Explorando Patrones y Controles en la Hidroquímica de Corrientes Proglaciales en el Alto Río Santa, Perú

Dramatic glacier loss in the upper Santa River watershed in Ancash, Peru has significant impact on proglacial hydrologic systems, with implications for downstream stressors on human water use activities. This study integrates hydrochemical analysis and spatial exploration across multiple scales with the aim of exploring patterns and controls of inorganic water quality within the region. The chemistry of proglacial surface waters is primarily determined by weathering in rock-water contact areas, and glacial meltwater inherits the chemical properties of the surficial lithology along a flow path. Hydrochemical analysis methods identify elemental characteristics that are unique to the study region. Dominant hydrochemical processes include silicate weathering, coupled pyrite oxidation with silicate weathering, and to a lesser extent, carbonate weathering. The sulfate constituent is unusually high for portions of the study region and is attributed to highly acidified waters immediately downstream from glacial point sources. Geovisualization extends the results of the hydrochemical analysis by showing temporal change and suggesting connections between areas of freshly exposed surficial lithologies, high rates of erosion and weathering, and elevated sulfate concentrations.