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- Kumar, Ramesh, et al.
(author)
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Hydro-geochemical analysis of meltwater draining from Bilare Banga glacier, Western Himalaya
- 2019
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In: Acta Geophysica. - : Springer. - 1895-6572 .- 1895-7455. ; 67:2, s. 651-660
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The changing climate is affecting the melting process of glacier ice and snow in Himalaya and may influence the hydro-geochemistry of the glacial meltwater. This paper represents the ionic composition of discharge from Bilare Banga glacier by carrying out hydro-geochemical analysis of water samples of melting season of 2017. The pH and EC were measured on-site in field, and others parameters were examined in the laboratory. The abundance of the ions observed in meltwater has been arranged in decreasing order for cations as Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+ and for anions as HCO3− > SO42− > Cl− > NO3−, respectively. Analysis suggests that the meltwater is mostly dominated by Ca2+ and HCO3−. It has been observed that the ionic concentration HCO3− is dominant and Cl− is the least in the catchment. Piper plot analysis suggests that the chemical composition of the glacier discharge not only has natural origin but also has some anthropogenic input. Hydro-geochemical heterogeneity reflected the carbonate-dominated features (Ca2+–HCO3−) in the catchment. The carbonate weathering was found as the regulatory factor to control the chemistry of the glacial meltwater due to the high enrichment ratio of (Ca2+ + Mg2+) against TZ+ and (Na+ + K+). In statistical approach, PCA analysis suggests that geogenic weathering dynamics in the catchment is associated with carbonate-dominant lithology.
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