Assessing the chemical behavior and spatial distribution of yttrium and rare earth elements (YREEs) in a coastal aquifer adjacent to the Urmia Hypersaline Lake, NW Iran

Abstract

This study aims to shed light on the seasonal behavior of yttrium and rare earth elements (YREEs) in the Urmia Aquifer (UA), in the immediate vicinity of Urmia Lake (UL) in Iran. Samples of groundwater, collected under dry and wet conditions in coastal wells of UA, suggest a large degree of variability in both YREE abundance and normalized patterns. Although weathering or water-rock interactions (between the surface/groundwater and rock samples) were predicted to be the most probable source in explaining YREEs in groundwater samples, results to the contrary indicate that the groundwater do not inherit aquifer rock-like YREE signatures in the study area; this might be due to the relative stability of YREEs during the process of water-rock interactions, which suggest that methods based on YREEs can be beneficial in discrimination of water sources. Furthermore, findings demonstrated no significant relationship between Ce/Ce* and salinity (0.08 and 0.05 in wet and dry seasons, respectively), and between Eu/Eu* and salinity (0.1 and -0.04 in wet and dry seasons, respectively). Dissimilarity of patterns of YREEs in rock and water samples reveals YREEs as no conservative tracers in determining the UL saltwater intrusion into coastal groundwater. Therefore, the groundwater YREE concentrations and fractionation patterns in UA warrant controlling by coastal aquifer need to be controlled by other chemical weathering, adsorption, desorption, and solution complexation reactions. Finally, comparison of REE concentration values in groundwater samples with corresponding indicative admissible drinking water concentrations (IAC) demonstrated their suitability for drinking purposes.

Statistical and Multivariate Techniques to Trace the Sources of Ground Water Contaminants and Affecting Factors of Groundwater Pollution in an Oil and Gas Producing Wetland in Rivers State, Nigeria

“…As shown in Table 2&3, this factor can have a high potential for physicochemical changes due to significant flaring of gas, fertilizers usage and chemical pesticides in this environment. In addition, chemical elements could enter groundwater through natural (volcanic activity and weathering of crustal materials) and anthropogenic processes [128]. Increasing anthropogenic activities (e.g., land use changes, unplanned industrialization and urbanization, disposal of untreated industrial, domestic, agricultural, and mining wastes) cause release of many pollutants, including toxic elements, to the natural water and sediment environment [129].…”

An Integrated Statistical-Graphical Approach for the Appraisal of the Natural Background Levels of Major Ions and Some Potentially Toxic Elements in the Groundwater of Urmia Aquifer, Iran

“…The oldest rocks in this area belong to the Precambrian. This area includes a collection of metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, amphibole, metadiorite, volcanic structures, and carbonate rocks (Sohrabi et al 2017 and.…”

“…In many studies, the NBL assigned to each chemical component is presented as a unique value, which is incorrect given the nature of the change in groundwater chemical composition (Nakic et al 2007;Gao et al 2020;Su et al 2020;Ji et al 2020). As mentioned before, change in the chemical composition of groundwater triggers from the place and time of recharging and after reacting with solid materials in the path of movement, it can be elevated by processes such as surface water infiltration, biological activities, evapotranspiration, water abstraction, deep saline water intrusion, agricultural return water infiltration and effluent of residential areas or industrial units (Nakhaei et al 2015;Ren et al 2021;Sohrabi et al 2017;De Caro et al, 2017;Vázquez-Suñé et al, 2004;Amiri et al 2021 a, b). Therefore, since the chemical composition of groundwater is controlled by natural and anthropogenic factors, and the effect of these factors changes in different places and times, the NBL should normally be considered as a range and not a unique value (Nakic et al, 2007).…”