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Geochemical Eccentricity of Ground Water Allied to Weathering of Basalts from the Deccan Volcanic Province, India: Insinuation on CO2 Consumption

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Abstract

Analyses of 72 samples from Upper Panjhara basin in the northern part of Deccan Plateau, India, indicate that geochemical incongruity of groundwater is largely a function of mineral composition of the basaltic lithology. Higher proportion of alkaline earth elements to total cations and HCO3>Cl + SO4 reflect weathering of primary silicates as chief source of ions. Inputs of Cl, SO4, and NO3 are related to rainfall and localized anthropogenic factors. Groundwater from recharge area representing Ca + Mg–HCO3 type progressively evolves to Ca + Na–HCO3 and Na–Ca–HCO3 class along flow direction replicates the role of cation exchange and precipitation processes. While the post-monsoon chemistry is controlled by silicate mineral dissolution + cation exchange reactions, pre-monsoon variability is attributable chiefly to precipitation reactions + anthropogenic factors. Positive correlations between Mg vs HCO3 and Ca + Mg vs HCO3 supports selective dissolution of olivine and pyroxene as dominant process in post-monsoon followed by dissolution of plagioclase feldspar and secondary carbonates. The pre-monsoon data however, points toward the dissolution of plagioclase and precipitation of CaCO3 supported by improved correlation coefficients between Na + Ca vs HCO3 and negative correlation of Ca vs HCO3, respectively. It is proposed that the eccentricity in the composition of groundwater from the Panjhara basin is a function of selective dissolution of olivine > pyroxene followed by plagioclase feldspar.

The data suggest siallitization (L < R and R k) as dominant mechanism of chemical weathering of basalts, stimulating monosiallitic (kaolinite) and bisiallitic (montmorillonite) products. The chemical denudation rates for Panjhara basin worked out separately for the ground and surface water component range from 6.98 to 36.65 tons/km2/yr, respectively. The values of the CO2 consumption rates range between 0.18 × 106 mol//km2/yr (groundwater) and 0.9 × 106 mol/km2/yr (surface water), which indicates that the groundwater forms a considerable fraction of CO2 consumption, an inference, that is, not taken into contemplation in most of the studies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the facilities provided by Department of Geology, University of Pune. The thanks are also due to DST–FIST funding for equipment and UGC, Govt. of India for granting study leave to J. B. P and S. K. Assistance in the field by colleagues Dr. N. R. Karmalkar and Dr. Vinit Erram is thankfully acknowledged. We thank the anonymous reviewers for many meaningful comments.

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  1. Department of Geology, University of Pune, Pune, 411 007, India

    N. J. Pawar, Suyash Kumar & Ashwini Supekar

  2. Jaihind College, Deopur, Dhule, Maharashtra, India

    J. B. Pawar

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Pawar, N.J., Pawar, J.B., Kumar, S. et al. Geochemical Eccentricity of Ground Water Allied to Weathering of Basalts from the Deccan Volcanic Province, India: Insinuation on CO2 Consumption. Aquat Geochem 14, 41–71 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-007-9025-9

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