Environment significance and hydrochemical characteristics of supra-permafrost water in the source region of the Yangtze River

Abstract

This paper analyzed the environment significance and hydrochemical characteristics of the main ions on the supra-permafrost water from the view of space-time and different ablations. The study is conducted through collected 330 samples from June to September in 2016 and 2017 in the Source Region of the Yangtze River (SRYR). The results showed the pattern of ionic dominance based on mean value was following as: Cl^- > Na⁺ > SO₄^2- > Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺ > NO₃^- > NO₂^- > NH₄⁺ > F^- > Li⁺. Cl^- alone contributed 40.57%, and Cl^-, Na⁺, SO₄^2- and Ca²⁺ accounted for 94.06% of the total ionic concentrations. The spatial variation of ionic concentration was larger at the initial stage of ablation, and more stable in strong ablation and the end of the ablation stage. The area with elevation of 4500 m was the region where the control source of ions was more sensitive to the hydrochemical characteristics of supra-permafrost water in the study area. Through the analysis of the sources of ions, the anions and cations in supra-permafrost water in the study area were mainly controlled by crustal sources including evaporates rocks and carbonate rocks. The recharge effect of precipitation and snow-melt water only affected the concentration of Cl^-, NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, F^-, Li⁺ and K⁺, but did not affect NO₂^-, SO₄^2-, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺. The hydrochemical type of supra-permafrost water was Ca²⁺-SO₄^2- in high elevation (>4800 m). However, the hydrochemical type of middle elevation (from 4400 m to 4700 m) was Na⁺-Cl^-. The type of hydrochemistry at low altitude was more complex than at high and middle elevation. This study provides insights on the construction of hydrological models in the cold regions and scientific basis for water resources management in the Tibet Plateaus.

Keywords: Chemical characteristics; Environmental significance; Supra-permafrost water; The source region of the Yangtze River.