Environmental and Ecological Engineering | Article | Published 2024

Stream water quality in large glacierized catchments in Central Asia: a perspective on cryosphere and land cover importance

Authors:
Collection: Science of the Total Environment
Keywords: Mountains, semi-arid, urban, nutrients, salinity, endorheic basins, glacial retreat.

Abstract

This work helps address recent calls for systematic water quality assessment in Central Asia and considers how nutrient and salinity sources, and transport, affect water quality along the continuum from glacier to lowland plain. Spatial and, for the first time, temporal variations in stream water pH, temperature, salinity (electrical conductivity), and nitrate and phosphate concentrations are presented for four catchments (485 – 13 500 km 2 ), all with glaciers and major urban areas. The catchments studied were: Kaskelen (Kazakhstan), Ala-Archa (Kyrgyzstan), Chirchik (Uzbekistan) and the Kofarnihon (Tajikistan). Measurements were made in cryosphere, stream water, groundwater, reservoir and lake samples over a 22-month period at fortnightly intervals from 35 sites. The results highlight that glacier, permafrost and rock glacier melt were primary and secondary nitrate sources (> 1 mg N l -1 ) to the headwaters, and there are major increases in salinity and nitrate concentrations where rivers receive inputs from agriculture and settlements. Overall, the water quality complies with national and World Health Organization standards, however there were pollution hot-spots with shallow urban groundwaters contaminated with nitrate (> 11 mg N l -1 ), and stream salinity above 800 µS cm -1 in some agricultural areas. Phosphate concentrations were generally low (< 0.06 mg P l -1 ) throughout the catchments, and elevated (> 0.2 mg P l -1 ) only in urban areas due to effluent contamination. A melt-water dilution effect along the main river channels was discernable in the electrical conductivity and nitrate concentration seasonal dynamics, even at the lowest monitoring points. Thus, the input of relatively clean water from cryosphere is an important regulator of main channel water quality in the urban and farmed lowland plains adjacent to the Pamir and Tien Shan, and improved sewage treatment is needed in urban areas.

References

  1. Beard DB, Clason CC, Rangecroft S, Poniecka E, Ward KJ, Blake WH. Anthropogenic contaminants in
  2. glacial environments I: Inputs and accumulation. Progress in Physical Geography-Earth and
  3. Environment 2022a; 46: 630-648.
  4. Beard DB, Clason CC, Rangecroft S, Poniecka E, Ward KJ, Blake WH. Anthropogenic contaminants in
  5. glacial environments II: Release and downstream consequences. Progress in Physical
  6. Geography-Earth and Environment 2022b; 46: 790-808.
  7. Bettinetti R, Quadroni S, Galassi S, Bacchetta R, Bonardi L, Vailati G. Is meltwater from Alpine glaciers a
  8. secondary DDT source for lakes? Chemosphere 2008; 73: 1027-1031.
  9. Bogdal C, Schmid P, Zennegg M, Anselmetti FS, Scheringer M, Hungerbühler K. Blast from the Past:
  10. Melting Glaciers as a Relevant Source for Persistent Organic Pollutants. Environmental Science &
  11. Technology 2009; 43: 8173-8177.
  12. Bowes MJ, Gozzard E, Johnson AC, Scarlett PM, Roberts C, Read DS, et al. Spatial and temporal changes
  13. in chlorophyll-<i>a</i> concentrations in the River Thames basin, UK: Are phosphorus
  14. concentrations beginning to limit phytoplankton biomass? Science of the Total Environment
  15. 2012; 426: 45-55.
  16. Brahney J, Bothwell ML, Capito L, Gray CA, Null SE, Menounos B, et al. Glacier recession alters stream
  17. water quality characteristics facilitating bloom formation in the benthic diatom Didymosphenia
  18. geminata. Science of the Total Environment 2021; 764.
  19. Chen Y, Takeuchi N, Wang F, Li Z. Characteristics of Chemical Solutes and Mineral Dust in Ice of the
  20. Ablation Area of a Glacier in Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia. Frontiers in Earth Science 2022;
  21. 10.
  22. Colombo N, Salerno F, Gruber S, Freppaz M, Williams M, Fratianni S, et al. Review: Impacts of
  23. permafrost degradation on inorganic chemistry of surface fresh water. Global and Planetary
  24. Change 2018; 162: 69-83.
  25. Crosa G, Froebrich J, Nikolayenko V, Stefani F, Galli P, Calamari D. Spatial and seasonal variations in the
  26. water quality of the Amu Darya River (Central Asia). Water Research 2006; 40: 2237-2245.
  27. Darcy JL, Schmidt SK. Nutrient limitation of microbial phototrophs on a debris-covered glacier. Soil
  28. Biology and Biochemistry 2016; 95: 156-163.
  29. Duethmann D, Bolch T, Farinotti D, Kriegel D, Vorogushyn S, Merz B, et al. Attribution of streamflow
  30. trends in snow and glacier melt-dominated catchments of the Tarim River, Central Asia. Water
  31. Resources Research 2015; 51: 4727-4750.
  32. FAO/IIASA/ISRIC/ISSCAS/JRC. Harmonized World Soil Database (version 1.2). In: FAO R, Italy and IIASA,
  33. Laxenburg, Austria, editor, 2012.
  34. Farinotti D, Longuevergne L, Moholdt G, Duethmann D, Mölg T, Bolch T, et al. Substantial glacier mass
  35. loss in the Tien Shan over the past 50 years. Nature Geoscience 2015; 8: 716-722.
  37. 39
  38. Finaev A, Kobuliev Z, Shaimurodov F, RAkhimov I, Majidov T, Finaeva E. The use of isotope methods for
  39. water use supply of Dushanbe city. Izvestiya of Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan Republic 2017:
  40. 83-91.
  41. Friedl M, Sulla-Menashe D. MCD12Q1 MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Cover Type Yearly L3 Global 500m SIN
  42. Grid V006. 2019, distributed by NASA EOSDIS Land Processes DAAC. Accessed 2020-11-17 2019.
  43. Gao J, Long LL, Klemd R, Qian Q, Liu DY, Xiong XM, et al. Tectonic evolution of the South Tianshan
  44. orogen and adjacent regions, NW China: geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks.
  45. International Journal of Earth Sciences 2009; 98: 1221-1238.
  46. Groll M, Opp C, Kulmatov R, Ikramova M, Normatov I. Water quality, potential conflicts and solutions-an
  47. upstream-downstream analysis of the transnational Zarafshan River (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan).
  48. Environmental Earth Sciences 2015; 73: 743-763.
  49. Hagg W, Hoelzle M, Wagner S, Mayr E, Klose Z. Glacier and runoff changes in the Rukhk catchment,
  50. upper Amu-Darya basin until 2050. Global and Planetary Change 2013; 110: 62-73.
  51. Harris I, Osborn TJ, Jones P, Lister D. Version 4 of the CRU TS monthly high-resolution gridded
  52. multivariate climate dataset. Scientific Data 2020; 7: 1-18.
  53. Hock R, Rasul G, Adler C, Cáceres B, Gruber S, Hirabayashi Y, et al. High Mountain Areas. In: IPCC Special
  54. Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. The Intergovernmental Panel on
  55. Climate Change (IPCC), 2019.
  56. Huss M, Hock R. Global-scale hydrological response to future glacier mass loss. Nature Climate Change
  57. 2018; 8: 135-140.
  58. Jarvie HP, Smith DR, Norton LR, Edwards FK, Bowes MJ, King SM, et al. Phosphorus and nitrogen
  59. limitation and impairment of headwater streams relative to rivers in Great Britain: A national
  60. perspective on eutrophication. Science of the Total Environment 2018; 621: 849-862.
  61. Jones BF, Deocampo DM. Geochemistry of saline lakes. Treatise on geochemistry. 5. Elsevier, 2003, pp.
  62. 393-424.
  63. Kaser G, Grosshauser M, Marzeion B. Contribution potential of glaciers to water availability in different
  64. climate regimes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
  65. America 2010; 107: 20223-20227.
  66. Koronovsky N. Tectonics and Geology. In: Shahgedanova M, editor. The Physical Geography of Northen
  67. Eurasia. Oxford University Press, United States, 2003, pp. 1 - 35.
  68. Kriegel D, Mayer C, Hagg W, Vorogushyn S, Duethmann D, Gafurov A, et al. Changes in glacierisation,
  69. climate and runoff in the second half of the 20th century in the Naryn basin, Central Asia. Global
  70. and Planetary Change 2013; 110: 51-61.
  71. Leng PF, Zhang QY, Li FD, Kulmatov R, Wang GQ, Qiao YF, et al. Agricultural impacts drive longitudinal
  72. variations of riverine water quality of the Aral Sea basin (Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers),
  73. Central Asia*. Environmental Pollution 2021; 284.
  74. Li PF, Sun M, Shu CT, Yuan C, Jiang YD, Zhang L, et al. Evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt along
  75. the Siberian margin from Neoproterozoic-Early Paleozoic accretion to Devonian trench retreat
  76. and a comparison with Phanerozoic eastern Australia. Earth-Science Reviews 2019; 198.
  77. Liu Y, Wang P, Gojenko B, Yu JJ, Wei LZ, Luo DG, et al. A review of water pollution arising from
  78. agriculture and mining activities in Central Asia: Facts, causes and effects. Environmental
  79. Pollution 2021; 291.
  80. McCutcheon J, Lutz S, Williamson C, Cook JM, Tedstone AJ, Vanderstraeten A, et al. Mineral phosphorus
  81. drives glacier algal blooms on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Nature Communications 2021; 12: 570.
  82. Milner AM, Khamis K, Battin TJ, Brittain JE, Barrand NE, Fureder L, et al. Glacier shrinkage driving global
  83. changes in downstream systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United
  84. States of America 2017; 114: 9770-9778.
  86. 40
  87. Miner KR, Kreutz KJ, Jain S, Campbell S, Liljedahl A. A screening-level approach to quantifying risk from
  88. glacial release of organochlorine pollutants in the Alaskan Arctic. Journal of Exposure Science
  89. and Environmental Epidemiology 2019; 29: 293-301.
  90. Morris BL, George Darling W, Gooddy DC, Litvak RG, Neumann I, Nemaltseva EJ, et al. Assessing the
  91. extent of induced leakage to an urban aquifer using environmental tracers: an example from
  92. Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. Hydrogeology Journal 2006; 14: 225-243.
  93. Mueller C, Zink M, Samaniego L, Krieg R, Merz R, Rode M, et al. Discharge Driven Nitrogen Dynamics in a
  94. Mesoscale River Basin As Constrained by Stable Isotope Patterns. Environmental Science &
  95. Technology 2016; 50: 9187-9196.
  96. Narama C, Kääb A, Duishonakunov M, Abdrakhmatov K. Spatial variability of recent glacier area changes
  97. in the Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia, using Corona (~1970), Landsat (~2000), and ALOS
  98. (~2007) satellite data. Global and Planetary Change 2010; 71: 42-54.
  99. Nobakht M, Shahgedanova M, White K. New Inventory of Dust Emission Sources in Central Asia and
  100. Northwestern China Derived From MODIS Imagery Using Dust Enhancement Technique. Journal
  101. of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 2021; 126: e2020JD033382.
  102. Olsson O, Wegerich K, Kabilov F. Water Quantity and Quality in the Zerafshan River Basin: Only an
  103. Upstream Riparian Problem? International Journal of Water Resources Development 2012; 28:
  104. 493-505.
  105. Orlovsky L, Matsrafi O, Orlovsky N, Kouznetsov M. Sarykamysh Lake: Collector of Drainage Water – The
  106. Past, the Present, and the Future. In: Zonn IS, Kostianoy AG, editors. The Turkmen Lake Altyn
  107. Asyr and Water Resources in Turkmenistan. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2014,
  108. pp. 107-140.
  109. Painter TH, Skiles SM, Deems JS, Bryant AC, Landry CC. Dust radiative forcing in snow of the Upper
  110. Colorado River Basin: 1. A 6 year record of energy balance, radiation, and dust concentrations.
  111. Water Resources Research 2012; 48.
  112. Poikane S, Kelly MG, Várbíró G, Borics G, Eros T, Hellsten S, et al. Estimating nutrient thresholds for
  113. eutrophication management: Novel insights from understudied lake types. Science of the Total
  114. Environment 2022; 827.
  115. Severskiy I, Vilesov E, Armstrong R, Kokarev A, Kogutenko L, Usmanova Z. Changes in Glaciation of the
  116. Balkhash - Alakol basin over the past decades. Annals of Glaciology 2016; 57: 382- 394.
  117. Shahgedanova M, Afzal M, Hagg W, Kapitsa V, Kasatkin N, Mayr E, et al. Emptying Water Towers?
  118. Impacts of Future Climate and Glacier Change on River Discharge in the Northern Tien Shan,
  119. Central Asia. Water 2020; 12: 627.
  120. Shahgedanova M, Afzal M, Severskiy I, Usmanova Z, Saidaliyeva Z, Kapitsa V, et al. Changes in the
  121. mountain river discharge in the northern Tien Shan since the mid-20th Century: Results from the
  122. analysis of a homogeneous daily streamflow data set from seven catchments. Journal of
  123. Hydrology 2018; 564: 1133-1152.
  124. Shannon S, Smith R, Wiltshire A, Payne T, Huss M, Betts R, et al. Global glacier volume projections under
  125. high-end climate change scenarios. The Cryosphere 2019; 13: 325-350.
  126. Telling J, Anesio AM, Tranter M, Irvine-Fynn T, Hodson A, Butler C, et al. Nitrogen fixation on Arctic
  127. glaciers, Svalbard. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences 2011; 116.
  128. Telling J, Stibal M, Anesio AM, Tranter M, Nias I, Cook J, et al. Microbial nitrogen cycling on the
  129. Greenland Ice Sheet. Biogeosciences 2012; 9: 2431-2442.
  130. Tranter M. Geochemical Weathering in Glacial and Proglacial Environments. Treatise on Geochemistry
  131. 2003: 189-205.
  132. Tursumbayeva M, Muratuly A, Baimatova N, Karaca F, Kerimray A. Cities of Central Asia: New hotspots
  133. of air pollution in the world. Atmospheric Environment 2023; 309.
  135. 41
  136. Van Tricht L, Huybrechts P. Modelling the historical and future evolution of six ice masses in the Tien
  137. Shan, Central Asia, using a 3D ice-flow model. The Cryosphere 2023; 17: 4463-4485.
  138. Vilesov EN, Uvarov VN. Evolution of the Recent Glaciation in the Zailyskiy Alatau in the 20th Century. :
  139. Kazakh State University, Almaty (in Russian). 2001.
  140. Viviroli D, Kummu M, Meybeck M, Kallio M, Wada Y. Increasing dependence of lowland populations on
  141. mountain water resources. Nature Sustainability 2020; 3: 917-+.
  142. Wurtsbaugh WA, Miller C, Null SE, DeRose RJ, Wilcock P, Hahnenberger M, et al. Decline of the world's
  143. saline lakes. Nature Geosci 2017; advance on: 816-823.
  144. Yapiyev V, Wade AJ, Shahgedanova M, Saidaliyeva Z, Madibekov A, Severskiy I. The hydrochemistry and
  145. water quality of glacierized catchments in Central Asia: A review of the current status and
  146. anticipated change. Journal of Hydrology-Regional Studies 2021; 38.
  147. You XN, Li ZQ, Edwards R, Wang LX. The transport of chemical components in homogeneous snowpacks
  148. on Urumqi Glacier No. 1, eastern Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia. Journal of Arid Land 2015; 7:
Loading...
0

Views

0

Reads

0

Comments

0

Reviews

0

Liked

0

Shared

0

Bibliography

0

Citations

Like and share on

Cite this publication

Copy text below and use in your article