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Dissolved oxygen and nitrate of groundwater in Choshui Fan-Delta, western Taiwan

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate concentrations of groundwater from a total of 191 new monitoring wells, with a maximum depth up to 300 m, in the Choshui fan delta of Taiwan were measured to delineate the regional patterns of the two components. Unconfined aquifers of the proximal part of the fan delta contain 1~7 mg/l of DO, and a 250-m deep well still has an unusual value of 1.83 mg/l. DO concentrations decrease downgradient along flow paths to below detection limit (0.01 mg/l) in shallow confined aquifers during the last 40 years, possibly due to oxidation of organic matters in sediments. A plume of high nitrate-N concentrations (0.5–17 mg/l) originating from the proximal part of the fan delta has been developing, possibly since 1956, due to agricultural fertilizers. From 1997 to 2001, the concentration has increased at a rate of ca. 0.28 mg/l per year.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Mr. W.S. Chen of the Water Quality Lab of Taiwan Sugar Company for his useful comments and suggestions. This study is financially supported by Water Resource Bureau, MOEA, Taiwan.

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Correspondence to Wen-Fu Chen.

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Chen, WF., Liu, TK. Dissolved oxygen and nitrate of groundwater in Choshui Fan-Delta, western Taiwan. Env Geol 44, 731–737 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0823-0

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