Hydrogeochemical behavior associated with a diverse etiology of high salinity in phreatic water along Oued Righ valley in Algerian Sahara.

Autor: Hammadi, Aziza, Brinis, Nafaa, Djidel, Mohamed
Zdroj: Arabian Journal of Geosciences; Jun2022, Vol. 15 Issue 12, p1-17, 17p
Abstrakt: In the northeastern Algerian Sahara, the Oued Righ region is one of the most prominent geothermal areas and it is defined by a hot arid climate. Water resources in Oued Righ valley are heterogeneous in terms of geological and environmental conditions; this is marked by multi-layer groundwater system through the formations of the Continental Intercalary aquifer, the Terminal Complex, and the Phreatic water. The Phreatic water is an important aquifer system used for public water supply and irrigation purposes. The main objective of this paper is to study the quality of Phreatic water through, the hydrogeochemistry characteristics in order to investigate how it mineralizes. Thirty water samples were collected in July 2019 and September 2020 and were analyzed for major dissolved chemical components. The water samples are characterized by conductivities ranged from 6360 to 193900 μS/cm (July 2019) and 6890 to 226400 μS/cm (September 2020). The water is mostly of sodium chlorinated, sodium, and magnesium sulfated types. Results of mineral equilibrium modeling showed that the Phreatic waters of Oued Righ are undersaturated with respect to evaporite minerals. Gibbs plot revealed that, the evaporations and crystallization dominance activities and oceanic tides are the primary causes of increased salinity in the Phreatic water of the studied area. The Phreatic water of Oued Righ perceived a change in its chemical characteristics during the tow sampling periods, caused by water-rock interactions and mixing processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index