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Chemical and isotopic characteristics of the Euphrates River water, Syria: factors controlling its geochemistry

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Abstract

Hydrochemical parameters and stable isotope (18O and 2H) ratios were monitored at 10 stations along the Euphrates River (ER) within the Syrian reach during 2004–2006. The average concentrations of major ions in the ER were comparable to those of semi-arid and arid zone rivers. Temporal variations of major ion concentrations were small at the first two upper sites and more pronounced at the lower downstream stations. Temporal fluctuations of stable isotope ratios at the first two upper sites were identical and have a distinct opposite evolution trend to those of the remaining downstream stations, with depleted values during summer–autumn and enriched values during February–May. Salinity and stable isotope values of the ER systemically increase with the distance downstream, with sharp enrichments in stable isotope values at Al-Assad Lake, primarily because of evaporation from the lake. The chemical and isotopic properties of the ER water suggest negligible role of precipitation and local runoff compared with evaporation. Cluster analysis in Q-mode resulted in classifying the major ions into: the most predominant species (SO4 2−, HCO3 −, Cl−, Ca2+ and Na+), liberated as a result of rock–water interactions or dissolution of soluble evaporate salts, and the less abundant ions (Mg2+, K+, NO3 − and SiO2), partially imported from different sources (rainfall, silicate weathering and anthropogenic pollution). Factor analysis suggests that the geochemistry of the ER water is mainly controlled by four factors: rock weathering or salt dissolution, dissolved CO2 partial pressure, water temperature (T) and evaporation. These factors explain more than 80 % of the total variance in the data matrix.

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Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to Prof. I. Othman, Director General of AECS for his kind permission to publish this paper. Prof. W. Rasoul-Agha is deeply acknowledged for his comments and valuable remarks. The IAEA Organization, in particular, Mrs P.K. Aggarwal and T. Vitvar are gratefully acknowledged for financial assistance of the coordinated research project (contract-12643). Helps rendered by the technical staff of the Geology Department at AECS in analysis of water samples are also indebted.

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  1. Department of Geology, Atomic Energy Commission (AECS), P. O. Box 6091, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic

    Zuhair Kattan

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Kattan, Z. Chemical and isotopic characteristics of the Euphrates River water, Syria: factors controlling its geochemistry. Environ Earth Sci 73, 4763–4778 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3762-z

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