Abstract
The hydrogeochemical study of the surface water of River Ganga at Patna was undertaken to identify the chemical processes that control the hydrochemistry of river water. The present seasonal study was conducted in a 36 km stretch of River Ganga in Patna, with a monotonously flat topography underlined by quaternary alluvium geological attributes. Samples were collected from four sampling stations in the study area from 2014 to 2017. Altogether, 24 water samples were collected and analyzed for physicochemical parameters following the standard method (APHA). The analytical results revealed the alkaline nature of river water, and the average TDS value varied from 241.33 to 243.33 mg/L. Among ions, Na+ and HCO3− were dominant. The geochemical nature of the river water has been interpreted using Piper plot, Durov Plot, Gibbs diagram, and Scatter plot diagrams employing software such as Grapher 14.0, SPSS 22.0, and XL-STAT. Piper plot revealed river water as Ca–Mg–HCO3 type, whereas the hydrogeochemical nature of river water was unveiled to be controlled by carbonate and silicate weathering and reverse ion exchange processes. The result further unfolds the role of calcite dissolution in contributing calcium and magnesium to the river water. The Gibbs diagram revealed that rock-weathering interaction was the primary process controlling ion chemistry. Principal component analysis has revealed the loading of three main components, with two components contributing to 83.32% cumulative variance during post-monsoon and 79.31% during pre-monsoon. Therefore, the chemical composition of the river water was characterized by Ca–Mg–HCO3 type and controlled by carbonate weathering and reverse ion exchange processes.
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Kumari, A., Sulaiman, M.A., Zafar, M.M., Sinha, R.K. (2023). Multivariate Statistical Analysis for the Assessment of Hydrogeochemical Characteristics of River Ganga at Patna, India. In: Chenchouni, H., et al. Recent Research on Hydrogeology, Geoecology and Atmospheric Sciences . MedGU 2021. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43169-2_16
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