• Multiple assessments, source determination, and health risk apportionment of heavy metal(loid)s in the groundwater of the Shule River Basin in northwestern China

    分类: 环境科学技术及资源科学技术 >> 环境科学技术基础学科 提交时间: 2023-11-13 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: Global ecosystems and public health have been greatly impacted by the accumulation of heavy metal(loid)s in water. Source-specific risk apportionment is needed to prevent and manage potential groundwater contamination with heavy metal(loid)s. The heavy metal(loid)s contamination status, water quality, ecological risk, and health risk apportionment of the Shule River Basin groundwater are poorly understood. Therefore, field sampling was performed to explore the water quality and risk of heavy metal(loid)s in the groundwater of the Shule River Basin in northwestern China. A total of 96 samples were collected from the study area to acquire data for water quality and heavy metal(loid)s risk. There was noticeable accumulation of ferrum in the groundwater of the Shule River Basin. The levels of pollution were considered to be moderately low, as evaluated by the degree of contamination, heavy metal evaluation index, heavy metal pollution index, and Nemerow pollution index. The ecological risks were also low. However, an assessment of the water quality index revealed that only 58.34% of the groundwater samples had good water quality. The absolute principal component scores-multiple linear regression model was more suited for this study area than the positive matrix factorization model. There were no obvious noncarcinogenic or carcinogenic concerns for all types of receptors according to the values of the total hazard index and total carcinogenic risk. The human activities and the initial geological environment factor (65.85%) was the major source of noncarcinogenic risk (residential children: 87.56%; residential adults: 87.52%; recreational children: 86.77%; and recreational adults: 85.42%), while the industrial activity factor (16.36%) was the major source of carcinogenic risk (residential receptors: 87.96%; and recreational receptors: 68.73%). These findings provide fundamental and crucial information for reducing the health issues caused by heavy metal(loid)s contamination of groundwater in arid areas.

  • Geochemical signatures and human health risk evaluation of rare earth elements in soils and plants of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

    分类: 环境科学技术及资源科学技术 >> 环境科学技术基础学科 提交时间: 2022-11-12 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要:Information on rare earth elements (REEs) in soils and plants of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is very limited. Therefore, in this study, we performed field sampling to explore the geochemical signatures and human health risk of REEs in soils and plants of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. A total of 127 soil samples and 127 plant samples were collected from the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to acquire the geochemical signatures and related human health risks of REEs. The mean total concentrations of REEs in soils and plants of the study area reached 178.55 and 10.06 mg/kg, respectively. The light REEs in soils and plants accounted for 76% and 77% of the total REEs, respectively. REEs showed significantly homogenous distribution in soils but inhomogeneous distribution in plants of the study area. Characteristic parameters indicated that light REEs were enriched and fractionated significantly, while heavy REEs were moderately fractionated in soils and plants. REEs in soils and plants showed significantly negative Europium anomaly. Cerium showed slightly positive anomaly in plants and slight anomaly in soils. The normalized distribution patterns of REEs were generally similar in the analyzed soils and the corresponding plants of the study area. The average bio-concentration factor of REEs ranged from 0.0478 (Scandium) to 0.0604 (Europium), confirming a small accumulation of REEs by plants. Health risks caused by REEs in soils and plants were negligible, while risks for adults were lower than those for children. This study provides important information on REEs in soils and plants of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

  • Near-surface wind environment in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin, southern Tibetan Plateau

    分类: 地球科学 >> 地理学 提交时间: 2021-01-15 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: Aeolian processes have been studied extensively at low elevations, but have been relatively little studied at high elevations. Aeolian sediments are widely distributed in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin, southern Tibetan Plateau, which is characterized by low pressure and low temperature. Here, we comprehensively analyzed the wind regime using data since 1980 from 11 meteorological stations in the study area, and examined the interaction between the near-surface wind and aeolian environment. The wind environment exhibited significant spatial and temporal variation, and mean wind speed has generally decreased on both annual and seasonal bases since 1980, at an average of 0.181 m/(s•10a). This decrease resulted from the reduced contribution of maximum wind speed, and depended strongly on variations of the frequency of sand-driving winds. The drift potential and related parameters also showed obvious spatial and temporal variation, with similar driving forces for the wind environment. The strength of the wind regime affected the formation and development of the aeolian geomorphological pattern, but with variation caused by local topography and sediment sources. The drift potential and resultant drift direction were two key parameters, as they quantify the dynamic conditions and depositional orientation of the aeolian sediments. Wind affected the spatial variation in sediment grain size, but the source material and complex topographic effects on the near-surface wind were the underlying causes for the grain size distribution of aeolian sands. These results will support efforts to control aeolian desertification in the basin and improve our understanding of aeolian processes in high-elevation environments.