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Chemical water quality gradients in the Mongolian sub-catchments of the Selenga River basin

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Abstract

Even though the Selenga is the main tributary to Lake Baikal in Russia, the largest part of the Selenga River basin is located in Mongolia. It covers a region that is highly diverse, ranging from almost virgin mountain zones to densely urbanized areas and mining zones. These contrasts have a strong impact on rivers and their ecosystems. Based on two sampling campaigns (summer 2014, spring 2015), we investigated the longitudinal water quality pattern along the Selenga and its tributaries in Mongolia. While headwater regions typically had a very good water quality status, wastewater from urban areas and impacts from mining were found to be main pollution sources in the tributaries. The highest nutrient concentrations in the catchment were found in Tuul River, and severely elevated concentrations of trace elements (As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn), nutrients (NH4 +, NO2 −, NO3 −, PO4 3−), and selected major ions (SO4 2−) were found in main tributaries of Selenga River. Moreover, trace element concentrations during spring 2015 (a time when many mines had not yet started operation) were markedly lower than in summer 2014, indicating that the additional metal loads measured in summer 2014 were related to mining activities. Nevertheless, all taken water samples in 2014 and 2015 from the main channel of the Mongolian Selenga River complied with the Mongolian standard (MNS 1998) for the investigated parameters.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the German ministry of education and research (BMBF grant no. 033L003A) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (Scholarship No. A/12/97034 for GB). We would like to express special gratitude to staff members of Department of the Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management (UFZ) for all support during the study and to the water analysis and chemometrics team of the River Ecology Department, UFZ, for sample analysis and preparation. Special thanks for Prof. Dr. Galbadrakh, R.; Dr. Saulyegul, A.; Dr. Enkhdol, T.; Batchuluun, Ts.; Irmuunzaya, Kh.; and Bolortuya, B. for their valuable help and support of the field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management (ASAM), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Brückstrasse 3a, 39114, Magdeburg, Germany

    Gunsmaa Batbayar, Martin Pfeiffer & Daniel Karthe

  2. Institute of Geography, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany

    Gunsmaa Batbayar, Martin Kappas & Daniel Karthe

  3. School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Gunsmaa Batbayar & Martin Pfeiffer

  4. Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany

    Martin Pfeiffer

  5. Central Laboratory for Water Analytics and Chemometrics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, 39114, Magdeburg, Germany

    Wolf von Tümpling

  6. Environmental Engineering Section, German–Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology, Nalaikh, Mongolia

    Daniel Karthe

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  1. Gunsmaa Batbayar
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Correspondence to Gunsmaa Batbayar.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 12 Factor loadings, eigenvectors, and the contribution of the single variables to the overall variability for the PCA
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Fig. 9
figure 9

Self-organizing map (SOM) in relation to river water samples names. Unpolluted samples were put to the upper part of the map, while water samples with high concentrations were located in the lower part with the samples of high metal content to the left and high nutrient content to the right

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Fig. 10
figure 10

Self-organizing map (SOM) showing the longitudinal patterns of the water chemistry parameters of river water samples. Red color regions in the map indicate high values, whereas blue color regions indicate low values

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Fig. 11
figure 11

The map is showing the spatial pattern of the water quality index in the Mongolian part of Selenga River basin and its tributaries at one site in 2014 and 2015. The circles are indicating water quality from very clean (smallest circle) to very dirty (biggest circle). Concentric rings in one location indicate different water quality in both years

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Fig. 12
figure 12

Changes of trace elements concentrations along the Kharaa River. The flow direction is from left to right. Sampling point Kt1 to Kt3b is Gatsuurt River which is the left tributary of Kharaa River. Kt4a to Kt6b is Boroo River which is the left tributary of Kharaa River. Ktm is located along the small mine (Bortolgoi). Kt7 to Kt9 is the right tributary of Kharaa River (Bayangol)

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Batbayar, G., Pfeiffer, M., von Tümpling, W. et al. Chemical water quality gradients in the Mongolian sub-catchments of the Selenga River basin. Environ Monit Assess 189, 420 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6123-z

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