Major cations, alkalinity and their ratios to chlorinity in lake Edku

ABSTRACT

Water samples were collected seasonally from eight stations in Lake Idku during 1990 in order to investigate the impacts of waste, industrial and agricultural waters on the levels, distribution of chlorinity, alkalinity, sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium as well as their ratios to chlorinity. The levels of chlorinity, alkalinity, sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium are scattered in the ranges 0.5120-11.792%, 1.011-6.5920 ml eq./l, 1.5438- 10.8063, 0.0976-1.3957, 0.0166-0.5928 and 0.0648-0.2625. On the other hand, the ranges of specific alkalinity, sodium/chlorinity, magnesium/chlorinity, calcium/chlorinity and potassium/chlorinity were as follows 0.1707-8.8141, 0.269-3.6660, 0.0206-1.204, 0.0054-0.0650 and 0.0083-0.1914. The distributions of chlorinity, alkalinity, and major cations as well as their ratios to chlorinity exhibited wide regional and seasonal variations resulting from the sea waters entering the lake from Abou-Qir Bay as well as from waste, industrial and agricultural effluents. The relationships between alkalinity, major cations and chlorinity are also affected by the different effluents. Except alkalinity-chlorinity, calcium- chlorinity and sodium-chlorinity, no other definite relationships could be deduced