Nature and transport of solute load in the cauvery river basin, India

The nature of solute transport in the Cauvery river was studied during a 5 year period (1985–1989). On the basis of our analytical results, the discharge weighted average chemical composition of the Cauvery river has been computed and compared with major rivers of India and the world. The chemical c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water research (Oxford) 1994, Vol.28 (7), p.1585-1593
Main Authors: Ramanathan, A.L., Vaithiyanathan, P., Subramanian, V., Das, B.K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Freshwater
Geochemistry
Hydrology
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
Mineralogy
Silicates
solute transport
surface waters
Water geochemistry
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Summary:The nature of solute transport in the Cauvery river was studied during a 5 year period (1985–1989). On the basis of our analytical results, the discharge weighted average chemical composition of the Cauvery river has been computed and compared with major rivers of India and the world. The chemical composition of Cauvery river water is dominated by Na and HCO 3. The river water chemistry strongly reflects the dominance of continental weathering and impact by atmospheric precipitation. The river water composition is increasingly dominated by Na and Cl in the downstream region of the river, indicating the influence of airborne salts with oceanic affinities. The observed chemical data of the Cauvery river water was used to predict the mineral assemblages in the carbonate and alumino-silicate system and compared with observed mineralogical composition of suspended sediments. Over 90% of the material transported in the Cauvery river is transported in dissolved form. The total dissolved material transported from the Cauvery to the Bay of Bengal accounts for 14% of the annual flux of dissolved load from Indian rivers to the neighboring seas.
ISSN:0043-1354
1879-2448
DOI:10.1016/0043-1354(94)90225-9