Trace elements in thermal waters of the northern Tien Shan: distribution and fate

The article presents new data on the abundance and ways of soluted trace elements (Si, Fe, F, Al, Sr, Br, B, Mn, Ba, Ti, Li, Rb, Mo, As, U, Th, W, Sc, Y, REE, Hf) in thermomineral, surface and groundwaters of the northern Tien-Shan (Issyk-Kul intermountain depression). It is established that trace element composition of thermomineral waters is able to be a marker of hydrogeological settings of water formation and flow: waters of sedimentary rocks of the intermountain artesian basin are enriched with Sr, Ba, Mn, B, Mo and U, while waters of rock massifs contain increased concentrations of F, Rb, W and Sc. Thermodynamic calculations performed for certain trace elements using Visual-MINTEQ 3.1 and GWB 14 programmes allowed us to identify the water migration patterns of the surveyed water points. Calculation of water migration coefficient showed the dependence of microcomponent accumulation rate on the type of water-bearing strata and hydrogeological conditions of water formation.