ABSTRACT
Arsenic contamination in groundwater is a serious environmental issue that affects the health of millions of people in many countries. Hetao Basin (the Great Bend of Yellow River) of Inner Mongolia located in the arid-semiarid region in northwestern China is one of the representative As poisoning areas in China, where groundwater contains high As with the concentration varying from 0.35 to 1.74 mg L−1. Previous studies showed that As mobilization is a result of complex interplay of microbial mediated reactions and geochemical processes that are sensitive to site specific hydrology and sediment composition. The aim of this study was to better understand the biogeochemical processes responsible for As release and to investigate the structure and diversity of the in situ prokaryotic populations and geochemical constituents in As-rich aquifers in this representative As poisoning area.
