Floodplains landforms, clay deposition and irrigation return flow govern arsenic occurrence, prevalence and mobilization: A geochemical and isotopic study of the mid-Gangetic floodplains

Abstract

This article attempts to understand the evolution of groundwater chemistry in the mid Gangetic floodplain through the identification of hydrogeochemical processes including the impact of surface recharge and geological features. Isotopic investigations identified that irrigation return flow is partly responsible for arsenic (As) enrichment through preferential vertical recharge. Further, the floodplain geomorphological attributes and associated As hydrogeochemical behaviour traced through isotopes tracers highlighted that meandering and ox-bow like geomorphological features owing to clay deposition leads to the anoxic condition induced reductive microbial dissolution of As-bearing minerals causing the arsenic contamination in the investigated aquifer of the mid-Gangetic plain (MGP). To achieve the objectives, 146 water samples for water chemistry and 62 samples for the isotopic study were collected from Bhojpur district, Bihar (district bounded by the river Ganges in the north and Son in the east) located in MGP during the pre-monsoon season of 2018. The chemical results revealed high arsenic concentration (BDL to 206 μg.L^-1, 32% samples are exceeding the 10 μg.L^-1 limit) in the Holocene recent alluviums which are characterized by various geomorphological features such as meander scars and oxbow lake (northern part of the district). Arsenic is more concentrated in the depth range of 15-40 m below ground surface. All other trace metals viz. Ni, Pb, Zn, Cd and Al were found in low concentration except Fe and Mn. The geochemical analyses suggest that rock-water interaction is controlling the hydro-geochemistry while the chemical constituent of the groundwater is mainly controlled by carbonate weathering with limited contribution from silicate weathering. The isotopic signatures revealed that the Son river is recharging groundwater while the groundwater is contributing to the Ganges river. A clear pattern of fast vertical recharge in the arsenic contaminated area is observed in the proximity to the river Ganges with an elevated nitrate concentration resulted from the reduced As dissolution. The origin of groundwater is local precipitation with low to high evaporation enrichment effect which is further indicating the vertical mixing of groundwater from the irrigation return flow and/or recharge from domestic discharge causing enhanced As mobilization through microbial assisted reductive dissolution of As-bearing minerals.

Keywords: Arsenic; Ganga basin; Geochemistry; Groundwater; Health; Isotopes; Son river.