Bishwakarma Kiran, Wang Guan-Xing, Zhang Fan, Adhikari Subash, Karki Kabita, Ghimire Archana
State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China.
J Mt Sci. 2022;19(2):388-402. doi: 10.1007/s11629-021-6834-z. Epub 2022 Feb 7.
The hydrochemical characterization and irrigation suitability assessment of the Ganges-Brahmaputra River System (GBRS) has immense importance for the livelihoods of people and ecosystem sustainability in the region. This study aims to assess the hydrochemical characteristics and evaluate the irrigation suitability of water in the GBRS by reviewing published literature of the major tributaries. The studied rivers were categorized into two groups namely Group-1 and Group-2 considering the similarities of climatic patterns, hydrochemical attributes, and drainage characteristics. The hydrochemistry of the river water was characterized by the Piper diagram, Gibbs plot, mixing plots, and ionic ratios. Furthermore, irrigation water qualities were evaluated by electrical conductivity (EC), sodium percentage (Na%), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), magnesium hazard (MH), and Wilcox diagram. The results indicated that the hydrochemistry of the GBRS was slightly alkaline to alkaline (7.42-8.78) in nature. The average concentrations of most of the chemical attributes showed higher in Group-1, whereas the average concentrations of K and NO were found higher in Group-2. The average concentration of the major ions followed the dominancy order Ca > Mg > Na > K for cations and HCO >SO > Cl > NO for anions in both groups. Gibbs plot and mixing plot indicated that carbonate rock weathering dominates the hydrochemical process, which was further confirmed by the Piper diagram and the ionic ratios. From the analyses of irrigational water quality, almost all the rivers (except Gomti River in terms of MH and Rangit River in terms of Na%) in the GBRS were found to be suitable based on EC, SAR, Na%, MH, and Wilcox diagram. Finally, the majority of river systems in the GBRS were characterized by carbonate dominated lithology and irrigational water quality is mostly suitable for utilization. This study could be useful for water quality management in the glacial-fed Himalayan river under the context of global climate change.
恒河-布拉马普特拉河水系（GBRS）的水化学特征及灌溉适宜性评估对该地区人们的生计和生态系统可持续性具有极其重要的意义。本研究旨在通过回顾主要支流已发表的文献，评估GBRS的水化学特征并评价其灌溉适宜性。考虑到气候模式、水化学属性和排水特征的相似性，所研究的河流被分为两组，即第1组和第2组。河水的水化学特征通过派珀图、吉布斯图、混合图和离子比率来表征。此外，通过电导率（EC）、钠百分比（Na%）、钠吸附比（SAR）、镁危害（MH）和威尔科克斯图来评估灌溉水质。结果表明，GBRS的水化学性质呈微碱性至碱性（7.42 - 8.78）。大多数化学属性的平均浓度在第1组中较高，而第2组中钾和硝酸盐的平均浓度较高。两组中阳离子的主要离子平均浓度遵循Ca > Mg > Na > K的优势顺序，阴离子遵循HCO₃⁻ > SO₄²⁻ > Cl⁻ > NO₃⁻的优势顺序。吉布斯图和混合图表明碳酸盐岩风化主导了水化学过程，这一点通过派珀图和离子比率得到了进一步证实。从灌溉水质分析来看，基于EC、SAR、Na%、MH和威尔科克斯图，GBRS中几乎所有河流（除了戈姆蒂河的MH和兰吉特河的Na%）都被认为是适宜的。最后，GBRS中的大多数河流系统以碳酸盐岩为主的岩性为特征，灌溉水质大多适合利用。本研究对于全球气候变化背景下冰川补给的喜马拉雅河流的水质管理可能具有参考价值。
