EVALUATION OF THE TRANSPORT OF HIGH NITRATE CONCENTRATIONS AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GROUNDWATER IN A SEMIARID-CALCAREOUS AREA IN SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA

摘要

Groundwater is a major source of water for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses in many parts of the world, where arid environments are common. Groundwater was collected from 120 wells in a semi-arid and calcareous area, area of Gaziantep, Southeastern Anatolia to determine hydrochemical characteristics, mechanisms for nitrate transport, the concentration of major ions. Relationships between ion concentrations (as meq/L) were analyzed through linear modeling and calculation of coefficients of determination (R2 ). The relationships between NO3 - and alkaline earth metal ions (M2+) (excess Ca2++Mg2+ over HCO3 - ) were investigated. There is a strong linear relationship (R2 >0.90) between molar concentrations of the excess M2+ and NO3 - ions. Nitrogen compounds originating primarily from microbiallydriven processes such as nitrification are expected to react with carbonate minerals (e.g., CaCO3) and may migrate to groundwater as in the following reaction.