Geochemistry of mountain rivers in the Sierras Pampeanas: I. Springs and streams in the Achala batholith, Córdoba province, Argentina

Abstract

The chemical composition of mountainous (>1,100 m a.s.l.) springs and streams from the Achala batholith, in the Pampean Range of Córdoba, Argentina are analized; in this area, the most important lithology is porphyritic monzogranite. The dominant water composition is of the bicarbonate-type and varies from sodium-potassium dominance to calcium dominance. Dissolved element concentrations are 10³ to 10⁷ times lower than those of the mean upper continental crust and the dominant granitic country rock. The concentration of dissolved phases is linked to element mobility during initial weathering, the more mobile elements (alkaline and alkaline earths) exhibiting the highest concentrations in water and rocks, whith the less mobile (Al, Ga, Ti, Zr, Hf, Th and rare earths) showing lower concentrations. Both groups of elements are subjected to a significant control exerted by the chemical nature of country rocks. Transition metals, with variable solubility and concentrations, are possibly subjected to other controls aside from the lithological one. Major ions show a summer time dilution (rainy season) close to 60%, whereas trace elements show a concentration increase due to mobilization during the rainy season. The geological characteristics of the region, along with a prevailing semiarid climate, favour the pre-eminence of a denudation regime known as "weathering-limited". In this regime, physical erosion overcomes chemical dissolution. Under such conditions, the aqueous geochemical characteristics, scarcely affected by man-made influences, reflect the control exerted by lithology and relief.