The microfacies and sedimentary responses to the mass extinction during the Permian-Triassic transition at Yangou Section,Jiangxi Province,South China

A Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) boundary section of continuous carbonate facies, which well recorded the biotic and environmental processes through the great P-Tr transition in the shallow non-microbialite carbonate facies, has been studied in Yangou, Leping County, Jiangxi Province. The P-Tr sequence is well correlated with the Meishan section according to the conodont biostratigraphy and the excursion of carbon isotopes. A series of high-resolution thin-sections from the P-Tr boundary carbonate rocks at the Yangou section are studied to explore the interrelation between environmental change and biological evolution during the transitional time. Six microfacies have been identified based upon the observation of the thin-sections under a microscope on the grains and matrix and their interrelation. Combined with the data of fossils and carbon isotopes, Microfacies 4 (MF-4), coated-grain-bearing foraminifer oolitic sparitic limestone, and Microfacies 6 (MF-6), dark shelly micritic limestone, should be the different responses to the two episodes of mass extinction and environmental events that can be correlated throughout South China and even over the world. The oolitic limestone of MF-4 is the first finding from the latest Permian strata in South China and it might be a proxy of an unusual environmental condition of high pCO₂, low sulfate concentration and of microbial blooming in the aftermath of the latest Permian mass extinction. The micritic limestone of MF-6 containing rich micro-gastropods and ostracods probably represents the blooming event of disaster taxa in the earliest Triassic environment. The microfacies analysis at the Yangou section can well reveal the episodic process of the biological evolution and environmental change in the shallow non-microbialite carbonate facies throughout the great P-Tr transition, thus the Yangou section becomes an important complement to the Meishan section.     

Biogeochemical contrasts between mid-Cretaceous carbonate platforms and Cenozoic reefs

Carbonate sediments of mid-Cretaceous platforms on Allison and Resolution Guyots, Mid-Pacific Mountains (ODP Leg 143, Sites 865, 866, 867 and 868) and those of upper Oligocene to Pliocene reefs of the Kita-daito-jima Borehole were studied. The mid-Cretaceous platforms abound with abiotic (?) precipitates (ooids) and microbial carbonate grains/sediments (oncoids and ‘algal’ laminites), whereas the Cenozoic reefs consist mainly of coral and non-geniculate coralline algae, major frame-builders, benthic foraminifers and codiacean alga (Halimeda). There exists a remarkable difference in a mode of calcification between the mid-Cretaceous platforms and Cenozoic reefs. The major reef-builders of Cenozoic reefs precipitated carbonates within closed to semiclosed spaces within their bodies. In contrast, the mid-Cretaceous platforms contain abundant grains/sediments formed by chemical (?) precipitations and biotic extracellular calcification. This contrasting feature reflects different modes of biogeochemical cycles between the mid-Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Increased CO₂ (degassed by active volcanism) and resultant high temperature and intensive weathering may have brought high concentration of Ca²⁺ and HCO₃^? into the mid-Cretaceous sea, which enhanced abiotic and extracellular calcification. Inverse processes are true for the Cenozoic.     

The fluctuating environment associated with the episodic biotic crisis during the Permo/Triassic transition:Evidence from microbial biomarkers in Changxing,Zhejiang Province

The environmental conditions and the biotic crisis during the Permo-Triassic (Tr/P) transition received increasing attention in the past decades. Presented herein are the molecular fossil records of cyano-bacteria and green sulfur bacteria,the base of the marine ecosystem,to highlight the episodic nature of both the environment and the biotic crisis during this critical period. At least two episodes of cyano-bacterial expansion are documented by 2-methylhopanes ranging from C28 to C32 in carbon number,indicative of the instable marine ecosystem and the fluctuant aquatic nutrients. Meanwhile,the index of 2-alkyl-1,3,4-trimethylbenzenes (biomarkers of green sulfur bacteria) and the ratio of pristane to phy-tane (Pr/Ph) witness the fluctuation of sedimentary environmental redox conditions. The above mo-lecular evidence suggests the occurrence of highly fluctuating environmental conditions during the Tr/P transition,which is consistent with,and probably the cause of,the multi-phased biotic crisis and the prolonged faunal recovery.     

Microbial carbonates in Holocene beachrocks,Shuiweiling, Luhuitou Peninsula,Hainan Island

Two research methods, geomicrobiology and carbonate sedimentology, were adopted to study the microbial carbonates in the beachrocks, Shuiweiling, Luhuitou, Sanya City, Hainan Island. The results indicate that microbial carbonates occur in Shuiweiling beachrocks and cements related to microbial activitives are common. Microbial carbonates were mainly developed on the surfaces of coral skeletons and within the coral (fragments and shivers) skeletal cavities,and rarely grew in interspaces formed by coral and other biological detritus. The growth morphologies of microbial carbonates are various, including stromatolitic lamination, thin crusts, dome-like, and microbialites. Microbial carbonates commonly trap fine-sized bioclasts, contain tubular filaments, and show laminated growth striation. Microbial carbonates within the coral skeletal cavities are generally stromatolitic cone-shaped, with a random growth direction along the bearing of trend of cavities, showing distinct growth laminae and recognizable growth phases. It is a special growth pattern of crypt microbial carbonates. Microbial cements occur mainly in shape of needle cement, calcified filaments, microborings, and calcified framboidal spheres. The needle cement is the most common type. These microbial cements indicate that microbial activities and microbial carbonates played an important role in beachrock formation in which carbonates were dominant components and the climate of tropical ocean monsoon was influential. Such microbial carbonates and microbial cementation have not been reported here from beachrocks along the northern shorelines of the South China Sea. The results support a clear microbial origin for certain carbonate cements in beachrocks, confirm that microbial carbonates are a significant contributor to carbonate sedimentation, and widen the knowledge of beachrocks from a new field.     

Dissolution in a variably confined carbonate platform: effects of allogenic runoff,hydraulic damming of groundwater inputs,and surface–groundwater exchange at the basin scale

In variably confined carbonate platforms, impermeable confining units collect rainfall over large areas and deliver runoff to rivers or conduits in unconfined portions of platforms. Runoff can increase river stage or conduit heads in unconfined portions of platforms faster than local infiltration of rainfall can increase groundwater heads, causing hydraulic gradients between rivers, conduits and the aquifer to reverse. Gradient reversals cause flood waters to flow from rivers and conduits into the aquifer where they can dissolve limestone. Previous work on impacts of gradient reversals on dissolution has primarily emphasized individual caves and little research has been conducted at basin scales. To address this gap in knowledge, we used legacy data to assess how a gradient of aquifer confinement across the Suwannee River Basin, north‐central Florida affected locations, magnitudes and processes of dissolution during 2005–2007, a period with extreme ranges of discharge. During intense rain events, runoff from the confining unit increased river stage above groundwater heads in unconfined portions of the platform, hydraulically damming inputs of groundwater along a 200 km reach of river. Hydraulic damming allowed allogenic runoff with SI_CAL < ?4 to fill the entire river channel and flow into the aquifer via reversing springs. Storage of runoff in the aquifer decreased peak river discharges downstream and contributed to dissolution within the aquifer. Temporary storage of allogenic runoff in karst aquifers represents hyporheic exchange at a scale that is larger than found in streams flowing over non‐karst aquifers because conduits in karst aquifers extend the area available for exchange beyond river beds deep into aquifers. Post‐depositional porosity in variably confined carbonate platforms should thus be enhanced along rivers that originate on confining units. This distribution should be considered in models of porosity distribution used to manage water and hydrocarbon resources in carbonate rocks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sedimentary facies and biofacies of the Torinosu Limestone in the Torinosu area,Kochi Prefecture,Japan

The Torinosu Limestone represents carbonate platform deposits in a foreland basin, the sedimentary setting of which is highly different from those of well‐known Late Jurassic reefs in the western Tethys that developed on shelf areas of continental margins and intra‐Tethyan platforms. Sedimentological and paleontological analyses were conducted on a 55.5 m‐thick Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous (Tithonian–Berriasian) carbonate sequence (Torinosu Limestone) at the Eastern Hitotsubuchi Quarry, Kochi Prefecture, Southwest Japan. The carbonate sequence is composed of two sections that are separated by a subaerial exposure surface. Two and three depositional units have been defined in the lower and upper sections, respectively, based on changes in lithology and the biotic composition of the carbonates; they are numbered from 1 to 5, in ascending order. Calcified demosponges (stromatoporoids and a chaetetid Chaetetopsis crinita) are abundant in three units (2, 3, and 5), in which microencrusters (mostly Lithocodium aggregatum and Bacinella irregularis) and microbialites are also common to abundant. Although most of them are para‐allochthonous, in‐situ branching stromatoporoids are found on and above the subaerial exposure surface (unit 3). Corals are less common, poorly diverse, and primarily represented by the family Microsolenidae. Siliciclastic grains occur in all units, but they are particularly common in units 1 and 4. The co‐occurrence of the Lithocodium–Bacinella association, which is typical of oligotrophic or moderately mesotrophic shallow‐water environments, with microsolenids, which are indicative of high nutrient levels and/or low‐light intensity due to high turbidity, suggests repeated changes in nutrient levels associated with terrigenous input. Based on lithology, biotic composition, and succession, we infer that sea‐level changes and related terrigenous input controlled the sedimentary environment of the studied carbonate sequence.     

Positive feedbacks and bistability associated with phosphorus–vegetation–microbial interactions

Phosphorus (P) availability in soils can be a major factor limiting vegetation growth. Vegetation has adapted to this limitation by efficiently cycling P. Under conditions of limited P, microbes aid in mitigating P losses and enhancing P availability. Deforestation adversely impacts microbial populations. In turn, the loss of microbial biomass increases P losses and decreases P availability. This is important because P is not replenished biologically. Hence, when lost from the system, P only becomes available for uptake over geologic time scales. While vegetation clearly affects the microbial community and P cycling, it is not well-understood whether a loss of vegetation could lead to state changes in the vegetation dynamics. We develop a modeling framework and apply it to a P-limited cerrado ecosystem in Brazil with high intra-annual rainfall variability to examine whether deforestation can lead to a shift to a stable tree-less state. Following deforestation, we observed a decline in the microbial pool, a reduction in immobilization, and an increase in P losses. Although vegetation recovered from deforestation, a significant decline in the recalcitrant organic P pool occurred. A larger reduction in this pool led to a state change to the bare state from which the vegetation and microbial biomass did not recover. Results suggest that systems most susceptible to state changes may be those which have been previously deforested or those where the amount of P stored in the recalcitrant organic pool is low or becomes available very slowly.     

Progress and perspective on frontiers of geobiology

Geobiology is a new discipline on the crossing interface between earth science and life science,and aims to understand the interaction and co-evolution between organisms and environments.On the basis of the latest international achievements,the new data presented in the Beijing geobiology forum sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2013,and the papers in this special issue,here we present an overview of the progress and perspectives on three important frontiers,including geobiology of the critical periods in Earth history,geomicrobes and their responses and feedbacks to global environmental changes,and geobiology in extreme environments.Knowledge is greatly improved about the close relationship of some significant biotic events such as origin,radiation,extinction,and recovery of organisms with the deep Earth processes and the resultant environmental processes among oceans,land,and atmosphere in the critical periods,although the specific dynamics of the co-evolution between ancient life and paleoenvironments is still largely unknown.A variety of geomicrobial functional groups were found to respond sensitively to paleoenvironmental changes,which enable the establishment of proxies for paleoenvironmental reconstruction,and to play active roles on the Earth environmental changes via elemental biogeochemical cycles and mineral bio-transformations,but to be deciphered are the mechanisms of these functional groups that change paleoenvironmental conditions.Microbes of potential geobiology significance were found and isolated from some extreme environments with their biological properties partly understood,but little is known about their geobiological functions to change Earth environments.The biotic processes to alter or modify the environments are thus proposed to be the very issue geobiology aims to decipher in the future.Geobiology will greatly extend the temporal and spatial scope of biotic research on Earth and beyond.It has great potential of application in the domains of resource exploration and global change.To achieve these aims needs coordinative multidisciplinary studies concerning geomicrobiology and related themes,database and modeling of biogeochemical cycles,typical geological environments,and coupling of biological,physical,and chemical processes.     

Influence of partial confinement and Holocene river formation on groundwater flow and dissolution in the Florida carbonate platform

Much of what is known about groundwater circulation and geochemical evolution in carbonate platforms is based on platforms that are fully confined or unconfined. Much less is known about groundwater flow paths and geochemical evolution in partially confined platforms, particularly those supporting surface water. In north‐central Florida, sea level rise and a transition to a wetter climate during the Holocene formed rivers in unconfined portions of the Florida carbonate platform. Focusing on data from the Santa Fe River basin, we show river formation has led to important differences in the hydrological and geochemical evolution of the Santa Fe River basin relative to fully confined or unconfined platforms. Runoff from the siliciclastic confining layer drove river incision and created topographic relief, reorienting the termination of local and regional groundwater flow paths from the coast to the rivers in unconfined portions of the platform. The most chemically evolved groundwater occurs at the end of the longest and deepest flow paths, which discharge near the center of the platform because of incision of the Santa Fe River at the edge of the confining unit. This pattern of discharge of mineralized water differs from fully confined or unconfined platforms where discharge of the most mineralized water occurs at the coast. Mineralized water flowing into the Santa Fe River is diluted by less evolved water derived from shorter, shallower flow paths that discharge to the river downstream. Formation of rivers shortens flow path lengths, thereby decreasing groundwater residence times and allowing freshwater to discharge more quickly to the oceans in the newly formed rivers than in platforms that lack rivers. Similar dynamic changes to groundwater systems should be expected to occur in the future as climate change and sea level rise develop surface water on other carbonate platforms and low lying coastal aquifer systems. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of biotic indices and relationship with structural and functional features of macrobenthic community in the lagoon of Venice: an example over a long time series of data

In the context of the application of WFD, a scientific debate is growing about the applicability of biotic indices in coastal and transitional waters. In the present work, the question about the discriminating power of different biotic indices and the relationships with the structure and functioning of the macrobenthic community in a transitional environment is discussed. A time series of samples collected during the last 70 years in the lagoon of Venice, reflecting different environmental conditions (a sort of 'pristine state' in 1935, the distrophic crisis in 1988 and subsequent modifications in 1990, the invasion by an alien species and the developing of high impacting fishery in 1999) has been used. The comparison of results obtained by applying different biotic indices, such as AMBI, Bentix and BOPA, shows differences in the discriminating power of indices and a general overestimation of environmental conditions. Discrepancies between environmental status as indicated by biotic indices and the structure and functioning of the benthic community have been highlighted.     

Microbial influences on paleoenvironmental changes during the Permian-Triassic boundary crisis

The biosphere interacts and co-evolves with natural environments.Much is known about the biosphere’s response to ancient environmental perturbations,but less about the biosphere’s influences on environmental change through earth history.Here,we discuss the roles of microbes in environmental changes during the critical Permian-Triassic(P-Tr)transition and present a perspective on future geomicrobiological investigations.Lipid biomarkers,stable isotopic compositions of carbon,nitrogen and sulfur,and mineralogical investigations have shown that a series of microbial functional groups might have flourished during the P-Tr transition,including those capable of sulfate reduction,anaerobic H2S oxidation,methanogenesis,aerobic CH4oxidation,denitrification,and nitrogen fixation.These microbes may have served to both enhance and degrade the habitability of the Earth-surface environment during this crisis.The integrated microbial roles have enabled the Earth’s exosphere to be a self-regulating system.     

Biotic evolution and its relation with geological events in the Proterozoic Yanshan Basin,North China

The Yanshan Basin,located in northern North China,underwent three primary stages in the Mesoproterozoic,and corresponding biotas have been summarized for each stage in the present study.The three stages are stage A(the lower part of the Changcheng Group which dominated by clastic sediments),stage B(the upper part of the Changcheng Group to the Jixian Group which characterized by carbonate sediments),and stage C(the upper part of the Jixian Group which dominated by clastic sediments).This paper will focus on the evolution of biota during stage B.Microbiota of the stage B exhibits a high level of diversity and abundance.Planktonic microfossils have various forms and complex decorations.Most microfossils are small.In stage B,there was great variation in the biotic abundance and diversity,the average diameter of spherical benthic microfossils,and the maximum diameter of the spherical microfossils.We analyzed these parameters and identified two typical biotic events,and both biotic events were corresponded with geological events.The first event occurred in the third member of the Dahongyu Formation.In this era,the maximum diameter of the silicified microfossils significantly increased,and large,spherical planktonic specimens are abundant.The flourishing of large organisms in the strata is presumably related to volcanic activity.The second event occurred in the third member of the Gaoyuzhuang Formation.During this era,the microfossil assemblage changed significantly.The changes correspond with a decline in stromatolites as well as the transformations of the carbon isotope ratios and the elemental geochemistry.     

CH4-consuming microorganisms and the formation of carbonate crusts at cold seeps

To understand the role played by microorganisms in the formation of cold seep carbonates, we conducted an integrated microbial, mineralogical and organic geochemical study of methane-related authigenic carbonate crusts formed on eastern Mediterranean mud volcanoes. We show that supersaturation with respect to carbonate minerals is induced by microbial anaerobic oxidation of methane. Combined lipid biomarker analysis and 16S rRNA gene surveys identified a highly diversified methane-consuming archaeal community possibly comprising novel species, implying that the anaerobic oxidation of methane is phylogenetically widespread and directly implicating these organisms in the process of crust precipitation. Moreover, pore-water sulphate gradients produced by co-occurring methane-based sulphate reduction exert the main control on aragonite versus magnesian calcite precipitation. We propose that this may be the dominant mode of carbonate crust formation at cold seeps world-wide, in agreement with aquatic chemistry predictions and explaining carbonate mineralogy.     

Sensitivity,responsivity, stability and irreversibility as multiple objectives in civil systems

This paper recommends the consideration of sensitivity, stability, risk, and irreversibility as objective functions in water resource management models within the framework of multiobjective analysis. Six major sources of uncertainties and errors in systems modeling are identified. They are associated with the following model characteristics: model structure (topology), model parameters, model scope or focus, data, optimization technique, and human subjectivity. In particular, the major objective of this paper is to set the stage for the development of an analytical and operational multiobjective framework which will provide decision-makers and plamers with alternatives that consider systems' sensitivity, responsivity, stability and irreversibility along with cost and other performance indices as multiple objectives. This type of a framework should have a very wide spectrum of applications in water and related land resources, environmental studies, energy, and others. The Surrogate Worth Trade-off method is proposed for the solution of the resulting multiobjective optimization problem.     

Biomarkers in environmental and human health risk assessment

Marine pollution is a major threat to human and environmental health. Given the complexity of function of marine and coastal ecosystems, it is unlikely that a balanced view of the nature and extent of risk will easily be achieved if human and environmental risk assessments continue to be conducted in isolation. Here, the integration of assessment protocols is advocated as a holistic means of improving risk management. Biomarkers can provide the common conceptual framework and measurable endpoints necessary for successful integration. Examples are given of the ways in which suites of biomarkers encompassing molecular change, cellular pathology and physiological impairment can be developed and adapted for human and ecological scenarios. By placing a greater emphasis on the health status of impacted biota, it is more likely that risk assessment will develop the efficiency, reliability and predictive power to adapt to the unforeseen environmental threats that are an inevitable consequence of human development and global change.     

On the biological connectivity of oil and gas platforms in the North Sea

Tests are made of the conjecture that the platforms in the North Sea are biologically connected, with organisms originating from some platforms reaching and substantially augmenting those at others so that, together, the platforms effectively form a sort of artificial reef. The M₂ tide results in a relatively rapid transfer of organisms between neighbouring platforms. Some 60% of platforms in the southern UK Sector are directly connected by tidal flows. Such connection in the northern Sector is relatively rare, about 23% of platforms being connected. Mean flows connect platforms in ‘strings’ sharing a common streamline spread by turbulent dispersion. Metrics are devised to indicate how well a particular platform is connected to others. Strings are broken when contributions to the concentration of organisms from platforms fall below detection limits. Many platforms are likely to be connected in strings in the southern UK Sector, but relatively few in the northern Sector.     

Environmental effects of the use of oil-based drilling muds in the North Sea

The environmental effects of oil-based drilling mud cuttings have been evaluated using all the data available from monitoring around North Sea platforms. Beneath the platforms making extensive use of oil-based drilling muds the natural sediment is buried by cuttings and the hydrocarbon concentration 250 m from the platforms may be 1000 times background, but the concentration gradient is very steep and background levels are usually reached 2000–3000 m from the platform.The extent of the biological effects appear to be greater from the use of oil-based muds than from water-based muds. Beyond the area of physical smothering the effects of oil-based mud cuttings may be due to organic enrichment or to the toxicity of the aromatic fraction of the oil. Despite the large scale of inputs, in all the fields studied the major deleterious biological effects occurred within 500 m of the platform. Surrounding the area of major impact was a transition zone in which subtle biological effects could be detected as community parameters returned to normal, generally within 400–1000 m.The shape and extent of this zone varied and was largely determined by the current regime and scale of the drilling operation. Elevated hydrocarbon concentrations were detected beyond the areas of biological effects.     

Improved understanding of dynamic water and mass budgets of high-alpine karst systems obtained from studying a well-defined catchment area

Large areas of Europe, especially in the Alps, are covered by carbonate rocks and in many alpine regions, karst springs are important sources for drinking water supply. Because of their high variability and heterogeneity, the understanding of the hydrogeological functioning of karst aquifers is of particular importance for their protection and utilisation. Climate change and heavy rainfall events are major challenges in managing alpine karst aquifers which possess an enormous potential for future drinking water supply. In this study, we present research from a high-alpine karst system in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Großes Walsertal in Austria, which has a clearly defined catchment and is drained by only one spring system. Results show that (a) the investigated system is a highly dynamic karst aquifer with distinct reactions to rainfall events in discharge and electrical conductivity; (b) the estimated transient atmospheric CO₂ sink is about 270 t/a; (c) the calculated carbonate rock denudation rate is between 23 and 47 mm/1000a and (d) the rainfall-discharge behaviour and the internal flow dynamics can be successfully simulated using the modelling package KarstMod. The modelling results indicate the relevance of matrix storage in determining the discharge behaviour of the spring, particularly during low-flow periods. This research and the consequent results can contribute and initiate a better understanding and management of alpine karst aquifers considering climate change with more heavy rainfall events and also longer dry periods.     

Silurian integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China

Silurian is a period with the shortest duration in Phanerozoic except for the Neogene and Quaternary. It represents an important and unique interval when the biotic diversity recovered quickly after the end-Ordovician mass extinction, different paleoplates or terranes conjoined, big oceans disappeared or narrowed, climate and sea level changed frequently, global biotic provincialism became weaker, some primitive plants started to occupy the land. Silurian is also the first system of which all the chronostratigraphic stratotypes(i.e. the GSSPs) including four series and seven stages were established by the International Subcommission on Silurian Stratigraphy(ISSS). Nonetheless, during the post-GSSP studies conducted by ISSS in the middle1980 s, some Silurian GSSPs were found to have some congenital defects such as no index fossils available that hinder the high resolution subdivision and correlation on a regional or global scale. In this paper, based on the latest development of Silurian study in China, the progress in biostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy, event stratigraphy(such as facies differentiation, heterochrony of black shales, marine red beds, carbonate rocks and reefs), chemostratigraphy, and tectonic stratigraphy(e.g., widespread of the late Silurian rocks in South China and its tectonic implication) are systematically summarized. Some existing problems and the areas to be focused in future work are also discussed. It is suitable for chronostratigraphic study to concentrate not only on the boundary but also doing multidisciplinary analysis on the biotic, chemical, magnetic, environmental, and chronologic aspects, in order to enhance the reliability and the potential for regional and global correlation of a certain GSSP.Some important achievements are expected in these areas in the Silurian study in China:(1) ecostratigraphy and basin analysis of the Llandovery, and the correlation of integrative stratigraphy with a high resolution;(2) establishment of the Wenlock to Pridoli chronostratigraphic framework;(3) the chemo-and magnetic stratigraphy and the age of some key intervals and horizons;(4)further investigation on paleogeography and plate tectonics; and(5) origin and early evolution of the terrestrial ecosystem. Some new breakthroughs might occur in the restudy on some of those problematic GSSPs of some particular series and stages.     

Seasonal Variation of Temperature,Alkalinity and Dissolved Oxygen in the Sagar Lake

The present study deals with the seasonal variation of temperature, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen in the Sagar lake. Different abiotic and biotic factors were investigated and a diurnal study was made, too. The investigation shows that the surface water values were always higher than the bottom water values. The water temperature ranged from 16.0 to 31.0 °C, carbonate alkalinity ranged from 0.0 to 46.0 mg/1, bicarbonate alkalinity ranged from 62.0 to 138.0 mg/1, dissolved oxygen ranged between 1.6 and 13.2 ppm. The water temperature was found to be positively correlated with carbonate alkalinity while an inverse correlation existed with bicarbonate alkalinity. Dissolved oxygen had a significant positive correlation with carbonate alkalinity, while a negative correlation was observed with bicarbonate alkalinity during all the seasons.