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Major Ion Geochemistry of Nam Co Lake and its Sources, Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

The major cations and anions from lake water samples and its sources, including glacier snow, precipitation, stream, and swamp water in the Nam Co basin, central Tibetan Plateau, were studied. The concentrations of the major ions varied significantly in the five environmental matrices. Generally, the mean concentrations of most ions are in the order of lake water > swamp water > stream water > precipitation > snow. Rock weathering is the dominant process controlling the chemical compositions of the stream and swamp waters, with carbonate weathering being the primary source of the dissolved ions. The Nam Co lake water is characterized by high Na+ concentration and extremely low Ca2+ concentration relative to other ions, resulting from evapoconcentration and chemical precipitation within the lake. Comparison with the water chemistry of other lakes over the Tibetan Plateau indicated that Nam Co is located in a transition area between non-saline lakes and highly saline lakes. The relatively low concentration of total dissolved solids is possibly due to the abundant inflow of glacial meltwater and relatively high annual precipitation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Zhiyuan Cong and the staff of NAMOR for their assistance in field logistics. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40771187), the National Basic Research program of China (2005CB422004), the “Talent Project” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research , Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100085, China

    Qianggong Zhang, Shichang Kang, Chaoliu Li & Yanwei Xu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, CAS, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Shichang Kang

  3. Graduate University of CAS, Beijing, 100049, China

    Qianggong Zhang, Chaoliu Li & Yanwei Xu

  4. Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, MB R3T 2N2

    Feiyue Wang

  5. Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, MB R3T 2N2

    Feiyue Wang

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  1. Qianggong Zhang
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  4. Chaoliu Li
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  5. Yanwei Xu
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Correspondence to Shichang Kang.

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Zhang, Q., Kang, S., Wang, F. et al. Major Ion Geochemistry of Nam Co Lake and its Sources, Tibetan Plateau. Aquat Geochem 14, 321–336 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-008-9039-y

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