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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Characteristics and Causes of Seasonal Changes
in Dissolved Inorganic Carbon and Its Isotopes
in a Typical Karst Underground River Basin
1
School of Karst Science, Guizhou Normal University/State Engineering Technology Institute for Karst Desertification
Control, Guiyang 550001, Guizhou, China
2
The College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou, China
Submission date: 2024-03-19
Final revision date: 2024-08-11
Acceptance date: 2024-08-23
Online publication date: 2024-11-14
Publication date: 2025-11-14
Corresponding author
Shizhen Xiao
The College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou, China, China
The College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou, China, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(6):8351-8363
KEYWORDS
hydrochemistrydissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)dissolved inorganic carbon isotopes (δ13CDIC)underground river basin
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Dissolved inorganic carbon isotopes (δ13CDIC) are an important means to trace the different sources
and influence characteristics of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). In this paper, 11 sampling sites were
set up in the Huanghou underground river basin, a typical karst watershed for field sampling in the dry
season (February) and wet season (May) in 2022, respectively. The aim was to investigate the seasonal
characteristics of rivers DIC and δ13CDIC. The results showed that the various water chemistry parameters
(anions, cations, pCO2, DIC, and δ13CDIC) in the basin showed significant seasonal variations in the dry
and rainy seasons, with Ca2+ as the dominant cation, HCO3- as the dominant anion, and HCO3-Ca as the
chemical type of the water in the basin; nitric and sulfuric acids in the watershed waters are involved
in the weathering of carbonate rocks. The dry season variation of DIC in this basin ranged from 213.57
mg·L-1 to 231.88 mg·L-1 with a mean value of 221.34 mg·L-1, and the rainy season variation ranged from
189.16 mg·L-1 to 237.98 mg·L-1 with a mean value of 206.36 mg·L-1; whereas the mean value of δ13CDIC
was -4.91% in the dry season and -9.97% in the rainy season, which showed a positive pattern in the
dry season and a negative pattern in the rainy season. The source of DIC in the study area is mainly
attributed to dissolution of carbonate rocks and soil CO2; the percentage of dissolved carbonate rocks in
the dry season DIC ranged from 86.52% to 67.61%, and the percentage of soil CO2 ranged from 13.48%
to 32.39%, while the percentage of dissolved carbonate rocks in the wet season DIC ranged from 59.57%
to 53.83%, and the percentage of soil CO2 ranged from 40.43% to 46.17%. The chemical properties of
waters in the basin are less affected by human activities and show a strong natural river character.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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