Trace element chemistry of major rivers in Orissa State, India |
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Authors: | K O Konhauser M A Powell W S Fyfe F J Longstaffe S Tripathy |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, England LS2 9JT, GB;(2) Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada, CA;(3) State Pollution Control Board, A/118, Nilakantha Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India 751 012, IN |
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Abstract: | Geochemical analyses of surface waters from rivers flowing through Orissa State, India, indicated that trace element concentrations
were extremely variable and consistently higher than world river average. The Brahmani River was the most solute-rich river
studied, followed by the Baitarani and Mahanadi Rivers. Although all three rivers drain similar geology, the Brahmani River
catchment is heavily industrialized, and water samples collected upstream and downstream from industries indicated that anthropogenic
activity directly influenced its chemical composition. Samples collected from several towns, in all three river systems, did
not invariably show similar patterns, with various elements having higher dissolved concentrations upstream. Because the concentration
of total solids increased downstream, this implied that some components of the sewage had effectively sequestered available
elements from solution and converted them to particulate material. Although the impact of pollution is clearly recognizable
in water samples collected in proximity to the anthropogenic source, there are only slight elemental accumulations in the
lower reaches of the Mahanadi River, with no accumulation in the Brahmani River. Apparently for these large rivers, discharged
effluent becomes rapidly diluted, while complexation and sedimentation further removes trace elements from the water column.
However, in the less voluminous Baitarani River, elementar enrichment near the river's mouth suggests that in this secondary
river, where dilution effects are less, the concerns over regional water quality may be more prevalent.
Received: 1 April 1995 · Accepted: 30 August 1995 |
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Keywords: | Trace elements Indian rivers |
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