Browsing by Author "Wolfgang Gossel"

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Fluoride hazard and assessment of groundwater quality in the semi-arid Upper Panda River basin, Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh, India; [Risques liés au fluor et évaluation de la qualité des eaux souterraines dans le bassin supérieursemi-aride de la rivìre Panda, district de Sonbhadra (Uttar Pradesh, Inde)]
(2012) N. Janardhana Raju; Sangita Dey; Wolfgang Gossel; Peter Wycisk
Around 9000 inhabitants in the Panda River basin, Sonbhadhra District, Uttar Pradesh, India, are vulnerable to a "silent" dental and skeletal fluorosis from groundwater consumption. The fluoride source and seasonal groundwater quality variation were studied by collecting 65 groundwater samples in the Upper Panda River basin. Major rock types are phyllites and granite gneissic rocks. Fluoride concentrations are in the range 0.4-5.6 mg/L in the pre-monsoon season and 0.1-6.7 mg/L in the post-monsoon season. Fluor-apatite and biotite mica in the granite gneissic rock were identified as the main provenance of fluoride in the groundwater through water-rock interactions. Due to precipitation of calcium, soils become alkaline with high contents of sodium; these conditions allow fluoride to accumulate in water. According to risk index calculations, the fluoride-affected villages were shown to fall in the fluoride risk zone (with a risk index of around 1.7). On the basis of mineral stability diagrams, groundwater from the weathered and fractured aquifers appears to be stable within the kaolinite field, suggesting weathering of silicate minerals. The groundwater is chemically potable and suitable for domestic and agricultural purposes, except for a few wells in the southern region that are contaminated with high amounts of fluoride.Editor D. KoutsoyiannisCitation Raju, N.J., Dey, S., Gossel, W., and Wycisk, P., 2012. Fluoride hazard and assessment of groundwater quality in the semi-arid Upper Panda River basin, Sonbhadra District, Uttar Pradesh, India. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (7), 1433-1452. © 2012 Copyright 2012 IAHS Press.
Hydrogeochemical characterization and geochemical modeling for the evaluation of groundwater quality and health risk assessment in the Varuna River basin, India
(Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2023) Sangita Dey; N. Janardhana Raju; Wolfgang Gossel; R.K. Mall
This study focuses on determining significant controlling factors of chemical consequences, inverse geochemical modeling, water quality, and human health risk in the Varuna River basin of India. The study interprets that according to pH, total dissolved solids, and total hardness, the maximum number of groundwater samples are alkaline, fresh, and have substantial hardness. The abundance of major ions follows a pattern: Na > Ca > Mg > K, and HCO3 > Cl > SO4 > NO3 > F. Piper diagram shows that Ca–Mg–HCO3 facies are predominant during both seasons. Na-normalized molar ratios of HCO3/Na, Mg/Na, and Ca/Na are 0.62, 0.95, and 1.82 (pre-monsoon) and 0.69, 0.91, and 1.71 (post-monsoon), respectively, elucidating the coupled silicate and carbonate weathering (dolomite dissolution) sources. The Na/Cl molar ratio is 5.3 (pre-monsoon) and 3.2 (post-monsoon), indicating silicate alteration as the primary process rather than halite dissolution. The chloro-alkaline indices confirm the presence of reverse ion- exchange. Geochemical modeling using PHREEQC identifies the formation of secondary kaolinite minerals. The inverse geochemical modeling categorizes the groundwaters along the flow path from recharge area waters (Group I: Na–HCO3–Cl), transitional area waters (Group II: Na–Ca–HCO3), and discharge area waters (Group III: Na–Mg–HCO3). The model demonstrates the prepotency of water–rock interactions in pre-monsoon justified by the precipitation of Chalcedony and Ca-montmorillonite. The mixing analysis shows that in the alluvial plains, groundwater mixing is a significant hydrogeochemical process that affects groundwater quality. The Entropy Water Quality Index ranks 45% (pre-monsoon) and 50% (post-monsoon) of samples as an excellent category. However, the non-carcinogenic health risk assessment shows that children are more susceptible to fluoride and nitrate contamination. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.