scholarly journals Ge/Si Ratio of River Water in the Yarlung Tsangpo: Implications for Hydrothermal Input and Chemical Weathering

Water ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Yuchen Wang ◽  
Tong Zhao ◽  
Zhifang Xu ◽  
Huiguo Sun ◽  
Jiangyi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
River Water ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Iron Hydroxide ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Yarlung Tsangpo ◽  
Yarlung Tsangpo River ◽  
Clay Formation ◽  
Hydrothermal Water

Germanium/Silicon (Ge/Si) ratio is a common proxy for primary mineral dissolution and secondary clay formation yet could be affected by hydrothermal and anthropogenic activities. To decipher the main controls of riverine Ge/Si ratios and evaluate the validity of the Ge/Si ratio as a weathering proxy in the Tibetan Plateau, a detailed study was presented on Ge/Si ratios in the Yarlung Tsangpo River, southern Tibetan Plateau. River water and hydrothermal water were collected across different climatic and tectonic zones, with altitudes ranging from 800 m to 5000 m. The correlations between TDS (total dissolved solids) and the Ge/Si ratio and Si and Ge concentrations of river water, combined with the spatial and temporal variations of the Ge/Si ratio, indicate that the contribution of hydrothermal water significantly affects the Ge/Si ratio of the Yarlung Tsangpo River water, especially in the upper and middle reaches. Based on the mass balance calculation, a significant amount of Ge (11–88%) has been lost during its transportation from hydrothermal water to the river system; these could result from the incorporation of Ge on/into clays, iron hydroxide, and sulfate mineral. In comparison, due to the hydrothermal input, the average Ge/Si ratio in the Yarlung Tsangpo River is a magnitude order higher than the majority of rivers over the world. Therefore, evaluation of the contribution of hydrothermal sources should be considered when using the Ge/Si ratio to trace silicate weathering in rivers around the Tibetan Plateau.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of water budget dynamic in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin of Tibetan Plateau based on multi-source datasets

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Jiang ◽  
Zongxue Xu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Water Budget ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Water Budgets ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Yarlung Tsangpo ◽  
Yarlung Tsangpo River

<p>Understanding the dynamics of basin-scale water budgets over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is significant for hydrology and water resource management in the southern and eastern Asia. However, a detailed water balance analysis is limited by the lack of adequate hydro-climatic observations in this region. In this study, we investigate the spatiotemporal variation of water budget components (e.g. precipitation P, evapotranspiration ET and runoff Q etc.) in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin (YTB) of southeast TP during the period of 1975-2015 through using multi-source datasets (e.g. insitu observation, remote sensing data products, reanalysis outputs and model simulations etc.). The change trend of water budget components and vegetation parameters was analyzed in the YTB on interannual scale. The results indicated that the detailed water budgets are different from upstream to downstream YTB due to different temperature, vegetation cover and evapotranspiration, which are mainly affected by different climate conditions. In the whole basin, precipitation that are mainly during June to October was the major contributor to the runoff. The P and Q were found to show a slight but insignificant decrease in most regions of YTB since the late 1990s, which showed positive relationships with the weakening Indian summer monsoon. While the ET showed an insignificant increase across most of the YTB, especially in the middle basin. The runoff coefficient (Q/P) exhibited an indistinctively decreasing trend which may be, to some extent, due to the overlap effects of ET increase and snow and glacier changes. The obtained results offer insights into understanding the evolution mechanism of hydrological processes in such a data-sparse region under changing environment.</p>

scholarly journals Intense Chemical Weathering at Glacial Meltwater-Dominated Hailuogou Basin in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangying Li ◽  
Yongjian Ding ◽  
Qiao Liu ◽  
Yong Zhang ◽  
Tianding Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
River Water ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Sulfide Oxidation ◽  
Solute Flux ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Denudation Rate ◽  
Weathering Processes ◽  
The Impact

Climate warming has caused rapid shrinkage of glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), but the impact of glacier retreat on the chemical denudation rate remains largely unknown at the temperate glacial basins. The chemical weathering processes were examined at a temperate glacial basin (HLG) in the southeastern TP based on comprehensive data from the supraglacial meltwater, proglacial river water, precipitation and groundwater over two glacier melt seasons in 2008 and 2013. The concentrations of major ions and suspended sediments in river water exhibit a pronounced seasonality and display a close relationship with river discharge, suggesting a strong hydrological control on the chemical and physical weathering processes. Runoff chemistry is dominated by carbonate weathering and sulfide oxidation. HCO3−, Ca2+, and/or SO42− are the dominant ions in meltwater, river water, precipitation and groundwater. For river water, HCO3− and Ca2+ primarily come from calcite weathering, and SO42− is mainly derived from pyrite oxidation. Both solute and sediment fluxes are positively related to river discharge (r = 0.69, p < 0.01 for sediments). The solute flux and yields are 18,095–19,435 t·year−1 and 225–241 t·km−2·year−1, and the sediment load and yields are 126,390 t·year−1 and 1570 t·km−2·year−1, respectively. The solute yields, cationic denudation rate (CDR; 2850–3108 Σ*meq+ m−2·year−1) and chemical weathering intensity (CWI; 616–711 Σ*meq+ m−3·year−1) at HLG are higher than those at most basins irrespective of the lithology, suggesting more intense weathering in the TP in comparison to other glacial basins worldwide.

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