ABSTRACT

The Indus River is the most prominent freshwater source of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Glacier/snow melting during the summer season is the main source of water. Here, we are presenting the major ion chemistry of the Indus river water, its tributary rivers, including small streams (nallahs), mainly in the territory of India, to know the overall quality of water, and geochemical processes controlling the solute acquisition and sources of elements in the catchment region. The analytical results indicate that the water samples are mildly acidic to alkaline in nature and have Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ dominance in cationic and HCO₃^- and Cl^- in anionic composition. Overall, alkaline-earth elements (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺) dominate over alkalis (Na⁺ + K⁺), and weak acids (HCO₃^-) exceed strong acids (SO₄^2- + Cl^-) in the river/stream water samples. The hydrogeochemical diagrams, molar ratios, and statistical analysis suggest that carbonate and silicates minerals’ weathering mainly control the solute acquisition process with negligible contribution from marine or anthropogenic sources. Most of the surface water samples are fit for drinking and domestic uses except the hot spring and saline lake waters.

摘要

印度河是印度次大陆西北部最突出的淡水来源。夏季的冰川/雪融化是水的主要来源。在这里，我们将介绍印度河水、其支流河流的主要离子化学，包括主要在印度境内的小溪 (nallahs)，以了解水的整体质量，以及控制溶质获取和来源的地球化学过程流域内的元素。分析结果表明，水样呈弱酸性至碱性，在阳离子组成中以Ca ²⁺和Mg ^{2+ 为主}，在阴离子组成中以HCO ₃ ^-和Cl ^{- 为主}。总的来说，碱土元素（Ca ²⁺+ Mg ²⁺ )在河流/溪流水样中优于碱 (Na ⁺  + K ⁺ )，弱酸 (HCO ₃ ^- ) 超过强酸 (SO ₄ ^2-  + Cl ^- )。水文地球化学图、摩尔比和统计分析表明，碳酸盐和硅酸盐矿物的风化主要控制溶质获取过程，海洋或人为来源的贡献可忽略不计。除温泉水和盐湖水外，大部分地表水样品适合饮用和生活。