Major element chemistry of the Changjiang (Yangtze River)

• Published in: Chemical Geology
• Main Authors: Chen, JS, Wang, FY, Xia, XH, Zhang, LT
• Other Authors: Wang, FY (reprint author), Univ Manitoba, Environm Sci Program, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada., Univ Manitoba, Environm Sci Program, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada., Univ Manitoba, Dept Chem, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada., Peking Univ, Dept Geog, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China.
• Format: Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 化工地质 2002
• Subjects: Changjiang; Yangtze River; geochemistry; major ion chemistry; weathering; acid deposition; FLUVIAL GEOCHEMISTRY; WEATHERING PROCESSES; WATER CHEMISTRY; EASTERN SIBERIA; DISSOLVED-LOAD; ION CHEMISTRY; LENA RIVER; AMAZON; CHINA; TRIBUTARIES; lena river; Siberia
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11897/208746; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2541(02)00032-3

The chemistry of major elements (Ca, Mg, Na, K, HCO3, SO4, Cl, and Si) in the river water of the Changjiang (Yangtze River) was studied, based on continuously monitored data at 191 stations in the drainage basin for the period 1958-1990. The results show that the total dissolved solid (TDS) concentration of the Changjiang varies over an order of magnitude throughout the basin (49.7-518.1 mg/l), with a medium TDS concentration of 205.9 mg/l, about three times the global average. In contrast, the TDS at a given main-channel station varies only slightly in different seasons with a variation factor less than 2.0, despite a substantial water dilution in the summer flood season. The major element chemistry of the Changjiang is mainly controlled by rock weathering, with the anion HCO3 and the cation Ca dominating the major ion composition, due to the abundance of carbonate rocks in the basin. A persistently increasing trend has been observed in the concentrations Of SO4 and, to a lesser extent, Cl in the Changjiang, a signature of considerable anthropogenic impacts (e.g., acid deposition). Flux calculations at Datong (the most downstream main-channel station without tidal influence) indicate that the Changjiang transports ca. 154 x 10(6) tons/year of TDS to the sea, second only to the Amazon in the world. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000177462500004&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701 Geochemistry & Geophysics SCI(E) 132 ARTICLE 3-4 231-255 187