Geochemical Investigation of the Mahanadi Estuary: Sources and Processes

Saha, Archisman (2015) Geochemical Investigation of the Mahanadi Estuary: Sources and Processes. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

PDF (MS dissertation of Archisman Saha (10MS45)) Archisman_Saha_10MS45_MS_Thesis.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (1MB)

Abstract

The major goal of this thesis is to investigate sources and sinks of trace elements in Mahanadi estuary. The objectives are addressed through detailed geochemical investigation of estuarine water and bed sediments of the Mahanadi River, the third largest river system of India. This study aims to assess the sources and sinks of selected trace elements within the estuary. Considering that the river drains some of the industrial cities, this study also aims to assess the influence of anthropogenic activity on the estuary water and sediments. Estuarine water and sediments were sampled from Mahanadi estuary in early monsoon season (July, 2014) and were analysed for major and trace ion element concentration and oxygen isotope composition (δ¹⁸O) in water. The spatial variation of major and trace elements are mostly regulated by saline water intrusion from the Bay of Bengal. Major ions show linear variation with salinity, suggestive of conservative mixing. But selected trace metal (e.g. Co, Ni, Cu, Cd) concentration vs. salinity plots indicate that there could be one or more sources of trace elements within the estuary which could be natural and/or anthropogenic. Available in information on industrial effluent suggests that there may be significant contribution of trace elements to the estuary. Based on enrichment factors (compared to UCC) of trace metals in bed sediments, Cd shows a high enrichment factor which indicates anthropogenic input. Rare earth element analysis indicates that bed sediments are mainly of granitic origin.

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