Sulfur fluxes and isotopic compositions of the major rivers in China

Sulfur is widely distributed in the environment by volcanism, volatile emissions, precipitation, acid mine drainage and anthropogenic activity. Since the industrial revolution, the atmospheric sulfur cycle has been dominated by anthropogenic sources. Combustion of sulfur-containing fossil fuels release large quantities of sulfur dioxide into Earth's atmosphere annually. The cycling of sulfur, among those of many elements, is seriously disturbed by human activities at the earth's surface. Therefore, it is important to obtain a better understanding of sources and cycling processes of sulfur in river basins. For this purpose, we have measured the sulfur isotope composition of sulfate and its concentration for Changjiang (Yangtze River), Huanghe (Yellow River), Liaohe (Liao River), and Songhuajiang (Songhua River) in China. The sulfate fluxes of the major rivers in southern China are significantly larger as compared with the rivers in northern China. Sulfur isotopic compositions (δ34S) of sulfate in the rivers do not show a variation trend from southern to northern China. The sulfate δ34S values are 4.3‰~9.8‰ for Changjiang, 5.0‰~10.0‰ for most of river waters of Huanghe, and 2.0‰~27.0‰ for Songhuajiang. For Zhujiang (Pearl River), three sulfate δ34S values are from 1.0‰~6.9‰. The coal produced in southern China is generally of lower δ34S values as compared with that in northern China. The distributions of the sulfate δ34S values of the river waters of are generally lower in southern China, showing the contribution of atmospheric deposition of sulfur into the river water. Three main sources, atmospheric deposition (mostly anthropogenic), dissolution of sulfate evaporate, oxidation of sulfide minerals and/or sulfur-containing organic matter in soil, have been recognized for the sulfate in the rivers. Relative contributions of the different sulfur sources into the sulfate of the rivers are different, suggesting that sulfur cycling in the different big river basins of China are largely affected by human activities, besides of geological and ecological control in the river basins. Acknowledgements: This work was financially supported by Natural Science Foundation of China through project 41073099.