Rice Field Geochemistry and Hydrology: An Explanation for Why Groundwater Irrigated Fields in Bangladesh are Net Sinks of Arsenic from Groundwater

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 45; no. 6; pp. 2072 - 2078
• Main Authors: Neumann, Rebecca B, St. Vincent, Allison P, Roberts, Linda C, Badruzzaman, A. Borhan M, Ali, M. Ashraf, Harvey, Charles F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 15.03.2011
• Subjects: Agricultural Irrigation; Applied sciences; Aquifers; Arsenic; Arsenic - analysis; Arsenic content; Bangladesh; Characterization of Natural and Affected Environments; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Exact sciences and technology; Fresh Water - chemistry; Geochemistry; Groundwater; Hydrology; Irrigation; Oryza; Pollution; Soil - chemistry; Water Cycle; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Asia; Bangladesh; Irrigation; Arsenic; Pollutant behavior; Geochemistry; Soil pollution; Trace element; Carcinogen; Hydrology; Poison; Agriculture; Water pollution; Paddy field; Ground water
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es102635d

Irrigation of rice fields in Bangladesh with arsenic-contaminated groundwater transfers tens of cubic kilometers of water and thousands of tons of arsenic from aquifers to rice fields each year. Here we combine observations of infiltration patterns with measurements of porewater chemical composition from our field site in Munshiganj Bangladesh to characterize the mobility of arsenic in soils beneath rice fields. We find that very little arsenic delivered by irrigation returns to the aquifer, and that recharging water mobilizes little, if any, arsenic from rice field subsoils. Arsenic from irrigation water is deposited on surface soils and sequestered along flow paths that pass through bunds, the raised soil boundaries around fields. Additionally, timing of flow into bunds limits the transport of biologically available organic carbon from rice fields into the subsurface where it could stimulate reduction processes that mobilize arsenic from soils and sediments. Together, these results explain why groundwater irrigated rice fields act as net sinks of arsenic from groundwater.