Labasque T, Celle-Jeanton H (2016) Strontium isotopes as tracers of water-rocks interactions, mixing processes and residence time indicator of groundwater within the granite-carbonate coastal aquifer of Bonifacio (Corsica, France). Sci Total Environ 573:233–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.08.087
Schoeller H (1965) Qualitative evaluation of groundwater resources. Methods and techniques of groundwater investigations and development. UNESCO Water Resour Ser 33:44–52
Shand P, Darbyshire DPF, Love AJ, Edmunds WM (2009) Sr isotopes in natural waters: applications to source characterisation and water-rock interaction in contrasting landscapes. Appl Geochem 24:574–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2008.12.011
Wu J, Li P, Qian H, Duan Z, Zhang X (2013) Using correlation and multivariate statistical analysis to identify hydrogeochemical processes affecting the major ion chemistry of waters: a case study in Laoheba phosphorite mine in Sichuan, China. Arab J Geosci 7:3973–3982. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-1057-4
Wu WJ, Zhou JS, Niu JY, Lv HD (2021) Study on coupling between mineral resources exploitation and the mining ecological environment in Shanxi Province. Environ Dev Sustain 23:13261–13283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01209-8
Wu C, Wu X, Zhu G, Qian C, Mu WP, Zhang YZ (2018) Influence of a power plant in Ezhou City on the groundwater environment in the nearby area. Environ Earth Sci 77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7674-1
Wu C, Wu X, Mu WP, Zhu G (2020) Using isotopes (H, O, and Sr) and major ions to identify hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater in the Hongjiannao Lake Basin, Northwest China. Water 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051467
Yang XY, Ho P (2019) Is mining harmful or beneficial? A survey of local community perspectives in China. Extr Ind Soc-an Int J 6:584–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2019.02.006
Yang YN, Mei AS, Gao S, Zhao D (2023) Both natural and anthropogenic factors control surface water and groundwater chemistry and quality in the Ningtiaota coalfield of Ordos Basin, Northwestern China. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 30:67227–67249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27147-2
Yao T, Zhu G, Zhang Y, Yan P, Li C, de Boer WF (2021) Bird’s feather as an effective bioindicator for detection of trace elements in polymetallic contaminated areas in Anhui Province, China. Sci Total Environ 771:144816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144816
Zeng Y, Wu Q, Liu S, Zhai Y, Lian H, Zhang W (2017) Evaluation of a coal seam roof water inrush: case study in the Wangjialing coal mine, China. Mine Water Environ 37:174–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-017-0459-z
Zhang X, Zhao R, Wu X, Mu W (2022) Hydrogeochemistry, identification of hydrogeochemical evolution mechanisms, and assessment of groundwater quality in the southwestern Ordos Basin, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 29:901–921. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15643-2
Zhang ZQ, Wang GW, Ding YN, Carranza EJM (2021) 3D mineral exploration targeting with multi-dimensional geoscience datasets, Tongling Cu(-Au) District, China. J Geochem Explor 221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2020.106702
Zhao Y, Cao H, Wang CL, Yang HQ (2022) Isotopic and hydrogeochemical evidence of modern water recharge of freshwater lens in the Ningbo coastal plain along concealed faults. Nat Resour Res 31:2523–2547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-022-10090-3
Zhu G, Wu X, Ge JP, Liu F, Zhao WG, Wu C (2020) Influence of mining activities on groundwater hydrochemistry and heavy metal migration using a self-organizing map (SOM). J Clean Prod 257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120664
Zhu G (2018) Characteristics of groundwater environment and heavy metals transport in a typical metal mine in Tongling, Anhui Province, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) 168. https://doi.org/10.27493/d.cnki.gzdzy.2018.000131 (in Chinese)
Funding
This research was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFC2902004), the Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Major Project (Grant 2020ZD0020), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 41972259 and 42072284), the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (Grant E2020402087), and the Open Project Program of the Shandong Provincial Lunan Geo-engineering Exploration Institute (Grant LNY2020-Z01).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Aoshuang Mei: methodology, data curation, writing—original draft preparation, writing—review and editing, and investigation. Xiong, Wu: conceptualization, supervision, and writing—review and editing. Yifan Zeng: conceptualization and supervision. Ge Zhu: investigation and visualization. Di Zhao and Yuzhe Zhang: visualization, investigation, and data curation.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
Not applicable.
Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
All authors agree to publish.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Xianliang Yi
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Mei, A., Wu, X., Zeng, Y. et al. Formation processes of groundwater in a non-ferrous metal mining city of China: Insights from hydrochemical and strontium isotope analyses. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 15716–15732 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32186-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32186-4