Water Quality Assessment in Terms of Major and Minor Elements in Surface, Ground and Sea Water and Correlating the Presence with Associated Problems

Abstract

The major and minor elements and their salts are the targeted investigation of surface water, ground water and sea water by the scientists worldwide. The presence of such elements depends on the nature of rock, soil, weathering phenomenon, pH value, water soluble salts etc. Other than the natural source, many contaminants are introduced into water by the domestic or industrial activities of that region. The heavy metals have a tendency to accumulate in animal and human bodies through this water system. Moreover, the accumulation of these heavy metals beyond permissible level has harmful effects on biotic components. These metals also get accumulated in water-sediment and percolate down in to ground water that effects food chain and biomagnification. The mobility of metal or its salt in water depends upon chemical forms in which it exists in water. Major components (Na⁺; Ca⁺, Mg⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻_, NO³⁻, HCO₃⁻ etc.) and minor elements (Al⁺, F⁻, Cd⁺, Co⁺, Cu⁺, Cr⁺, Fe⁺, Mn⁺, Ni+, Pb⁺, Sr.⁺, Zn⁺ etc.) are present in surface water, ground water and sea water. The present chapter deals with the water quality of surface water, ground water and sea water assessed by the authors and their team of scientists, where, the distribution of major and minor element concentrations in the surface and ground was evaluated in one of the districts of India, Moradabad Uttar Pradesh, whereas, seawater from Southern ocean and glacial lake water from Proglacial and Epishelf lakes of Antarctica. Major and minor elements beyond the permissible limits causes severe health problems such as liver cancer, diabetes, cirrhosis of liver, diseases related to heart and central nervous system, infertility etc. and thus needs to be monitored on regular basis.

1. Introduction

Water is one of the natural resources which is found in an adequate amount. About 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. It is essential for the existence of life on the earth. It is also being widely used for various purposes such as drinking, washing, bathing, cooking, irrigation, industrial uses etc. [1]. Most of the water on earth is present in sea and oceans and accounts for 96%. This water is unfit for human consumption due to high salt content. Around 2% of water is locked up in polar icecaps, icebergs, mountain glaciers, snow cover etc. Water found on land is categorized as surface water (river, lakes, ponds) and ground water accounting as 0.02 and 1.40% respectively. Table 1 shows the global water reserves and their distribution as surface water; rain water; ground water; sea water, ocean water etc. [2]. The human life on earth is dependent on surface water that meets the livelihoods for a large number of people all over the world. Surface water is a water body found on the earth surface, which can persist throughout the year or a part of the year and includes the rivers, streams, lakes, ponds etc. Surface water is more accessible than ground water. Man-made surface water reservoirs are also found in structures such as dams, bridges etc. They are used for renewable energy generation by hydropower, irrigation and recreational purposes.

S. No.	Particulars	Distribution Area (10^3 km^2)	Global Reserves (%)
1.0	Sea and Ocean	361,300.00	96.00
2.0	Ground Water	134,800.00	1.40
3.0	Polar icecaps, Glaciers, Icebergs, Snow Cover	16,227.00	1.55
4.0	Lake, pond, river	2228.70	0.02
5.0	Others (biological, swamp, atmospheric etc.)	748.00	0.01

Table 1.

Global water distribution and reserves.

In fact, surface water, ground water and sea water are all important for survival of human being, plant and animals living on this earth planet. Surface water participates in the water cycle, which involves the movement of water vapors to and from the earth’s surface. Evaporation and seepage of water into the ground cause water bodies to lose water. Surface water and groundwater are reservoirs that can feed into each other. The surface water can seep underground becomes groundwater and also can resurface on land to replenish surface water, lakes, river, pond etc. [3].

Ground water is the second largest store of fresh water on this earth. The sustainability of the ecosystem is largely dependent on groundwater availability. For the last few decades, the groundwater has been under tremendous pressure to fulfill human needs owing to human activities around the world. Moreover, rapid rise in population and human activities such as agriculture, industry and infrastructures also cause increase or alter the natural composition of water or concentration of several major and trace elements in water, which results in deterioration of the water quality [4].

The physical and chemical composition of water plays a key role in assessing the quality of water. In unpolluted systems, major ions in water are provided by soil and rocks. The quality of water is dependent on several factors such as geology, weathering, quantity of recharge water, water-rock interaction etc. In ground water, metal salts may enter into many ways; natural rocks, weathering, irrigation and also by human activity. The accumulation of metal through food chain is called bio-magnifications. The concentration of metal gets increased at every level. The metal concentration can cause harmful effects on agricultural soil, human beings and live-stock by alteration in biochemical reaction in body cells [5].

Thus, the water resources play an important role both at national and international level. However, the human activities witnessed in terms of climate change, global warming, industrialization, pollution has altered the constitutional changes in water resources. Therefore, a regular water quality assessment of surface water, ground water and sea water are essential in terms of major and minor elements composition [6].

1.1 Macro and micro elements in water

Macro and micro elements or their salts are naturally present in the water bodies. They come primarily from various sources such as rock weathering, soil erosion, dissolution of salts etc. Naturally occurring metals move through aquatic, biotic and abiotic environments [7]. Human beings also intake essential nutrients, elements or salt through water and food that are essential to human health. Some major metals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron etc. are found in water. The industrial activities have affected on water quality. The metals can become toxic or undesirable when their concentrations are higher than permissible limits. Therefore, a better understanding of elemental/or metal sources and their presence in the water is essential [8].

The metal and metal salts enter in to the ecosystem and may lead to geo-accumulation, bioaccumulation and bio-magnifications. Major components like (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺ Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, Na⁺, NO₃⁺ etc.) and other trace elements (F⁻, Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Al³⁺, Zn²⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Mo⁶⁺ etc.) are important for biological systems and their deficiency or excess could lead to a number of diseases. The element or its salt like chloride, calcium, iron, molybdenum, manganese, zinc, fluoride etc. have been linked to human life development. Several heavy metals like cadmium, lead, mercury, arsenic, iron etc. are toxic at low concentrations in water [9] that can accumulate in body tissues over long periods of time. The contamination by element has become a cause of concerns in recent years because of their accumulation in food chain, soil and sediment. Therefore, quality control of water is regularly needed from time to time [10].

1.2 Sea water

Sea water makes up the oceans and covers more than ∼70% earth’s surface. Surface sea water is slightly alkaline and have an average pH 8.0. Sea water is a mixture of 97.0% water, 2.5% salts and smaller amounts of other substances ∼0.05%. Table 2 shows the macro and minor elements or salt present in sea water [11].

S. No.	Particulars	Sea water	River water	Rain water	Surface water
1.0	Chloride as (Cl^−), mg/L	19,345.00	66.75	3.79	5.30
2.0	Sodium as (Na^+), mg/L	10,752.00	6.30	1.98	4.50
3.0	Potassium as (K^+), mg/L	390.00	2.30	0.30	1.30
4.0	Sulphate as (SO4^−2); mg/L	2700.00	8.25	0.58	33.40
5.0	Calcium as (Ca^+2), mg/L	416.00	66.40	0.09	48.60
6.0	Magnesium as (Mg^+2),mg/L	1295.00	3.35	0.27	8.00
7.0	Bicarbonate as (HCO3^–1) mg/L	145.00	60.00	0.12	—
8.0	Bromide as (Br^−); mg/L	67.00	0.02	—	—
9.0	Strontium as (Sr^+2); mg/L	0.70	0.03	—	0.04
10.0	Silica as SiO2, mg/L	6.40	13.10	—	1.34
11.0	Boron as B, mg/L	4.50	0.01	—	0.025
12.0	Fluoride as (F^−), mg/L	1.30	0.10	—	0.083
14.0	Arsenic as (Ar), mg/L	0.02	0.002	—	0.0014
15.0	Cadmium as (Cd), mg/L	—	0.0001	—	0.00002
16.0	Copper as (Cu), mg/L	—		—	0.00075
17.0	Iron as Fe, mg/L	—	0.67	—	0.0055
18.0	Aluminum as Al; mg/L	0.50	0.03	—	0.0035
19.0	Fluoride as F; mg/L	1.30	0.10	—	0.08
20.0	Nitrate as NO3; mg/L	—	16.30	—	4.55
21.0	Barium as (Ba); mg/L	—	0.018	—	0.09

Table 2.

Elemental composition of variety of water.

Sea water vary in their chemical compositions. Dissolved mineral originates from earth crust, rock weathering, biotic components. Sea and ocean are dominant by sodium and chloride ions, followed by sulphate, calcium and magnesium [12, 13]. The samples of sea water were analyzed for the major elements and trace metal concentrations in surface sea water [13, 14].

However, the concentration of major and minor element in sea water varies with depth and location. Organisms living on the surface of sea water and below are also involved in changes in its chemical composition. Dissolved element such as ion present in sea water is principal as electrolytes [9]. The average composition of sea water is made up of dissolved salts as shown in Table 2.

1.3 Rain water

Rain water has a chemical composition that varies from place to place, shower to shower and season to season in the same place. Rain water contains some constituents of local origin, and some that have been transported by winds from other place. Even during rainless periods there is precipitation of mineral and dust. The chemical constituents in rain are also added continually to any area of the earth’s crust to become part of the environment (Table 2) [15].

Rain water is a mixed electrolyte that contains varying amounts of major and minor ions. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, bicarbonate, sulfate ions are major constituents. They also contain nitrogenous compounds. Minor constituents are iodine, bromine, boron, iron, alumina, silica etc. Dust particles are added locally. The main sources of rain water are from evaporation of sea, oceans, fresh water lakes and their condensation phenomenon [10].

1.4 Ground water

Ground water is found in earth aquifers, which is an essential and vital component of our life. In the last seven decades, the ground water resources are being continuously utilized for drinking, irrigation, industrial purposes etc. However, due to rapid growth of population, urbanization, industrialization and agricultural activities, ground water resources are under stress. There is also growing concern on the deterioration of ground water quality due to ongoing human activities [5].

The sodium, magnesium and calcium content of ground water is a function of weathering of rocks containing calcium and magnesium. Most of the ground water contains sodium, calcium and magnesium. This is due to metallic ions present in earth crust and rocks. It is also derived from biotic components. On the other hand, trace elements can be divided into essential and non-essential categories [16].

Inorganic salts such as sulphate, chloride, nitrate etc. along with Na, K, Mg, build up dissolved solids. The combination of carbonates and bicarbonates along with Ca and Mg make hard water. Hard water creates stomach and gastrointestinal problems in human being, if consumed as drinking water [17].

Dissolved nitrate is most common contaminant in groundwater. High level can cause blue baby syndrome in children. It can also accelerate eutrophication in lakes, ponds, river etc. The main sources of nitrates include sewage, fertilizers, landfills, industry effluents etc.

In the recent years, the contamination of ground water by major and trace elements in excess has received attention due to their toxicity and bio-accumulation. Many of the heavy and trace elements are not biodegradable. The major sources of toxic elements in ground water include discharge of sewage and waste effluents. Although, some trace elements are essential for human beings but larger quantities of them may cause psychological disorders. Heavy metals like cadmium, chromium, lead, iron etc. are highly toxic to humans at even low concentrations [18].

1.5 Drinking water

Drinking water is water intended for drinking and cooking purposes. It includes untreated or treated by any means for human consumption. Drinking water comes from a variety of sources including public water systems, lakes, wells, bottled water etc. [19].

Table 3 shows the limits of drinking water prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO), United States Environment Protection Act (USEPA) and Indian standard. Ground water represents 30% of the world drinking water. Therefore, monitoring and analysis of the water is an important requirement specifically the measurement of major and minor elemental concentrations in water.

S. No.	Parameters	Drinking Water
		WHO	USEPA	IS Standard
1.0	Color, Hazen Units	5.00	5.00	5.00
2.0	Odor	Essentially free	Essentially free	Essentially free
3.0	Turbidity (NTU), max	—		5.00
4.0	pH value	6.5–8.0	6.5–8.5	6.50–8.5
5.0	Total Hardness as (CaCO3), mg/L, max.	500.00	300.00	300.00
6.0	Iron as (Fe^+2), mg/L, max.	0.10	0.30	0.30
7.0	Chloride as (Cl^_), mg/L, max.	200.00	250.00	250.0
8.0	Total Dissolved Solids, mg/L, max.	500.00	500.0	500.0
9.0	Calcium as (Ca^+2), mg/L, max.	75.00	—	75.0
10.0	Magnesium as (Mg^+2), mg/L, max.	50.00	50.00	30.0
11.0	Copper as (Cu), mg/L, max.	1.00	1.30	1.00
12.0	Sulphate as (SO4^_), mg/L, max.	—	250.00	200.0
13.0	Nitrate as (NO3^_), mg/L, max.	50.00	1.00	45.0
14.0	Fluoride as (F^_), mg/L, max.	1.50	4.00	1.00
15.0	Cadmium as (Cd^+), mg/L, max.	0.005	0.005	0.003
16.0	Lead as (Pb^+), mg/L, max.	0.05	0.01	0.01
17.0	Zinc as (Zn^+), mg/L, max.	5.00	5.00	5.00
18.0	Chromium as Cr^+, mg/L, max.	0.05	0.01	0.05
19.0	Arsenic as (As^+), mg/L, max.	0.01	0.05	0.01
20.0	Aluminum as (Al^+), mg/L, ma	0.20	—	0.03
21.0	Barium as (Ba^+), mg/L	0.07	0.02	0.70
22.0	Mercury as (Hg^+), mg/L	0.001	0.002	0.001
23.0	Selenium as (Se), mg/L, max.	0.01	0.05	0.01
24.0	Boron as (B) mg/L, max.	0.50	—	0.05
25.0	Manganese as (Mn), mg/L, max.	—	—	0.05
27.0	Nickel as (Ni) mg//L, max.	—	—	0.02

Table 3.

Physical and chemical characteristics of drinking water.

2. Major factors affecting the water quality

2.1 Pollution

Human activities of rise in population, industrialization, infrastructure development etc. demands on exploitation of natural resources affecting water in many ways. The water resources are getting polluted due to addition of effluents generated in these activities including organic matter from plant and animal, washing and bathing discharge etc. [6].

The polluted water has undesirable color, odor, taste, turbidity, organic matter, chemicals, metals, salt, pesticides, oil sludge, high TDS, sewage etc., which may be bio-degradable or non-biodegradable [14].

Groundwater resources are also under increasing pressure from over abstraction making it a serious threat to this natural resource. Removing pollutants from ground water is not easy as it requires lot of efforts to purify the water aquifer. Different uses of water affect quality of the water and thus the water management is required urgently [20].

2.2 Effect of climate change and global warming on water

Due to climate change and global warming, ice and glaciers are melting contributing to the rise in sea levels. As a result, salt water is beginning to infiltrate in water aquifers contaminating coastal area. It is affecting surrounding ecosystems as it places stresses on the life in those areas.

Climate change has a direct connection with the water hydro-cycle. Global warming and rise in temperature increase evaporation and decrease precipitation, runoff water aquifer and soil moisture. This has altered surface water levels of river, pond, lakes etc. [8].

Climate change may affect water quality through pollution and over utilization. For example, if an aquifer is over-abstracted, the concentrations of elemental or metal nutrients and chemicals may increase, because pollutants will be more or less diluted. Over-abstraction in water stressed areas can also cause ground water quality deterioration if salt or polluted water are drawn into the aquifer.

The quality of water is heavily affected with the presence of metals and their salts. When the water is polluted due to human activity, it alters the chemistry and composition of the water that needs systematic water management against contaminants. The methods used and standards adopted for quality testing of water are summarized in the Table 4.

Parameters	Methodology/procedure	Protocol guidelines
Color	Color of the water sample was determined by Hazen method. Reference standard of 500 Hazen units on Platinum-Cobalt scale was prepared by dissolving 1.20 g of K2PtCl6 and 1.00 g of CoCl2.2H2O in distilled water. It was made up to 1000 ml in volumetric flask.; Color measurement was made by visually using different standards by diluting the stock solutions of different standards and was compared with samples.	IS 3025 (Part 4), 2002; Standard Method for the Examination of Water & Waste Water, Ed.21, 2005, Part 2120, 2–1 to 2–8. Published by APHA
Turbidity	A standard turbidity solution was prepared by Hexamethylene Tetramine and hydrazine sulphate in 100 ml distilled water. The instrument was calibrated with different turbidity standards. Water sample was passed through filter pore size of 0.45 micron. Turbidity of collected water sample was made by turbidimeter meter (NTU)	IS 3025 (Part 10), 2002; Standard Method for the Examination of Water & Waste Water, Ed.21, 2005, Part 2130, 2–8 to 2–11, Published by APHA
Odor	Approx. 500 ml of water sample was taken in glass bottle. It was shaken vigorously for ∼3 minute. The odor of water was observed after warming the water at 60°C. It was compared with standard physical sensory observation.	IS 3025 (Part 05), 2002; Standard Method for the Examination of Water & Waste Water, Ed. 21, 2005, Part 2150, 2–11 to 2–15. Published by APHA.
pH value	pH of the water sample was measured using pH meter (indicator electrode). Preparation of standard solution was done by dissolving the standard pH buffer tablet (2, 4, 7 & 10) in distilled water. For measuring the pH, first the pH electrode was calibrated by using solution of standard buffer. The electrode was then dipped in the water sample and the pH observed.	IS 3025 (Part 11), 2002; Standard Method for the Examination of Water & Waste Water. Ed.21, 2005, Part 4500, 4–90 to 4–94, Published by APHA
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)	Gravimetric method was used for the determination of total dissolved solids in water. An approx. 200 gram of the water sample was taken in a glass beaker. It was evaporated in steam bath without bumping. The residue was then dried in an oven at temperature 150°C. It was completely dried till the sample achieve constant weight. Weight of the dried residue sample was taken and TDS calculated.	IS 3025, Part 15–18), 2002 and 2003. Standard method for Examination of Water & Waste Water, Ed. 21, Part 2540, 2–55 to 2–59. Published by APHA.
Chloride (Cl)	An approx. 10 ml of water sample was taken a conical flask. 2–3 drops of K2CrO4 indicator (∼ 5%) was taken. It was titrated against standard silver nitrate to 1 reddish yellow color point.	IS 3025 (Part 32), 2003. Standard method for Examination of Water & Waste Water, Ed. 21, 2005, Part 4500, 4–70 to 4–76. Published by APHA
Metal Analysis (Mn, Al, Sb, Ni, Fe, Ch, Hg etc).	Mixed metal element stock solutions was made prepared and a calibration curve method. Water sample was filtered through a 0.45 m membrane filter. Water sample 10 ml was taken in 1 Ltr volumetric flask. About 50 ml dilute nitric acid was added and volume made up to water. Analyze the instrument check standard and the calibration blank. Run condition employed for ICP-OES; RF power 1150; replicate 3; pump speed 11 rpm; Uptake delay 15 sec.; read time 5 sec; View made redial and axial.	IS 3025 (Part 2), 2004; Standard Methods of Sampling and Test (Physical and Chemical) for Water and Waste Water Part 2 Determination of 33 Elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP)
Sulphate	Sulphate in water sample was determined by gravimetric method. About 20 g of water sample was taken in acidified water. 10 ml of barium chloride was added and boiled. Sulphate is precipitated as BaSO4. It was then filtered through Whatman filter paper (no 42). The filter paper was ignited in furnace at 800°C and residue is weighed	IS 3025 (Part 24), 2003; Standard method for Examination of Water & Waste Water. Ed.21, 2005, Part 4500, 4–186 to 4–192. Published by APHA.
Boron (Br)	About 10 ml of water sample was taken in beaker and acidifed. It was boiled to remove carbon dioxide. It was cooled and pH adjusted to 7. About 5 gram Mannitol was added. It was then titrated against 0.005 N sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. Volume of NaOH consumed was recorded and boron determined	IS 3025, Part 57, 2005. Potentio-metric Water Analysis. By Midgley & Torrecc.
Total hardness as CaCO3	EDTA method was used for determination of hardness of water. Accurately 100 ml of water was taken in conical flask and was buffered to pH 9. It was titrated against with EDTA using Eriochrome Black T indicator. The color changed from red to blue end point recorded.	IS 3025 (Part 21), 2002; Standard method for Examination of Water & Waste Water. Ed. 21, 2005, Part 2340, 2–37 to 2–39. Published by APHA

Table 4.

Methodology used for water testing.

3. Field study 1- Water quality at moradabad district, UP (India)

The district of Moradabad lies between 28°21′ to 28°16′ north latitude and 78°4′ to 79° east longitude in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city is an industrial hub for its brass and aluminum handicrafts and known as Peetal Nagri [21].

A field survey was conducted in district Moradabad (UP) and water samples were collected from all over the Moradabad district covering all eight blocks (Figure 1) while interacting with the local population to find out the status of ground water quality and associated problems. The primary objective of this work was to determine major and trace elements in groundwater. The samples of groundwater were collected from wells in the Moradabad (1) Badi Masjid Area and (2) Bhojpur Area. To assess the water quality of ground water, samples were analyzed for major and trace elements by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Figure 1.

Blocks of moradabad district (UP, India).

The test results are presented in Table 5. The chloride concentration was found to be 117.00 (Badi Masjid area) and 126.75 mg/L (Bhojpur area). The nitrate concentration was found to be 53.03 (Badi Masjid) and 60.13 mg/L (Bhojpur) in the study area. The concentration of fluoride in the study area is 0.16 and 0.15 mg/L which is below the prescribed limit of drinking water. The sodium concentration was found to be 63.00 mg/L (Badi Masjid area) and 79.30 mg/L (Bhojpur area).

S. No.	Particulars	Desirable Limit	Ground Water of Moradabad
			Badi Masjid (Site I)	Bhojpur (Site II)
1.0	Color, Hazen	5.00 max	4.00	4.00
2.0	Odor	Essentially Free; (Un Objectionable)	No smell (UN)	No smell (UN)
3.0	Turbidity (NTU), max	5.00	4.00	4.50
	pH	6.5–8.5	8.00	8.40
1.0	Chloride as (Cl^−), mg/L, max	250.00	117.00	126.75
2.0	Sodium as Na^+, mg/L, max	200.00	63.00	79.30
3.0	Potassium as K^+ mg/L	—	5.00	8.30
4.0	Sulphate as SO4^−2; mg/L, max	200.00	256.00	220.20
5.0	Total Dissolved solid, mg/L, max	500.00	523.00	620.00
6.0	Calcium as (Ca^+2), mg/L, max	75.00	181.00	134.0
7.0	Magnesium as (Mg^+2);,mg/L, max	300.00	245.00	331.00
8.0	Bicarbonate as HCO3^−1; mg/L, max	150.00	221.00	190.10
9.0	Nitrate as NO3^−; mg/L, max	45.00	53.03	50.03
11.0	Bromide as Br^−; mg/L	—	0.01	0.02
12.0	Strontium as Sr. + 2; mg/L	—	1.00	1.13
13.0	Silica as SiO2, mg/L	—	37.00	23.10
14.0	Boron as B, mg/L, max	0.05	0.04	0.03
15.0	Fluoride as F^−; mg/L, max	1.50	0.16	0.15
16.0	Lead as (Pb)^; mg/L, max	0.10	0.46	0.55
17.0	Total hardness as Carbonate (CaCO3), mg/L, max	500.00	625.00	725.00
18.0	Arsenic as (Ar), mg/L, max	0.10	0.16	0.15
19.0	Cadmium as Cd, mg/L, max	0.0005	0.01	0.05
20.0	Copper as Cu, mg/L, max	0.30	0.0001	0.0001
21.0	Iron as (Fe), mg/L, max	0.30	1.46	1.70
22.0	Aluminum as Al; mg/L, max	0.03	0.07	0.05

Table 5.

Major and minor elements in groundwater of Moradabad (UP).

The total dissolved solid at Badi Masjid and Bhojpur area of Moradabad was found to be 523.00 and 620.00 mg/L respectively. This is higher than the desired limit of water and found unfit for human consumption. The potassium content was found to be 5.00 mg/L in Badi Masjid and 8.30 mg/L Bhojpur area. No significant differences were reported for Br, Sr., Cu, Zn, Se, etc. between the two.

Out of the water samples collected, arsenic, iron, copper, lead and sulphate content were found above the permissible limits of drinking water. The iron concentrations were found to be 1.46 and 1.70 mg/L, exceeding the permissible limits of the drinking water in the samples collected from the aquifers.

The boron content was found to be 0.04 and 0.03 mg/L. The silica content was found to be 37.00 and 23.10 mg/L. The nitrate content was found to be 53.03 (Badi Masjid area) and 50.11 00 mg/L (Bhojpur area) that are much above the desired limit.

All the major components (Ca, Fe, Pb, SO₄, NO₃ etc.) exceed the drinking water guideline limits in both samples. This could be due to rock characteristics in aquifers and pollution. Cadmium concentration was also above permissible limits. The bicarbonate concentrations were found to be 221.00 (Badi Masjid) & 190.00 mg/L in Bhojpur area exceeding the desirable limit of 150 mg/L maximum. The high manganese concentrations are with metal processing industries in the region. In fact, the high concentration of manganese are combined effects of industrial activity and the use of fertilizers in agricultural practices. Maximum iron level in groundwater sample was found to be 0.46 and 0.70 mg/L that may cause severe health problems such as cancer, diabetes, cirrhosis of liver, heart diseases and central nervous system, infertility etc. Besides, the presence of high concentration of iron further leads to adverse changes in color, odor and taste of the water available for the drinking.

Studies performed on groundwater of Moradabad (India) have indicated a decrease in the water quality. The groundwater samples of the study area indicate a slightly higher solid content due to presence of calcium, magnesium and iron content in the water collected. The hard water is possibly due to the presence of calcium and magnesium in the aquifers. The hard water may require chemical treatment before use for drinking or any other use. The overexploitation of groundwater by aluminum and brass industry of the region resulting into loss in the water quality. The ground water of Moradabad district in this study is found not suitable for use as drinking water due to its excessive hardness and the health risks involved due to presence of the contaminants such as As, Cd, Cr, Fe, Pb.

4. Field study II assessment of Glacial Lake water quality at Antarctica

Antarctica is a snow-white desert and is unique among continents. It is coldest, windiest, driest, thickest and most isolated place on this earth. More than 98% of its surfaces is composed of ice comprising more than 70% of the world’s fresh water. The combination of ice, wind and cold make the life difficult to survive at low temperature. However, there are little patches during austral summer, where temperatures rise above freezing temperature over the rocks. These are known as oasis in an icy continent. One such oasis is in Antarctica with a number of glacial lakes of different sizes known as Schirmacher Oasis. (Figure 2) It is about 70 km south of Prince Astrid Coast and forms a part of Dronning Maud Land [22].

Figure 2.

Schirmacher Oasis and its lakes. (A) Map of Antartica, (B) Proglacial lake, (C) Land locked lake, (D) Epishelf lake.

The Schirmacher Oasis area is about 100 km inside Princes Astrid coast of Queen Maud Land between the ice shelf and the continental ice. The Schirmacher Oasis has width of 3.5 km and length of about 20 km. The coordinates of the oasis are: Latitude 70°44′33″S-70046′30″S; Longitude 11°22′40″E-ll054′00″E [23].

The aim of this study is to assess the water quality of glacial lake of Antractica. Two lakes at Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica were selected and surveyed during the austral summer. These included (a) Epishelf lake and (b) Pro-Glacier-fed lake. Water samples were collected from two lakes (Figure 3) and analyzed for physico-chemical parameters.

Figure 3.

Water Sampling at Antarctica Lake.

The results are presented in Table 6 and were compared with prescribed specification of drinking water. The physical parameters like color, odor was found within the prescribed limit of standards for drinking water. Turbidity in all samples was below the prescribed limit of 5 NTU. No odor and objectional smell have been observed in water sample with no turbidity in both the Epishelf lake and Proglacial lake water.

S. No.	Parameters	Desirable Limit	Antarctica Lake
			Epishelf Lake	Pro-glacial Lake
1.0	Color, Hazen, max	5	<5	<5
2.0	Odor	Un Objectionable	Un Objectionable	Un Objectionable
2.0	Turbidity NTU, max	5	2.00	4.00
3.0	pH	6.5–8.5	6.5	7.5
4.0	Total Dissolved Solids, mg/L, max	500	10.00	27.00
5.0	Chloride as Cl, mg/L, max	250	10.00	27.00
6.0	Nitrate as NO3^−, mg/L, max	100.00	30.00	50.00
7.0	Sulphate as SO4^–2, mg/L, max	200.00	1.00	6.00
8.0	Iron as (Fe), mg/L, max	0.3	0.07	0.08
9.0	Magnesium as (Mg), (mg/L), max	50.00	0.10	0.12
10.0	Calcium as (Ca), mg/L, max	75	2.0	1.5
11.0	Copper as (Cu), (mg/L), max	0.05	0.01	0.03
12.0	Manganese as (Mn), mg/L, max	0.1	0.01	0.03
13.0	Mercury as (Hg), mg/L, max	0.001	0.001	0.001
14.0	Cadmium as (Cd), mg/L, max	0.001	<0.001	<0.001
15.0	Selenium as (Se), mg/L, max	0.01	<0.005	<0.005
16.0	Arsenic as (Ar), mg/L, max	0.01	0.01	0.01
17.0	Lead as (Pb), mg/L, max	0.10	0.08	0.01
18.0	Zinc as (Zn), (mg/L), max	5.00	0.05	0.01
19.0	Chromium as (Cr), mg/L, max	0.005	0.01	0.01
20.0	Aluminum as (Al), mg/L, max	0.03	0.02	0.02
21.0	Boron as (Br), mg/L, max	15	<1.0	<1.00

Table 6.

Properties of Glacial Epishelf and pro-glacial lake water.

Total dissolved solids were found to be 10 mg/L in one of the Epishelf lakes and 27 mg/L in post-glacial lake, which are much less than maximum limit prescribed for drinking water 500 mg/L. pH values of lake were found to be 6.5 and 7.5 and were within standard value. Calcium in Epishelf and Pro-glacial lake was found to be 2 and 1.5 mg/L (Pro-glacial lake).

Nitrate was found to be 30.0 mg/L in case of Epishelf lake to continental ice and as high as 50.00 mg/L in case of Post glacial lake. Difference of the metal concentrations in Antarctic Lake (Fe, Mg, Cu, Hg, Cd, Se, Ar) was negligible and their concentrations were well within limit. The results indicate that the concentration of other metals in lake were found uniform where calcium, magnesium, boron, iron metals were found within the desired limits.

Aluminum (0.02 mg/L each in Epishelf Lake and Pro-glacial Lake), zinc (0.05 Epishelf Lake and 0.01 mg/L Pro-glacial Lake), copper (0.01 Epishelf Lake and 0.03 Pro-glacial Lake mg/L) were also found in low concentrations in all the water samples collected from these lakes.

In spite of the severe climatic conditions, such isolated, unaltered, and unpolluted polar ecosystems have been investigated by many research workers and found both the lakes free from any kind of pollution. Total dissolved solids are also very low conforming to the theory of poor solubility of metal salts in water at low temperature. The fresh water glacial lakes of Schrimacher Oasis, Antarctica, Epishelf lake and Pro-glacial lake, represent the standard physical and chemical properties of the lake water ideal for drinking purpose.

5. Field study III quality of sea water from Indian Bay to Bharti station at Antartica

The surface sea water samples were collected from Indian Bay (Maitri station, Queen Maud Land) to Bharti station (Larsemann Hills, Ingrid Christenson Coast) (Figure 4) in the Southern Ocean during the Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. Eight sampling points were selected at various locations namely S-41, S-43, S-45, S-47, S-49, S-51, S-53 and S-55 from Indian bay to Larsemann hills in east Antarctica. (Figure 5).

Figure 4.

Larsemann Hill, Ingrind Christern, Antarctica.

Figure 5.

Location and sampling in Southern Ocean.

Sea water samples collected from eight sampling location in Southern Ocean from latitude S 67°16′10.9″ and longitude E 28°39′64.5″ to latitude S 69°17′42.9″ and longitude E 76°13′23.3″ [23] were analyzed for various metals like copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr). The concentration of heavy metals and other major elements like sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, boron were measured in sea water samples [24].

Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, boron and iron metals were found to be the dominant constituents among the sea water contents (Tables 7–9). Maximum sodium was found to be 54750.45 μg/cc at S-45 site and minimum was 39670.45 μg/cc at S-49. Maximum potassium was found to be 2619.17 μg/cc at S-45 site and minimum was 2072.29 μg/cc at S-49 sampling point. Maximum calcium was found to be 2258.12 μg/cc at S-45 site and minimum was 1642.15 μg/cc at S-49.

S. No.	Sample Code	Latitude	Longitude	pH	Temperature (C)
1.0	S-41	S 67°16′10.9″	E 28°39′64.5″	8.0	−0.8
2.0	S-43	S 66°14′27.6″	E 36°41′36.9	7.8	−0.5
3.0	S-45	S 65°21′29.3″	E 43°21′01.7″	7.7	−0.6
4.0	S-47	S 63°42′10.9″	E 52°11′64.5	8.0	−0.8
5.0	S-49	S 65°32′41.7″	E 58°05′56.5″	8.0	−1.5
6.0	S-51	S 66°11′32.0″	E 68°49′03.6″	7.3	−0.6
7.0	S-53	S 67°23′12.0″	E 73°29′50.5″	7.8	−.10
8.0	S-55	S 69°17′42.9″	E 76°13′23.3″	7.2	−0.9

Table 7.

Sea water samples collected from Southern Ocean.

S. No.	Sample Code	Al	B	Ca	Fe	K	Mg	Na	Zn
1.0	S-41	15.031	22.839	1874.151	14.708	2294.668	5161.877	47149.200	1.178
2.0	S-43	3.291	24.392	2149.401	30.695	2596.668	5947.127	52554.200	1.113
3.0	S-45	0.922	12.759	2258.138	16.770	2619.168	5987.127	54750.450	0.465
4.0	S-47	1.592	109.22	1767.65	13.845	2248.543	4972.377	45400.450	0.813
5.0	S-49	1.055	8.966	1642.151	10.445	2072.293	4398.002	139670.450	0.315
6.0	S-51	0.397	11.500	2022.901	10.195	2530.043	5620.627	52916.700	0.273
7.0	S-53	0.844	26.642	2128.526	14.820	2539.418	5740.3775	3267.950	1.900
8.0	S-55	4.944	13.723	1652.026	1.258	2128.543	4761.377	43052.950	0.503
	Detection Limit	0.018	0.025	0.015	0.010	0.010	0.02	0.015

Table 8.

Major constituents in seawater samples collected from Southern Ocean (In μg/cc).

S.No.	Sample Code	Cd	Co	Cr	Cu	Mn	Mo	Ni	Se
1.0	S-41	BDL	BDL	BDL	0.235	0.059	0.103	BDL	BDL
2.0	S-43	0.061	0.123	BDL	0.206	0.074	0.186	BDL	BDL
3.0	S-45	BDL	BDL	BDL	0.088	0.030	0.338	BDL	BDL
4.0	S-47	BDL	BDL	BDL	0.043	0.030	0.363	BDL	BDL
5.0	S-49	BDL	BDL	BDL	0.073	0.023	0.541	BDL	BDL
6.0	S-51	BDL	BDL	BDL	0.1091	0.011	0.416	BDL	BDL
7.0	S-53	0.036	0.032	BDL	0.163	0.032	0.771	BDL	BDL
8.0	S-55	BDL	BDL	BDL	0.02	0.002	0.516	1.160	1.5
	Detection Limit	0.027	0.06	0.022	0.02	0.002	0.016	0.08	1.5

Table 9.

Quantities of major constituents in Seawater samples (in μg/cc).

The magnesium was found to be 5987.13 μg/cc at S-45 sampling station and 4398.0 μg/cc at S-49. The boron was found to be 109.23 μg/cc at S-47 site and 8.96 μg/cc at S-49. The iron concentration was found to be 30.69 μg/cc at S-43 site and 1.3 μg/cc at S-55 near Bharti station at Larsemann Hills.

Besides these, aluminum (0.397–15.03 μg/cc) and zinc (0.273–1.9 μg/cc) were also present in significant quantities in all sea water samples. Cadmium was found only in one sample near Maitri station as well as in one sample near Bharti station, which shows the heterogeneous distribution concept over cadmium introduction into sea ecosystems. Maximum cadmium was found to be 0.061 μg/cc at S-43 site and 0.036 μg/cc at S-53, whereas it was found below detection limit in all remaining samples (Tables 7–9). Similar trend was observed for cobalt metal in sea water samples collected from coastal regions of Southern Ocean.

Maximum cobalt was found to be 0.123 μg/cc at S-43 site and 0.032 μg/cc at S-53, while it was found below detection limit in all remaining samples. Chromium concentration was below detection level in all seawater samples. Selenium was also below detection level in all samples. Lead was present in only two samples collected from S-51(1.24 μg/cc) and S-55 (1.128 μg/cc). Nickel was also one of the rarest metals in seawater as it was detected in only one sample at site S-55 (0.16 μg/cc). Beside these, copper (0.043–0.235 μg/cc), manganese (0.011–0.074 μg/cc) and molybdenum (0.103–0.771 μg/cc) were also present in all the collected sea water samples in trace quantities. However, strontium was found in seawater samples of Southern Ocean [23] ranging from 22.87 – 53.00 µg/cc (Table 10).

S. No.	Sample Code	As	Ba	P	Sr
1.0	S-41	BDL	0.712	BDL	31.875
2.0	S-43	BDL	0.136	BDL	22.875
3.0	S-45	BDL	BDL	BDL	53.000
4.0	S-47	1.571	0.027	BDL	29.625
5.0	S-49	BDL	0.090	BDL	29.375
6.0	S-51	BDL	0.041	BDL	34.500
7.0	S-53	BDL	0.017	0.213	33.625
8.0	S-55	BDL	BDL	BDL	33.875
	Detection Limit	1.50	0.02	0.04	0.01

Table 10.

Major constituents in seawater samples collected from Southern Ocean (in ug/CC).

Remarks: BDL Below Detection Limit.

6. Comparative study of ground, glacial and sea water

The water quality of various kinds of water collected during the field study are summarized in Table 11. The water quality of groundwater was found satisfactory in terms of copper, arsenic, lead and chromium concentrations at Moradabad district. Iron concentration was observed beyond permissible limit in more than 50% of the samples collected. Maximum iron level in groundwater sample was 3820 ppb and that in surface water sample 6294 ppb whereas the permissible limit is 300 ppb.

S. No.	Parameters	Field Water
		Ground Water	Glacial lake	Southern Ocean
1.0	Color, Hazen, max	4.0	<5	<5
2.0	Odor	Un Objectionable	Un Objectionable	Un Objectionable
2.0	Turbidity NTU, max	2.00	4.00	—
3.0	pH	8.00–8.40	6.5–7.5	7.2–8.0
5.0	Chloride as Cl, mg/L, max	117.00–126.00	10.00–27.00	750.00–1345.00
7.0	Sulphate as SO4^–2, mg/L, max	220.20–256.00	1.00–6.00	650.00–700.00
8.0	Iron as (Fe), mg/L, max	1.46–1.70	0.07–0.08	0.001–0.003
9.0	Magnesium as (Mg), (mg/L), max	245.00–331.00	0.10	295.00–594.00
10.0	Calcium as (Ca), mg/L, max	134.00–181.00	1.5–2.00	0.00016–0.00020
11.0	Copper as (Cu), (mg/L), max	0.0001	0.01–0.03	0.04–0.235
12.0	Manganese as (Mn), mg/L, max	—	0.01	0.0005
13.0	Mercury as (Hg), mg/L, max	< 0.001	0.001	—
14.0	Cadmium as (Cd), mg/L, max	0.01–0.05	0.001	BDL
15.0	Selenium as (Se), mg/L, max	<0.005	0.005	0.00015
16.0	Arsenic as (Ar), mg/L, max	0.15–0.16	0.01	BDL
17.0	Lead as (Pb), mg/L, max	0.46–0.55	0.01–0.08	0.0001
18.0	Zinc as (Zn), (mg/L), max	0.05	0.03	0.0004
19.0	Chromium as (Cr), mg/L, max	0.01	0.01	—
20.0	Aluminum as (Al), mg/L, max	0.05–0.07	0.02	0.0001
21.0	Boron as (B), mg/L, max	0.03–0.04	1.00	0.002
23.0	Potassium as (Ka), mg/L, max Potassium	5.00–8.30	—	0.0002

Table 11.

Comparative properties of water samples collected during the field study.

The glacial lakes fresh water of Schrimacher Oasis, Antarctica, Epishelf lake and Pro-glacial lake, represent the standard physical and chemical properties of the lake water ideal for drinking purpose as the physical parameters like color, odor was found within the prescribed limit of standards for drinking water. Turbidity in all samples was much below the prescribed limit of 5 NTU. Total dissolved solids were found to be 10 mg/L in one of the Epishelf lakes and 27 mg/L in Post-glacial lake, which are much less than maximum limit prescribed for drinking water 500 mg/L. pH values of lake were found to be 6.5 and 7.5 and were within standard value. Calcium 1.5–2.0 mg/L, Nitrate 30.0–50 mg/L and the metal concentrations in (Fe, Mg, Cu, Hg, Cd, Se, Ar) were well within limit. The concentration of other metals in lake were found uniform where calcium, magnesium, boron, iron metals were found within the desired limits. Aluminum (0.02 mg/L each in Epishelf Lake and Pro-glacial Lake), zinc (0.05 Epishelf Lake & 0.01 mg/L Pro-glacial Lake), copper (0.01 Epishelf Lake & 0.03 Pro-glacial Lake mg/L) were also found in low concentrations in all the water samples collected from glacial lakes of Antarctica.

In southern ocean water, the concentrations of heavy metals Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni, Cr, were found uniformly in entire selected stretch of Southern Ocean. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, boron and iron metals were found as the dominant constituents among the sea water. Aluminum (0.3–15.0 μg/cc), zinc (0.27–1.9 μg/cc), copper (0.04–0.23 μg/cc) and molybdenum (0.10–0.77 μg/cc) were also found in sufficient concentrations in all the seawater samples. Strontium was also one of the dominant alkaline earth metals in sea water. However, the concentration of strontium (22.8–53.0 μg/cc) was found to be evenly distributed from Indian Bay to Larsemann Hills in east Antarctica. Selenium and chromium were the rarest metals in seawater as these were below detection limit in all samples.

The overload of the major and minor elements beyond the permissible limits causes severe health problems such as liver cancer, diabetes, cirrhosis of liver, diseases related to heart and central nervous system, infertility etc. and thus needs to be monitored on regular basis.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank to management of Sharda University, Greater Noida and Shriram Institute For Industrial Research, Delhi for providing all kinds of support to publish the paper. Our thanks and gratitude are extended to the Department of Science and Technology for sanctioning of the project. The authors are grateful to, NCAOR for providing opportunity to participate in Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica and would like to express their gratitude to leaders and all the expedition members for their continuous support and help.