Qingpeng Meng

Geochemistry of dissolved trace elements and heavy metals in the Dan River Drainage (China): distribution, sources, and water quality assessment

Dissolved trace elements and heavy metals in the Dan River drainage basin, which is the drinking water source area of South-to-North Water Transfer Project (China), affect large numbers of people and should therefore be carefully monitored. To investigate the distribution, sources, and quality of river water, this study integrating catchment geology and multivariate statistical techniques was carried out in the Dan River drainage from 99 river water samples collected in 2013. The distribution of trace metal concentrations in the Dan River drainage was similar to that in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, indicating that the reservoir was significantly affected by the Dan River drainage. Moreover, our results suggested that As, Sb, Cd, Mn, and Ni were the major pollutants. We revealed extremely high concentrations of As and Sb in the Laoguan River, Cd in the Qingyou River, Mn, Ni, and Cd in the Yinhua River, As and Sb in the Laojun River, and Sb in the Dan River. According to the water quality index, water in the Dan River drainage was suitable for drinking; however, an exposure risk assessment model suggests that As and Sb in the Laojun and Laoguan rivers could pose a high risk to humans in terms of adverse health and potential non-carcinogenic effects.

Geochemical speciation and risk assessment of metals in the river sediments from Dan River Drainage, China

ABSTRACT This study investigates the partitioning of metals in surface sediments from the Dan River drainage basin, the source of drinking water for the South to North Water Transfer Project, China, to determine their bioavailability and associated levels of risk. Sediment samples were collected from 99 sites along the Dan River, and the concentration of each element fraction was determined using sequential extraction and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The residual fraction was the major phase for most metals sampled. Among the non-residual fractions, greater proportions of Zn, Mn and Cd were transported in in the available phase, whereas Ba, Sb, Pb and As were mainly found in the reducible phase. The oxidisable phase was important for the transport of Ni, Co, Cr and Cu in sediments. This analysis of sediments from the Dan River basin indicates a very high risk of pollution from Cd, Co, Mn, Sb and Zn. Combined with the sediments with extremely high concentrations, the Dan, Laoguan and Yinhua rivers, which have been affected by ore-mining activities, pose a very high risk to the surrounding areas and should be the subject of future studies.

Timing, petrogenesis, and setting of granites from the southern Beishan late Palaeozoic granitic belt, Northwest China and implications for their tectonic evolution

Late Palaeozoic granites are widely distributed in the southeastern Beishan area, which is located in the central part of the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). U–Pb zircon dates of five late Palaeozoic granitic plutons from the southeastern Beishan area yield Permian ages: 285 ± 2 Ma (Shuwojing and Western Shuwojing plutons), 269 ± 3 Ma (Jianquanzi and Jiuquandihongshan plutons), and 260 ± 1 Ma (Jiujing pluton). The early Permian Shuwojing pluton, an unfractionated calc-alkaline biotite monzogranite with slightly positive εNd(t) (+0.7 and +0.6) and low initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70722 and 0.70712), and the early Permian Western Shuwojing pluton, a high-K calc-alkaline biotite granite with slightly negative εNd(t) (−0.2 and −0.1) and low initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70390 and 0.70919), are likely derived from a mixture of depleted (juvenile) mantle and upper continental crustal (or sedimentary) material. The mid-Permian Jianquanzi and Jiuquandihongshan monzogranites have highly fractionated potassium-rich calc-alkaline characteristics with negative εNd(t) (−4.3) and very high initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.71949), reflecting a continental crustal component. The compositionally diverse Jiujing pluton and the granodiorite and high-Sr monzogranite phases display adakite-like compositions with relatively low εNd(t) (−0.1 and −2.2) and high initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70822 and 0.70913). The Jiujing low-Sr monzogranite has higher initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.73464) and lower εNd(t) (−2.8), indicating a significant continental crustal component in its genesis. This work, combined with the regional geology and previous studies, suggest that the early to middle Permian southern Beishan plutons formed in a post-collisional environment, probably an intracontinental rift environment linked to asthenospheric upwelling in response to the break-off of a subducted slab. In the late Permian, the southern Beishan area was in a compressive tectonic regime and thickening of the continental crust resulted in the formation of the Jiujing adakite-like granite.

Discovery of a Neoproterozoic granite in the Northern Alxa region, NW China: its age, petrogenesis and tectonic significance

A Neoproterozoic granite (Western Huhetaoergai granite) from the Northern Alxa region, southern Central Asia Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is first recognized by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb zircon dating (889±8 Ma). It is a highly fractionated potassium-rich calc-alkaline pluton with low e Nd ( t ) (−2.6 to −1.1) and high ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) t (0.727305–0.735626), and is probably derived from a mantle source and assimilated crustal rocks with very high 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. Regional geology implies that it may reflect the existence of a microcontinent, and the formation of the Western Huhetaoergai granite is related to the assembly of Rodinia.

Age and petrogenesis of Mingshui-Shuangjingzi granites from the northern Beishan area, northwest China, and their implications for tectonic evolution

The Mingshui and Shuangjingzi granitic plutons are exposed in the northern Beishan area, in the southern Central Asia Orogenic Belt. U-Pb zircon dating indicates that Mingshui secondary intrusive lithosfacies and Shuangjingzi quartz monzodiorite formed at 328 ± 2 Ma and 272 ± 2 Ma, respectively. The former is composed of grey white monzogranites and potassic altered flesh red monzogranites. Geochemistry indicates they are calc-alkaline I-type granites. Shuangjingzi granites are mainly composed of unfractionated calc-alkaline I-type quartz monzodiorite, granodiorite and monzogranite. The Mingshui grey white monzogranites with negative initial εNd (–2.0 to–1.7) and moderate initial 87Sr/86Sr values (0.706740 to 0.710092) were probably derived from mixing of the depleted mantle (juvenile) component and the Palaeoproterozoic–Archean crust (or sedimentary) component and represent volcanic arc granites. The Shuangjingzi quartz monzodiorites are most likely derived from mafic to intermediate igneous protolith and represent post-collisional granites. This work, combined with the regional geology, suggests the Palaeo-Asian Ocean closed between 328 Ma and 272 Ma in the northern Beishan area.

Heavy mineral analysis to identify sediment provenance in the Dan River drainage, China

Identifying the provenance of sediments carried by modern rivers can provide information on earth surface processes and help us to interpret geological history more clearly. The types and distribution patterns of surface sediments deposited in river systems are determined mainly by the fluvial flux and weathering of the proximal source rocks. In this paper, analysis of the heavy mineral content of 99 surface sediment samples was used to identify the source of the sediments carried by the Dan River in China. The objectives of this study are to: (1) determine the characteristics and distribution of the sediments, and (2) identify and classify the various depositional areas according to their differing source areas. The Dan River is divided into the lower, middle, and upper reaches to investigate the spatial distribution of heavy minerals. The main minerals detected were amphiboles, pyroxene, epidote, garnet, tourmaline, zircon, apatite, rutile, sphene, anatase, pyrite, and ilmenite. Generally, ilmenite (0.7% to 69.1%), amphibole (0% to 93.6%), epidote (0% to 53.3%), garnet (0% to 36.7%) and pyroxene (0% to 42.0%) were the most frequent detrital heavy minerals in the studied river sections. The Dan River and its tributaries are characterized with respect to their heavy mineral assemblages and heavy mineral indexes. Six depositional areas are distinguished and classified as Depositional area A (the Laoguan, Qi, and Xian rivers), Depositional area B (the Qingyou and Wuguan rivers), Depositional area C (the Laojun River), Depositional area D (the upper reaches of the Dan River), Depositional area E (the Yinhua River), and Depositional area F (the Tao River). The provenance study indicated that the sediments were derived mainly from the proximal exposed rocks. Sediments in the middle reaches of the Dan River were derived from Depositional areas B, C, and E, whereas sediments in the lower reaches were derived mainly from the local rocks along the river. Similar heavy mineral assemblages were obtained from Danjiangkou Reservoir and Depositional area A, especially for the Laoguan River, indicating the significant influence of Depositional area A on the reservoir.