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Spatial trends of nitrate pollution and groundwater chemistry in Shimabara, Nagasaki, Japan

Nakagawa, Kei LU orcid ; Amano, Hiroki LU ; Asakura, Hiroshi and Berndtsson, Ronny LU orcid (2016) In Environmental Earth Sciences 75(3). p.1-17
Abstract

Groundwater contamination by nitrate is a common problem in many parts of the world. The agriculturally important Shimabara district in Nagasaki, Japan, is experiencing this problem. The general source of drinking water of the study area is groundwater and consequently the nitrate contamination is a significant problem. For this reason, a groundwater investigation was performed and water samples were collected at 40 locations including residential areas, public water supply wells, springs, and rivers from August 2011 to November 2013. Results showed that nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) concentration is exceeding the Japanese drinking water quality standards (10 mg L−1) at 15 locations. Maximum NO3-N... (More)

Groundwater contamination by nitrate is a common problem in many parts of the world. The agriculturally important Shimabara district in Nagasaki, Japan, is experiencing this problem. The general source of drinking water of the study area is groundwater and consequently the nitrate contamination is a significant problem. For this reason, a groundwater investigation was performed and water samples were collected at 40 locations including residential areas, public water supply wells, springs, and rivers from August 2011 to November 2013. Results showed that nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) concentration is exceeding the Japanese drinking water quality standards (10 mg L−1) at 15 locations. Maximum NO3-N concentration was 26.6 mg L−1. Nitrate ($${\text{NO}}_{3}^{ - }$$NO3-) was strongly correlated with Cl− (r = 0.96), K+ (r = 0.68), $${\text{SO}}_{4}^{2 - }$$SO42- (r = 0.66), and Ca2+ (r = 0.59), respectively. The high correlations with Cl− and K+ are related to livestock waste. Corresponding correlation with $${\text{SO}}_{4}^{2 - }$$SO42- is related to chemical fertilizers and Ca2+ to calcareous material to neutralize acidic soil. Both the first and second components in principal component analysis reflect ion dissolution from aquifer matrix during groundwater flow along the mountain side towards the lower reaches of the alluvial fan. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, chemical characteristics of groundwater were classified into four clusters. One cluster is strongly related to the nitrate contaminated groundwater and the other clusters reflect the origin of the major ions in the groundwater.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Groundwater, Hierarchical cluster analysis, Nitrate pollution, Principal component analysis, Water chemistry
in
Environmental Earth Sciences
volume
75
issue
3
article number
234
pages
17 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:84955506248
ISSN
1866-6280
DOI
10.1007/s12665-015-4971-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f31ae2e3-63f4-4403-be61-00e75439c6af
date added to LUP
2019-01-02 01:28:11
date last changed
2023-09-22 15:26:21
@article{f31ae2e3-63f4-4403-be61-00e75439c6af,
  abstract     = {{<p>Groundwater contamination by nitrate is a common problem in many parts of the world. The agriculturally important Shimabara district in Nagasaki, Japan, is experiencing this problem. The general source of drinking water of the study area is groundwater and consequently the nitrate contamination is a significant problem. For this reason, a groundwater investigation was performed and water samples were collected at 40 locations including residential areas, public water supply wells, springs, and rivers from August 2011 to November 2013. Results showed that nitrate nitrogen (NO<sub>3</sub>-N) concentration is exceeding the Japanese drinking water quality standards (10 mg L<sup>−1</sup>) at 15 locations. Maximum NO<sub>3</sub>-N concentration was 26.6 mg L<sup>−1</sup>. Nitrate ($${\text{NO}}_{3}^{ - }$$NO3-) was strongly correlated with Cl<sup>−</sup> (r = 0.96), K<sup>+</sup> (r = 0.68), $${\text{SO}}_{4}^{2 - }$$SO42- (r = 0.66), and Ca<sup>2+</sup> (r = 0.59), respectively. The high correlations with Cl<sup>−</sup> and K<sup>+</sup> are related to livestock waste. Corresponding correlation with $${\text{SO}}_{4}^{2 - }$$SO42- is related to chemical fertilizers and Ca<sup>2+</sup> to calcareous material to neutralize acidic soil. Both the first and second components in principal component analysis reflect ion dissolution from aquifer matrix during groundwater flow along the mountain side towards the lower reaches of the alluvial fan. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, chemical characteristics of groundwater were classified into four clusters. One cluster is strongly related to the nitrate contaminated groundwater and the other clusters reflect the origin of the major ions in the groundwater.</p>}},
  author       = {{Nakagawa, Kei and Amano, Hiroki and Asakura, Hiroshi and Berndtsson, Ronny}},
  issn         = {{1866-6280}},
  keywords     = {{Groundwater; Hierarchical cluster analysis; Nitrate pollution; Principal component analysis; Water chemistry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{1--17}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Environmental Earth Sciences}},
  title        = {{Spatial trends of nitrate pollution and groundwater chemistry in Shimabara, Nagasaki, Japan}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4971-9}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s12665-015-4971-9}},
  volume       = {{75}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}