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Water quality characteristics and evaluation of Qilian Mountain National Park section in Heihe River Basin based on water quality indices and 3D fluorescence technology

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Abstract

The water quality of the Heihe River Basin affects the life quality and health of tens of thousands of residents along it. However, there are relatively few studies that evaluate its water quality. In this study, we used principal component analysis (PCA), an improved comprehensive water quality index (WQI), and three-dimensional (3D) fluorescence technology to identify pollutants and evaluate water quality at nine monitoring sites in the Qilian Mountain National Park in Heihe River Basin. PCA was applied to concentrate the water quality indices into nine items. The analysis shows that the water quality in the study area is mainly polluted by organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus. According to the revised WQI model, the water quality of the study area is from moderate to good, while the water quality of Qinghai section is worse than that of Gansu section. According to the 3D fluorescence spectrum analysis of the monitoring sites, the organic pollution of water comes from vegetation decay, animal feces, and some human activities. This study can not only provide support and basis for water environment protection and management in the Heihe River Basin, but also promote the healthy development of the water environment in the Qilian Mountains.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52060012) and the Key Research Program of Gansu (20ZD7FA005) and the Lanzhou Jiaotong University Tianyou Innovation Team (TY202005) and the Youth Fund of Lanzhou Jiaotong University(2018005).

Funding

This funding was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grand No. 52060012), Guozhen Zhang. Key Research Program of Gansu, (Grand No. 20ZD7FA005) Tianhong Zhou. Lanzhou Jiaotong University Tianyou Innovation Team (Grand No. TY202005) Tianhong Zhou. Youth Fund of Lanzhou Jiaotong University (Grand No. 2018005) Huijuan Xin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, 730070, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Ma, Huidong Shen, Tianhong Zhou, Huijuan Xin, Fuping Wu & Guozhen Zhang

  2. Key Laboratory of Yellow River Environment of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730070, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Ma, Huidong Shen, Tianhong Zhou, Huijuan Xin, Fuping Wu & Guozhen Zhang

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  1. Kai Ma
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  2. Huidong Shen
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  3. Tianhong Zhou
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  4. Huijuan Xin
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  5. Fuping Wu
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Contributions

All of the authors participated in the project and their contributions were as follows: KM: Methodology, Investigation, Original writing, Modification. HS: Investigation, Drawing-3D Fluorescence. TZ: Resources, Funding Support, Review. HX: Data processing, Text checking. FW: Modification. GZ: Methodology, Modification, Review. The corresponding author has obtained the consent of all authors before submitting the paper to the editorial department.

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Correspondence to Guozhen Zhang.

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Ma, K., Shen, H., Zhou, T. et al. Water quality characteristics and evaluation of Qilian Mountain National Park section in Heihe River Basin based on water quality indices and 3D fluorescence technology. Environ Geochem Health 45, 4373–4387 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01492-0

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