Abstract
This study presents statistical analysis of hydrogeochemical data of the groundwater samples collected from the layered formations of the Cretaceous, Tertiary (Lower Cuddalore and Upper Cuddalore) and Quaternary in Pondicherry region, South India. It focuses on the sources, controls and geochemical processes occurring in these formations. The results obtained from statistical analysis of 11 important hydrochemical parameters indicate dissimilar elemental correlations among aquifers. Quaternary aquifer exhibit good correlations among ion pairs Ca+–Cl− and Na+–Cl− indicating source controls like salts from unsaturated zone, fertilizers, industrial wastes and also processes like ion exchange. Upper and lower Tertiary aquifers have good correlations among ions as Ca2+–Mg2+–Na+–K+–Cl−–HCO3 2−—H4SiO4 indicating dominant role of silicate rock weathering processes, while Cretaceous formation show high correlations among Ca+–Mg2+–SO4 2−–HCO3 − indicating carbonate and sulphate mineral contribution. High positive ion correlations among Na+–K+–Cl− observed in Cretaceous formation reflects contribution from marine sources. The study has also brought out the three major processes active in theses aquifers like parental, anthropogenic and mixing. The spatial distribution of the factor score for individual groundwater samples reveals the sources of the constituents that are in good agreement with those deduced from the geological and hydrogeological evidences. A conceptual geochemical model is developed to improve the understanding of this complex multi-layered aquifer system that would help the water authorities to plan for judicious exploitation of groundwater resources management without significantly hampering the groundwater quality.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alyamani M, Bazuhar A, Hussein M (1994) Interpretation of groundwater chemistry by factor analysis technique. JKAU Earth Sci 7:89–100
Amon RMW, Benner R (1996) Bacterial utilization of different size classes of dissolved organic matter. Limnol Oceanogr 41:41–51
Anandhan P, Ramanathan AL, Chidambaram S, Manivannan R, Ganesh N, Srinivasamoorthy K (2000) A study on the seasonal variation in the geochemistry of the groundwater in and around Neyveli region, Tamilnadu. In: Proceedings of International Conference on Hydrogeochemistry. Annamalai University, India
APHA (1995) Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water, 19th edn. APHA, Washington DC
Asai Rani L, Suresh Babu DS (2008) A statistical evulation of groundwater chemistry from the west coast of Tamil Nadu, India. Indian J Mar Sci 32(2):186–192
Avdullahi S, Fejza I, Tmava A (2013) Evaluation of groundwater pollution using multivariate statistical analysis: a case study from Burimi area, Kosovo. J Biol Env Sci 3(1):95–102
Bengraine K, Marhaba TF (2003) Using principal component analysis to monitor spatial and temporal changes in water quality. J Hazard Mater 100(1–3):179–195
Bhattacharya P, Jacks G, Ahmed KM, Khan AA, Routh J (2002) Arsenic in groundwater of the Bengal delta plain aquifers in Bangladesh. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 69:538–545
Bu H, Tan X, Li S, Zhang Q (2010) Temporal and spatial variations of water quality in the Jinshui River of the South Qinling Mts., China. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 73:907–913
Cabaniss SE, Madey G, Leff L, Maurice PA, Wetzel R (2005) A stochastic model for the synthesis and degradation of natural organic matter. Part I. Data structures and reaction kinetics. Biogeochemistry 76:319–347
Centre for Groundwater Board (CGWB) (1993) Groundwater resources and development prospects in Pondicherry region, Union Territory of Pondicherry, 63
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) (2007) Water year. Ground water brochure, Puducherry region, Puducherry, U.T Of Puducherry
Chapelle FH, Bradley PM, Goode DJ, Tiedeman C, Lacombe PJ, Kaiser K, Benner R (2009) Biochemical indicators for the bioavailability of organic carbon in ground water. Ground Water 47:108–121
Chidambaram S (2000) Hydrogeochemical studies of groundwater in Periyar district, Tamilnadu, India. Unpublished Ph.D thesis, Department of Geology, Annamalai University, India
Chidambaram S, Ramanathan AL, Srinivasamoorthy K (2003) Lithological influence on the groundwater chemistry—Periyar district a case study. In: International Conference on coastal and freshwater issues. Institute for Ocean Management, Integrated Center for Environmental Sciences, Chennai, 8–10 Dec 2003
Chidambaram S, Vijayakumar V, Srinivasamoorthy K, Anandhan P, Prasanna MV, Vasudeven S (2007) A study on variation in ionic composition of aqueous system in different lithounits around Perambalure region, Tamil Nadu. J Geol Soc India 70:1061–1069.
Chidambaram S, Ramanathan AL, Prasanna MV, Loganatan D, Badrinarayanan TS, Srinivasamoorthy K, Anandhan P (2008) Study on the impact of tsunami on shallow groundwater from portnova to pumpuhar, using geoelectrical technique—south east coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci 37(2):121–131
Chidambaram S, Prasanna MV, Karmegam U, Singaraja C, Pethaperumal S, Manivannan R, Anandhan P, Tirumalesh K (2011) Significance of pCO2 values in determining carbonate chemistry in groundwater of Pondicherry region, India. Front Earth Sci 5(2):197–206
Chidambaram S, Prasanna MV, Singaraja C, Thilagavathi R, Pethaperumal S, Tirumalesh K (2012) Study on the saturation index of the carbonates in the groundwater using WATEQ4F in layered coastal aquifers of Pondicherry. J Geol Soc India 80:813–824
Collins MJ, Bishop AN, Farrimond P (1995) Sorption by mineral surfaces: rebirth of the classical condensation pathway for kerogen formation? Geochim Cosmochim Acta 59:2387–2391
Conrad R (1999) Contribution of hydrogen to methane production and control of hydrogen concentrations in methanogenic soils and sediments. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 28:193–202
D’Ozouville N, Violette S, Gassama N, Dia A, Jendrzejewski N (2006) Origin and modelling of water salinization in a coastal aquifer of the Bay of Bengal: the Kaluvelly watershed, Tamil Nadu, India. Bull Soc Géol Fr 177(6):333–345
Dalton MG, Upchurch SB (1979) Interpretation of hydrochemical facies by factor analysis. Groundwater 16(4):228–233.
Disaster management action plan for flood and cyclone north–east monsoon (2008)
Ellis BK, Stanford JA (1998) Microbial assemblages and production in alluvial aquifers of the Flathead River, Montana, USA. J N Am Benthol Soc 17(4):382–402
Francois R (1988) A study on the regulation of the concentrations of some trace metals (Rh, Sr, Zn, Pb, Cu, V, Cr, Ni, Mn and Mo) in Saanich Inlet Sediments, British Columbia, Canada. Mar Geol 83:285–308
Gassama N, Dia A, Violette S (2011) Origin of salinity in a multilayered aquifer with high salinization vulnerability. Hydrol Process. doi: 10.1002/hyp.8125
Gassama N, Kasper HU, Dia A, Cocirta C, Bouhnik-Lecoz M (2012) Discrimination between different water bodies from a multilayered aquifer (Kaluvelly watershed, India): trace element signature. Appl Geochem 27(3):715–728
Gooddy, D., Hinsby, K., 2007. Dissolved organic carbon in European groundwaters. In: EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 16–20 April 2007. Geophysical Research Abstracts.
Govindaradjane S, Reddy SS, Sivasankaran MA, Ramakrishna B (2007) The study on arsenic concentration in groundwater of Pondicherry region. Pollut Res 26:99–102
Grande JA, Gonzalez A, Beltaran R, Sanchez-Rodas D (1996) Application of factor analysis to the study of contamination in the aquifer system of Ayamonte-Huelva (Spain). Ground Water 34(1):155–161
Harvey FE, Warren KJ, Voorhies MR, Drimmie RJ, Labedz TE (2003) Oxygen isotope determination of climate variation in the US Central great plains using phosphate from modern and fossil beaver tooth enamel. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington. Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado. Abstracts with programs 34(7):520
Henrichs SM (1995) Sedimentary organic matter preservation: an assessment and speculative synthesis—a comment. Mar Chem 49:127–136
Irabor O, Olobaniyi S, Oduyemi K, Akunna J (2008) Surface and groundwater water quality assessment using multivariate analytical methods: a case study of the Western Niger Delta, Nigeria. Phys Chem Earth 33:666–673
Johnson RA, Wichern DW (1988) Applied multivariate statistical analysis. Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Johnson RA, Wichern DW (1992) Applied multivariate statistical analysis, 3rd edn. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Klapper L, McKnight DM, Fulton JR, Blunt-Harris EL, Nevin KP, Lovley DR, Hatcher PG (2002) Fulvic acid oxidation state detection using fluorescence spectroscopy. Environ Sci Technol 36:3170–3175
Lambrakis N, Antonakos A, Panagopoulos G (2004) The use of multicomponent statistical analysis in hydro geological environmental research. Water Res 38(7):1862–1872
Lawrence FW, Upchurch SB (1983) Identification of recharge areas using geochemical factor analysis. Groundwater 20:680–687
Lindsjo A (2005) Predicting dissolved organic carbon concentrations in Swedish boreal streams from map information. Graduate Thesis in Soil Science, Department of Environmental Assessment Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU
Love D, Hallbauer D, Amos A, Hranova R (2004) Factor analysis as a tool in groundwater quality management: two southern African case studies. Phys Chem Earth 29(15–18):1135–1143
Lu KL, Liu CW, Jang CS (2011) Using multivariate statistical methods to assess the groundwater quality in an arsenic-contaminated area of Southwestern Taiwan. Environ Monit Assess. doi:10.1007/s10661-011-2406-y
Lutz BD, Bernhardt ES, Roberts BJ, Cory RM, Mulholland PJ (2012) Distinguishing dynamics of dissolved organic matter components in a forested stream using kinetic enrichments. Limnol Oceanogr 57:76–89
Mandaokar BD, Mukherjee D (2012) Palynostratigraphy of the Cuddalore formation (Early Miocene) of Panruti, Tamil Nadu, India. J Palaeontol Soc India 59(1):69–80
Matthess G (1982) The properties of groundwater. Wiley, New York, p 406
McKnight DM, Boyer PK, Westerhoff PT, Doran T, Kulbe DT, Anderson (2010) Spectrofluorometric characterization of dissolved organic matter for indication of precursor organic material and aromaticity. Limnol Oceanogr 46:38–48
Nickson RT, McArthur JM, Burgess WG, Ahmed KM, Ravenscroft P, Rahman M (1998) Arsenic poisoning of Bangladesh groundwater. Nature 395:338
Papadimitriou S, Kennedy H, Bentaleb I, Thomas DN (2002) Dissolved organic carbon in sediments from the eastern North Atlantic. Mar Chem 79:37–47
Papatheodorou G, Lyberis E, Ferentinos G (1999) Use of factor analysis to study the distribution of metalliferous bauxitic tailings in the seabed of the Gulf of Corinth. Greece Nat Resour Res 8(4):277–285
Papatheodorou G, Hotos G, Geraga M, Avramidou D, Vorinakis T (2002a) Heavy metal concentrations in sediments of Klisova lagoon (S.E. Mesolonghi–Aitolikon Lagoon complex) W Greece. Fresen Environ. Bull 11(11):951–956
Papatheodorou G, Mitsis C, Christodoulou D, Ferentinos G (2002b) A multivariate statistical approach to the investigation of pockmarks growth and activity. An example from a pock-mark field in the Gulf of Patras (W Greece). In: Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Conference of the IAMG, 15–20 September, abstract Book, Berlin
Paramasivam S, Alva AK, Prakash O, Cui SL (1999) Denitrification in the vadose zone and in surficial groundwater of a sandy entisol with citrus production. Plant Soil 208:307–319
Pethaperumal S (2010) Study on groundwater chemistry in the Pondicherry region. Ph.D. thesis. Annamalai University, India
Pethaperumal S, Chidambaram S, Prasanna MV, Verma VN, Balaji K, Ramesh R, Karmegam U, Paramaguru P (2008) A study on Groundwater quality in the Pondicherry region. Eco-Chronicle 3(2):85–90
Prasanna MV, Chidambaram S, Pethaperumal S, Srinivasamoorthy K, Peter AJ, Anandhan P, Vasanthavigar M (2008) Integrated geophysical and chemical study in the lower subbasin of Gadilam River, Tamilnadu, India. Environ Geosci 15(4):145–152
Raghava Rao KV, Krupanidhi KVJR., Balasubramaniyan G, Subramaniyan PR, Natarajan P (1976) Report on groundwater survey and exploration in the Union territory of Pondicherry and its environs, CGWB report, India
Ravenscroft P, McArthur JM, Hoque B (2001) Geochemical and palaeohydrological controls on pollution of groundwater by arsenic. In: Chappell WR, Abernathy CO, Calderon RL (eds) Arsenic exposure and health effects IV. Elsevier Science Ltd., Oxford, p 53–77
Razmkhah H, Abrishamchi A, Torkian A (2010) Evaluation of spatial and temporal variation in water quality by pattern recognition techniques: a case study on Jajrood River (Tehran, Iran). J Environ Manag 91:852–860
Reyment RA, Joreskog KH (1993) Applied factor analysis in the natural sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 371
Richman MB (1986) Rotation of principal components. J Climatol 6:293–335
Ruiz F, Gomis V, Blasco P (1990) Application of factor analysis to the hydrogeochemical study of a coastal aquifer. J Hydrol 119:169–177
Senthil Nathan D, Manil Kumar R, Sivamurthy Reddy S, Sivasankaran MA, Ramesh R (2012) Trace elements in groundwater of coastal aquifers of Pondicherry region, India. J Environ 01(04):111–118
Senthilkumar G, Ramamanathan AL, Nainwal HC, Chidambaram S (2008) Evalution of the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater using factor analysis in the Cuddalore coastal region, Tamilnadu. Indian J Mar Sci 37(2):181–185
Seymour SK, Christanis K, Bouzinos A, Papazisimou S, Papatheodorou G, Moran E, Denes G (2004) Tephrostratigraphy and tephrochronology in the Philippi peat basin, Macedonia, Northern Hellas (Greece). Quart Int 121:53–65
Shirodkar P, Mesquita A, Pradhan U, Verlekar X, Babu M, Vethamony P (2009) Factors controlling physico-chemical characteristics in the coastal waters of Mangalore—a multivariate approach. Environ Res 109:245–257
Singh KP, Malik A, Sinha S (2005) Water quality assessment and apportionment of pollution sources of Gomti River (India) using multivariate statistical techniques: A case study. Anal Chim Acta 538(1–2):355–374
Spiteri C, Slompa CP, Charette MA (2008) Flow and nutrient dynamics in a subterranean estuary (Waquoit Bay, MA, USA): field data and reactive transport modelling Claudette, Kagan Tuncayc, Christ of Meile. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 72:3398–3412
Srinivasamoorthy K (2004) Hydrogeochemistry of groundwater in Salem District, Tamilnadu, India. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis. Annamalai University, India
Subbarao C, Subbarao NV, Chandu SN (1995) Characterisation of groundwater contamination using factor analysis. Environ Geol 28(4):175–180
Sunilkumar R (1996) Distribution of organic carbon in the sediment of Cochin mangroves southwest coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci 25:274–276
Swan ARH, Sandilands M (1995) Introduction to geological data analysis. Blackwell Science, Oxford, p 446
Thilagavathi R, Chidambaram S, Prasanna MV, Thivya C, Singaraja C (2012) A study on groundwater geochemistry and water quality in layered aquifers system of Pondicherry region, southeast India. Appl Water Sci 2(4):253–269
Thilagavathi R, Chidambaram S, Prasanna MV, Pethaperumal S (2014) A study on the interpretation of Spontaneous Potential and Resistivity Logs in Layered Aquifers Sequence of Pondicherry Region, South India. Arab J Geosci 7:3715–3729
Tirumalesh K (2012) Characterization of groundwater in the coastal aquifers of Pondicherry region using chemical, isotopic and geochemical modeling approaches. Unpublished thesis, India
Vengosh A, Keren R (1996) Chemical modifications of groundwater contaminated by recharge of treated sewage effluent. Contam Hydrol 23:347–360
Voudouris K, Lambrakis N, Papatheodorou G, Daskalaki P (1997) An application of factor analysis for the study of the hydro-geological conditions in Plio-Pleistocene aquifers of NW Achaia (NW Peloponnesus, Greece). Math Geol 29(1):43–59
Wang HD, White GN, Turner F, Dixon JB (1993) Ferri hydrite, lepidocrocite and goethite in coatings from the east texas vertic soils. J Soil Sci Soc Am 57, 1381–1386.
Wayland K, Long D, Hyndman D, Pijanowski B, Woodhams S, Haack K (2003) Identifying relationships between base flow geochemistry and land use with synoptic sampling and R-mode factor analysis. J Environ Qual 32:180–190
Yidana S, Yakubo B, Akabzaa T (2010) Analysis of groundwater quality using multivariate and spatial analyses in the Keta basin, Ghana. J Afr Earth Sci 58:220–234
Zhou F, Liu Y, Guo H (2007) Application of multivariate statistical methods to water quality assessment of the watercourses in northwestern new territories, Hong Kong. Environ Monit Assess 132:1–13
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express thanks to Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR) (No. 29/INCGW-03/2010-R&D/3052–3062) for providing necessary financial support to carry out this study and author R.T wish to express thanks to DST for providing the Inspire fellowship (DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2010/[220] 18 March, 2011). The authors are also grateful to the editor and anonymous referees for their constructive comments and suggestions, which led to significant improvements to the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thilagavathi, R., Chidambaram, S., Thivya, C. et al. Assessment of groundwater chemistry in layered coastal aquifers using multivariate statistical analysis. Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 3, 55–69 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-017-0078-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-017-0078-7