Abstract
The isotopic composition of dissolved boron, in combination with the elemental concentrations of B, Cl and salinities in freshwater-seawater mixed samples taken from the estuary of the Changjiang River, the largest one in China, was investigated in detail in this study. Brackish water and seawater samples from the estuary of the Changjiang River were collected during low water season in November, 1998. Boron isotopic compositions were determined by the Cs2BO2 +-graphite technique with a analytical uncertainty of 0.2‰ for NIST SRM 951 and an average analytical uncertainty of 0.8‰ for the samples. The isotopic compositions of boron, expressed in δ11B, and boron concentrations in the Changjiang River at Nanjing and seawater from the open marine East Sea, China, are characterized by δ11B values of −5.4‰ and 40.0‰, as well as 0.0272 and 4.43 mg B/L, respectively. Well-defined correlations between δ11B values, B concentrations and Cl concentrations are interpreted in terms of binary mixing between river input water and East Sea seawater by a process of straightforward dilution. The offsets of δ11B values are not related to the contents of clastic sediment and to the addition of boron. These relationships favor a conservative behavior of boron at the estuarine of the Changjiang River.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barth S. (1998a) 11B/10B variations of dissolved boron in a freshwater-seawater mixing plume (Elbe Estuary, North Sea) [J]. Mar. Chem. 62, 1–14.
Barth S. (1998b) Application of boron isotopes for tracing source of anthropogenic contamination in groundwater [J]. Wat. Res. 32, 685–690.
Chen Guohua, Wang Yuan, Jin Jiancheng, Zhang Aibin, Wang Wenzheng, Ji Rong, and Zhou Xinjun (1999b) Boron and strontium in seawater of Hangzhou Bay [J]. J. Ocean University of Qingdao. (supp.), 25–35 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Chen Guohua, Wang Yuan, Zhang Aibin, and Ji Hong (1999a) Study on the behavior of boron and strontium in Zhujiang Estaury [J]. J. Ocean University of Qingdao. (supp.), 17–24 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Gaillardet J. and Allègre C.J. (1995) Boron isotopic compositions of corals: Seawater or diagenesis record? [J]. Earth and Planet Sci. Lett. 136, 665–676.
Ghosh S.K. and Jana T.K. (1993) Boron-boric acid complexes in estuarine water of river Hugli, east coast of India [J]. Indian J. Mar. Sci. 22, 225–226.
Han Qingping, Wu Ling, Xi Jianfeng, and Chen Banglin (1997) Analysis of boron and its distribution rule-in the Changjiang Estuary [J]. Ocean Science. (2), 335–38 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Hosokawa I., Oshima F., and Kondo N. (1970) On the concentrations of the dissolved chemical elements in the estuary water of the Chikugogawa River [J]. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Jap. 26, 1–5.
Kakihana H., Kotaka M., Satoh S., Nomura M., and Okamoto M. (1977) Fundamental studies on the ion-exchange separation of boron isotopes [J]. Bull. Chem. Soc. Jap. 50, 158–163.
Lemarchand D., Gaillardet J., Lewin E., and Allegre C.J. (2000) The influence of river on marine boron isotopes and implications for reconstructing past ocean pH [J]. Nature. 408, 951–954.
Liddicoat M.I. (1983) Conservative behavior of boron in the Tamar Estuary [J]. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 17, 467–472.
Liss P.S. and Pointon M.J. (1973) Removal of dissolved boron and silicon during estuarine mixing of sea and river waters [J]. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 37, 1493–1498.
Mao Zhichang, Shen Huanting, and Xu Pengling (2000) The pattern of saltwater intruding into the Changjiang estuary and the utilization of freshwater resources [J]. Acta Geographica Sinica. 55, 243–250.
Narvekar P.V. and Zingde M.D. (1987) Behavior of boron, Ga, Ma in Puyna and Auraga Estuarine (Gujarat), West Coast of India [J]. Indian J. Mar. Sci. 16, 46–50.
Narvekar P.V., Zingde M.D., and Dalal V.N. Kamat (1981) On the behavior of boron, calcium and magnesium in Midolariver Estuary (Gujarat) [J]. Indian J. Mar. Sci. 10, 90–92.
Pearson P.N. and Palmer M.R. (1999) Middle Eocene seawater pH and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations [J]. Science. 284, 1824–1826.
Shirodkar P.V. and Anand S.P. (1985) Behavior of boron in Mandovi Estuary (Goa) [J]. Bull. Nat. Inst. Ocean. 18, 439–448.
Spivack A.J., Palmer M.R., and Edmond J.M. (1987) The sedimentary cycle of the boron isotopes [J]. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 51, 1939–1949.
Vengosh A., Heumann K.G., Juraske S., and Kasher R. (1994) Boron isotope application for tracing source of contamination in groundwater [J]. Environ. Sci. Technol. 28, 1968–1974.
Vengosh A., Kolodny Y., Starinsky A., Chivas A.R., and McCulloch M.T. (1991) Coprecipitation and isotopic fractionation of boron in modern biogenic carbonates [J]. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 55, 2901–2910.
Wang Zhongliang and Liu Congqiang (2000) The distributions of dissolved rare-earth element in Changjiang Estuary during estuarine mixing processes [J]. Chinese Sci. Bull. 45, 1322–1326 (in Chinese).
Xiao Y.K., Beary E.S., and Fassett J.D. (1988) An improved method for the high-precision isotopic measurement of boron by thermal ionization mass spectrometry [J]. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Proc. 85, 203–213.
Xiao Yingkai, Liao Buyong, Liu Weiguo, Xiao Yun, and Swihart George H. (2003b) Ion-exchange extraction of boron from aqueous fluids by Amberlite IRA 743 resin [J]. Chin. J. Chem. 21, 1073–1079.
Xiao Yingkai, Liao Buyong, Wang Zhongliang, Zhang Conggeng, and Wei Haizheng (2003a) Isotopic composition and concentration of dissolved boron in a freshwater-seawater mixing plume of the Yangtze River estuary [J]. Bull. Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry. 22, 324–327 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Xiao Yingkai, Sun Dapeng, Wang Yunhui, Qi Haiping, and Jin Lin (1992) Boron isotopic composition of brine, sediments, and source water in Da Qaidam Lake, Qinghai, China [J]. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 56, 1561–1568.
Xiao Yingkai, Swihart G.H., Xiao Yun, and Vocke R.D. (2001) A preliminary experimental study of the boron concentration in vapor and the isotopic fractionation of boron between seawater and vapor during evaporation of seawater [J]. Science in China (Series B). 44, 540–551.
Yang Shouye and Li Congxian (1999) Characteristic elemental compositions of the Yangtze River and Yellow River surface sediment and their geological background [J]. Chinese Journal of Geochemistry. 18, 258–265.
Zhang Aibin, Chen Guohua, Jiang Xiaobo, Zhang Yichun, Qi Chunhui, and Chu Jinfang (1999) Investigation on boron in the seawater of Jiaozhou Bay [J]. J. Ocean University Qingdao. (supp.), 72–76 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xiao, Y., Liao, B., Wang, Z. et al. Isotopic composition of dissolved boron and its geochemical behavior in a freshwater-seawater mixture at the estuary of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. Chin. J. of Geochem. 26, 105–113 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-007-0105-8
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-007-0105-8