Hydrochemical characteristics and formation mechanism of shallow groundwater in Eastern Henan Plain
Groundwater is the main water source for industrial and agricultural production as well as residential drinking water in Eastern Henan Plain,which plays an important role in maintaining the development of local ecology and economy.In this paper,74 groups of shallow groundwater samples collected from June to July 2023 were used to analyze the hydrochemical characteristics,influencing factors,formation mechanisms of shal-low groundwater of the study area through hydrochemistry,δD,δ18O isotopes and principal component analy-sis.The results show that the groundwater in Eastern Henan Plain is weakly alkaline,and the main hydrochemi-cal type is HCO3-Na•Ca.Along the groundwater runoff,from the Yellow River and its ancient river bed to-wards downstream areas,the TDS content of groundwater gradually decrease,and the main components affect-ing groundwater quality include fluorine,arsenic,iodine and nitrate.Rock weathering and evaporation are the main factors dominating the hydrochemical composition of groundwater.The weathering hydrolysis of silicate minerals is the main source of soluble salt in groundwater,followed by the hydrolysis of evaporite and cation ex-change and adsorption.In addition,some areas are affected by human activities.The dissolution and precipita-tion of calcium-containing minerals,oxidation/reduction and adsorption/desorption control the release of fluo-rine,arsenic and iodine from groundwater.This study can provide scientific basis for local drinking water safety and regional groundwater management.