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δ34S and δ18O of dissolved sulfate as biotic tracer of biogeochemical influences on arsenic mobilization in groundwater in the Hetao Plain, Inner Mongolia, China

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Abstract

Environmental isotopology of sulfur and oxygen of dissolved sulfate in groundwater was conducted in the Hetao Plain, northwestern China, aiming to better understand the processes controlling arsenic mobilization in arsenic-rich aqueous systems. A total of 22 groundwater samples were collected from domestic wells in the Hetao Plain. Arsenic concentrations ranged from 11.0 to 388 μg/L. The δ34S-SO4 and δ18O-SO4 values of dissolved sulfate covered a range from +1.48 to +22.4 ‰ and +8.17 ‰ to +14.8 ‰ in groundwater, respectively. The wide range of δ34S-SO4 values reflected either an input of different sources of sulfate, such as gypsum dissolution and fertilizer application, or a modification from biogeochemical process of bacterial sulfate reduction. The positive correlation between δ34S-SO4 and arsenic concentrations suggested that bacteria mediated processes played an important role in the mobilization of arsenic. The δ18O-SO4 values correlated non-linearly with δ34S-SO4, but within a relatively narrow range (+8.17 to +14.8 ‰), implying that complexities inherent in the sulfate-oxygen (O-SO4 2−) origins, for instance, water-derived oxygen (O-H2O), molecular oxygen (O-O2) and isotope exchanging with dissolved oxides, are accounted for oxygen isotope composition of dissolved sulfate in groundwater in the Hetao Plain.

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Acknowledgments

The research work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40830748 and 40902071), and Ministry of Education of China (111 project).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China

    M. D. Li, Y. X. Wang, P. Li, Y. M. Deng & X. J. Xie

  2. Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China

    Y. X. Wang, P. Li, Y. M. Deng & X. J. Xie

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  1. M. D. Li
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Li, M.D., Wang, Y.X., Li, P. et al. δ34S and δ18O of dissolved sulfate as biotic tracer of biogeochemical influences on arsenic mobilization in groundwater in the Hetao Plain, Inner Mongolia, China. Ecotoxicology 23, 1958–1968 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1310-y

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