Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Groundwater arsenic concentrations in Vietnam controlled by sediment age

Nature Geoscience volume 5, pages 656–661 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Arsenic contamination of groundwater continues to threaten the health of millions of people in southeast Asia. The oxidation of organic carbon, coupled to the reductive dissolution of arsenic-bearing iron oxides, is thought to control the release of sediment-bound arsenic into groundwater. However, the cause of the high spatial variability in groundwater arsenic concentrations—which can range from 5 to 500 μg l−1 within distances of a few kilometres—has been uncertain. Here, we combine measurements of sediment age, organic-matter reactivity and water chemistry at four locations along a cross-section of the arsenic-contaminated Red River floodplain in Vietnam to determine the origin of variations in groundwater arsenic concentrations. The burial age of the aquifer sediments, determined using optical stimulated luminescence, ranged from 460 years near the course of the present-day river to 5,900 years at the margin of the floodplain. The groundwater arsenic content and the reactivity of sedimentary organic carbon, determined using radiotracer measurements of the rate of methanogenesis, declined with sediment age. The sedimentary pools of both iron and arsenic also declined with the burial age of the sediments. We suggest that the age of aquifer sediments is a key determinant of groundwater arsenic concentrations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The location of sites on the alluvial floodplain of the Red River near Dan Phuong, 30 km northwest of Hanoi, Vietnam.
Figure 2: The groundwater chemistry at the four field localities given in Fig. 1.
Figure 3: The release of arsenic and iron from aquifer sediments during dissolution experiments.
Figure 4: The relation between arsenic and iron released from the sediments in the experiments of Fig. 3.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Winkel, L. et al. Arsenic pollution of groundwater in Vietnam exacerbated by deep aquifer exploitation for more than a century. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 1246–1251 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Van Geen, A. et al. Spatial variability of arsenic in 6000 tube wells in a 25 km2 area of Bangladesh. Wat. Resour. Res. 39, 1140 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. BGS/DPHE (British Geological Survey, Dept. Public Health Engineering). Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh, Final Report (British Geological Survey, 2001).

  4. Fendorf, S., Michael, H. A. & van Geen, A. Spatial and temporal variations of groundwater arsenic in south and southeast Asia. Science 328, 1123–1127 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ravenscroft, P., Brammer, H. & Richards, K. Arsenic Pollution: A Global Synthesis (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. McArthur, J. M., Ravenscroft, P., Safiulla, S. & Thirlwall, M. F. Arsenic in groundwater: Testing pollution mechanisms for sedimentary aquifers in Bangladesh. Wat. Resour. Res. 37, 109–117 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dowling, C. B., Poreda, R. J., Basu, A. R., Peters, S. L. & Aggarwal, P. K. Geochemical study of arsenic release mechanisms in the Bengal Basin groundwater. Wat. Resour. Res. 38, 1173–1190 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Harvey, C. F. et al. Arsenic mobility and groundwater extraction in Bangladesh. Science 298, 1602–1606 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Swartz, C. H. et al. Mobility of arsenic in a Bangladesh aquifer: Inferences from geochemical profiles, leaching data, and mineralogical characterization. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 68, 4539–4557 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Postma, D. et al. Arsenic in groundwater of the Red River floodplain, Vietnam: Controlling geochemical processes and reactive transport modeling. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 71, 5054–5071 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Postma, D. et al. Mobilization of arsenic and iron from Red River floodplain sediments, Vietnam. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 74, 3367–3381 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Neumann, R. B. et al. Anthropogenic influences on groundwater arsenic concentrations in Bangladesh. Nature Geosci. 3, 46–52 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Rowland, H. A. L. et al. The control of organic matter on microbially mediated iron reduction and arsenic release in shallow alluvial aquifers. Geobiology 5, 281–292 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Berg, M. et al. Hydrological and sedimentary controls leading to arsenic contamination of groundwater in the Hanoi area, Vietnam: The impact of iron-arsenic ratios, peat, river bank deposits, and excessive groundwater abstraction. Chem. Geol. 249, 91–112 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Islam, F. S. et al. Role of metal-reducing bacteria in arsenic release from Bengal delta sediments. Nature 430, 68–71 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Van Geen, A. et al. Decoupling of As and Fe release to Bangladesh groundwater under reducing conditions. Part II: Evidence from sediment incubations. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 68, 3475–3486 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Radloff, K. A. et al. Mobilization of arsenic during one-year incubations of grey aquifer sands from Araihazar, Bangladesh. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41, 3639–3645 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Murray, A. S. & Wintle, A. G. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiat. Measurements 32, 57–73 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Murray, A. S. & Wintle, A. G. The single aliquot regeneration dose protocol: Potential for improvements in reliability. Radiat. Measurements 37, 377–381 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Larsen, F. et al. Controlling geological and hydrogeological processes in an arsenic contaminated aquifer on the Red River flood plain, Vietnam. Appl. Geochem. 23, 3099–3115 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Appelo, C. A. J. & Postma, D. Geochemistry, Groundwater and Pollution 2nd edn (Balkema Publ., 2005).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  22. Jakobsen, R. & Postma, D. Redox zoning, rates of sulfate reduction and interactions with Fe-reduction and methanogenesis in a shallow sandy aquifer, Rømø, Denmark. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 63, 137–151 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Hansen, L. K., Jakobsen, R. & Postma, D. Methanogenesis in a shallow sandy aquifer, Rømø, Denmark. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65, 2925–2935 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Postma, D. & Jakobsen, R. Redox zonation: Equilibrium constraints on the Fe(III)/SO4-reduction interface. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, 3169–3175 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Conrad, R. Contribution of hydrogen to methane production and control of hydrogen concentrations in methanogenic soils and sediments. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 28, 193–202 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Jakobsen, R. & Cold, L. Geochemistry at the sulphate reduction-methanogenesis transition zone in an anoxic aquifer—a partial equilibrium interpretation using 2D reactive transport modeling. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 71, 1949–1966 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Polizzotto, M. L., Kocar, B. D., Benner, S. B., Sampson, M. & Fendorf, S. Near-surface wetland sediments as a source of arsenic release to ground water in Asia. Nature 454, 505–508 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Thamdrup, B. Bacterial manganese and iron reduction in aquatic sediments. Adv. Microb. Ecol. 16, 41–84 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Larsen, O., Postma, D. & Jakobsen, R. The reactivity of iron oxides towards reductive dissolution with ascorbic acid in a shallow sandy aquifer (Rømø, Denmark). Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 70, 4827–4835 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Postma, D. The reactivity of iron oxides in sediments: A kinetic approach. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 57, 5027–5034 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Larsen, O. & Postma, D. Kinetics of bulk dissolution of lepidocrocite, ferrihydrite and goethite. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65, 1367–1379 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Wenzel, W. W. et al. Arsenic fractionation in soils using an improved sequential extraction procedure. Anal. Chim. Acta 436, 309–323 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Banwart, S., Davies, S. & Stumm, W. The role of oxalate in accelerating the reductive dissolution of hematite (α-Fe2O3) by ascorbate. Colloids Surf. 39, 303–309 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Acharyya, S. K., Lahiri, S., Raymahashay, B. C. & Bhowmik, A. Arsenic toxicity of groundwater in parts of the Bengal basin in India and Bangladesh: The role of Quaternary stratigraphy and Holocene sea-level fluctuation. Environ. Geol. 39, 1127–1137 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Stute, M. et al. Hydrological control of As concentrations in Bangladesh groundwater. Wat. Resour. Res. 43, W09417 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Miall, A.D. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits: Sedimentary Facies, Basin Analysis and Petroleum Geology (Springer, 1996).

    Google Scholar 

  37. Starr, R. C. & Ingleton, R. A. A new method for collecting core samples without a drilling rig. Ground Water Monitoring Rev. Winter 91–95 (1992).

Download references

Acknowledgements

D. D. Nhan made facilities available to do radiotracer work at the Institute for Nuclear Sciences and Technology. H. T. Tuoi, N. T. T. Trang, N. T. H. Mai, C. T. M. Trang and N. N. Khue did chemical analytical work in the field and the laboratory. H. V. Hoan and V. V. Hung supported the field work and sediment coring. The project received financial support as a research capacity building grant from DANIDA.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark

    Dieke Postma & Flemming Larsen

  2. Institute for Nuclear Sciences and Technology, Hanoi, 179 Hoang Quoc Viet, Vietnam

    Nguyen Thi Thai

  3. Research Centre for Environmental Technology and Sustainable Development (CETASD), Hanoi University of Science (VNU), Hanoi, 334-Nguyen Trai, Thanhxuan district, Vietnam

    Nguyen Thi Thai, Pham Thi Kim Trang & Pham Hung Viet

  4. Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

    Rasmus Jakobsen

  5. Department of Hydrogeology, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology (HUMG), Hanoi, Dong Ngac, Tu Liem, Vietnam

    Pham Quy Nhan & Tran Vu Long

  6. Department of Geoscience, Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Aarhus University, DTU Risø Campus, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark

    Andrew S. Murray

Authors
  1. Dieke Postma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Flemming Larsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nguyen Thi Thai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Pham Thi Kim Trang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rasmus Jakobsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Pham Quy Nhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Tran Vu Long
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Pham Hung Viet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Andrew S. Murray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

D.P. and F.L. conceived the project. R.J. oversaw and organized the radiotracer work. N.T.T. carried out the radiotracer and leaching experiments. P.T.K.T. and P.H.V. organized the water sampling and analysis, P.Q.N. advised on hydrogeology and organized the drilling, coring and hydrogeological field work together with T.V.L. F.L. was responsible for water dating and the hydrogeological interpretation. A.S.M. carried out the sediment dating. R.J., F.L. and D.P. analysed and interpreted the data. D.P. wrote the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dieke Postma.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 512 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Postma, D., Larsen, F., Thai, N. et al. Groundwater arsenic concentrations in Vietnam controlled by sediment age. Nature Geosci 5, 656–661 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1540

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1540

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing