TITLE:
Hydro-Chemistry of Gokyo Valley, Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park, Nepal
AUTHORS:
Rajendra Bhandari, Subodh Sharma, Juerg Merz, Robin Garton
KEYWORDS:
Gokyo Valley, Himalayan Streams, Hydrochemistry, Sagarmatha National Park
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.3 No.9,
November
30,
2015
ABSTRACT: This
research work records the baseline inventory of selected ions in running waters
of Gokyo Valley, Nepal and tries to establish relationship of these ions’
concentration with elevation gradient. Among these selected hydro-chemical
parameters, the average concentration of Ca2+, Mg2+, and total silica were determined to be 3.25 (±2.02),
0.64 (±0.47), 207.2 (±423.01) and 0.36 (±0.17) mg/L respectively. Concentration
of these parameters was low compared to earlier studies except that could be justified too since the sampling was performed only once in
drier period with low atmospheric input of acid protons required for weathering
process. Moreover, Pearson Product-moment Correlation Coefficients (r) for
elevation gradient and concentration of Ca2+, Mg2+, and total silica were determined to be +0.350,
+0.145, +0.101 and ǂ.275 respectively. Such weak relationship between these
parameters and elevation gradient suggests that the concentration of these ions
is related to weathering phenomena, glacier and watershed characteristics and
snow cover dynamics in Gokyo Valley.