Identification of arsenic spatial distribution by hydrogeochemical processes represented by different ion ratios in the Hohhot Basin, China

The Hohhot Basin, a typical inland basin of the Yellow River Basin in China, has high concentrations of arsenic (As) in its shallow groundwater, while the factors dominating the distribution of high arsenic levels remain to be further identified. An analysis of the ratio of hydrogeochemical compositions can help to reveal the spatial characteristics of the shallow groundwater environmental conditions and the distribution of high-arsenic water (As >10 μg/L). In this study, a total of 170 samples of shallow groundwater in the Hohhot Basin were collected and water samples with As >10 μg/L accounted for 29.4% of the total. Based on the slope changes of the cumulative frequency curves of (HCO3− + CO32−)/SO42−, Ca2+/(HCO3− + CO32−), Ca2+/Mg2+, and Na+/Ca2+, the groundwater in the study area can be categorized into six different zones according to the environmental characteristics including redox condition, water recharge intensity, and cation exchange level. The result shows that the groundwater in the front of the piedmont alluvial plain and platform is in a weak reducing condition with high lateral recharge intensity, fast runoff, and weak cation exchange. In the Dahei River alluvial plain, which serves as the groundwater discharge zone, the groundwater runoff is sluggish with poor lateral recharge, sufficient exchange between cations in the groundwater and the aquifer matrix, and enhanced reducibility. The degree of oxidation increased in the groundwater near the Hasuhai Lake and the drainage canal, which adverse to the arsenic enrichment. High-arsenic groundwater is mainly distributed in aquifers of (HCO3− + CO32−)/SO42 > 10, Na+/Ca2+ > 13, and Ca2+/(HCO3− + CO32−) < 0.1, which represent the strong reducing condition, low surface water recharge intensity, and strong cation exchange condition. Reductive dissolution of iron oxide, strong evaporation and concentration process, and competition from phosphate in aquifers jointly lead to the release of arsenic into groundwater.