Abstract:

Turpan Basin is one of the inland basins in Northwest China, which is rich in major mineral resources (e.g. iron ore). Investigation of the formation and evolution of chemical composition in groundwater and surface water in Turpan Basin is critical to the utilization and protection of groundwater in this region. In this study, inorganic ion tracer method was employed to analyze the relationship between main ions and Cl^- or main ions/Cl^- and Cl^-, and the formation of major chemical composition in surface water and groundwater in Turpan Basin was also investigated. Furthermore, the evolution of chemical composition and the potential source of salt in groundwater in this region was also illustrated. Based on this study, it was found that evaporate minerals in Turpan Basin is the major factor that could affect the hydrochemistry changing of groundwater in different depth.  The evaporate minerals in this region are mainly derived from the surface soil, soil layer, vadose zone and Aydingkol Lake sediments.

Key words: Turpan Basin, surface water, groundwater, hydrochemistry, evaporate mineral, soluble salt