TY  - JOUR
AU  - Magnússon, Rúna
AU  - Cammeraat, Erik
AU  - Lücke, Andreas
AU  - Jansen, Boris
AU  - Zimmer, Anaïs
AU  - Recharte, Jorge
TI  - Influence of glacial sediments on the chemical quality of surface water in the Ulta valley, Cordillera Blanca, Peru
JO  - Journal of hydrology
VL  - 587
SN  - 0022-1694
CY  - Amsterdam [u.a.]
PB  - Elsevier
M1  - FZJ-2020-02965
SP  - 125027 -
PY  - 2020
AB  - The Río Santa (Ancash, Peru) and its tributaries are an essential source of drinking and irrigation water. Its discharge relies on glacial meltwater, which is diminishing due to the rapid decrease in glacial extent. As a secondary effect, water quality can be compromised (e.g. pH < 3 and high concentrations of SO42− and trace metals). Although this has previously been attributed to pyrite rich Chicama bedrock exposed by glacial retreat, little is known about the occurrence of Chicama fragments in Quaternary glacial sediments and its influence on water quality. This research aims at elucidating this effect by relating observed changes in water quality in streams to presence and chemical composition of morainic ridges in the Quebrada Ulta in the Río Santa basin. Changes in water quality before and after contact with a morainic ridge were assessed using carbonate alkalinity titration, ion analysis and elemental analysis. Moreover, relative contributions of glacial meltwater and precipitation were assessed qualitatively using stable water isotope analysis. We used a novel method to explain the provenance of contaminated glacial sediments using a reconstruction of their source area. The mineralogical composition of a morainic ridge was strongly related to the geology of the source area indicating that mineralogical composition of tills may be predicted using this technique. Effects of glacial sediments in morainic ridges on water quality were minimal but depended on their mineralogical composition. Morainic ridges with a high content of Chicama shales tended to increase solute loads of Mg and SO42−. Additionally, isotope signatures suggest that during the dry season, moraines may act as reservoirs for precipitation-derived shallow groundwater. Clear trends in water quality were observed along the whole flow path of the Río Buín, which could potentially be explained by increased groundwater contribution downstream and shifts in dominant weathering mechanisms. Future research should focus on disentangling these various drivers of water quality in glacial catchments.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000568819100023
DO  - DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125027
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/878634
ER  -