[Hydrochemical Characteristics of Snow Meltwater and River Water During Snow-melting Period in the Headwaters of the Ertis River, Xinjiang].

ABSTRACT

To analyze the hydrochemical characteristics of river water and snow meltwater during snow-melting period in the Kayiertesi River, the headwaters of the Ertis River, samples of river water and meltwater were collected every day during March and April, 2014. Furthermore, the combination of descriptive statistics, Gibbs Figure and Piper Triangular diagrams of anions and cations were used for hydrochemical analyses. The results showed that the major ion compositions and hydrochemical types were significantly different between river water and snow meltwater. The total dissolved solid (TDS) in the river water ranged from 24.9 to 50.3 mg · L⁻¹. The major cations of river water were Ca²âº and Na⁺, accounting for 61% and 17% of the total cation equivalent concentration, respectively. Meanwhile, HCO3⁻ constituted about 95% of the total anions concentration. The hydrochemical type of river water was HCO3⁻-Ca²âº. The chemical composition of river water samples located in the middle with a deviation to left of Gibbs model, indicating that the major chemical process of river water was controlled by rock weath ring and precipitation but rock weathering played a more important role.