『Abstract
In the southern Upper Rhine Valley, groundwater has undergone
intensive saline pollution caused by the infiltration of mining
brines, a consequence of potash extraction carried out during
the 20th century. Major and trace elements along with Sr and U
isotopic ratios show that groundwater geochemical characteristics
along the saline plumes cannot reflect conservative mixing between
saline waters resulting from the dissolution of waste heaps and
one or more unpolluted end-members. The results imply the occurrence
of interactions between host rocks and polluted waters, and they
suggest that cationic exchange mechanisms are the primary controlling
process. A coupled hydrogeochemical model has been developed with
the numerical code KIRMAT, which demonstrates that cationic exchange
between alkalis from polluted waters and alkaline-earth elements
from montmorillonite present in the host rock of the aquifer is
the primary process controlling the geochemical evolution of the
groundwater. The model requires only a small amount of montmorillonite
(between 0.75% and 2.25%), which is in agreement with the observed
mineralogical composition of the aquifer. The model also proves
that a small contribution of calcite precipitation/dissolution
takes places whereas other secondary mineral precipitation or
host rock mineral dissolution do not play a significant role in
the geochemical signature of the studied groundwater samples.
Application of the model demonstrates that it is necessary to
consider the pollution history to explain the important Cl, Na
and Ca concentration modifications in groundwater samples taken
over 2 km downstream of waste heaps. Additionally, the model shows
that the rapidly of the cationic exchange reactions insures a
reversibility of the cation fixation on clays in the aquifer.』
1. Introduction
2. Study area
2.1. Geological and hydrogeological setting
3. Materials and methods
3.1. Sample location
3.2. Analytical techniques
3.3. Hydrogeochemical modelling
3.3.1. Hydrodynamical parameters
3.3.2. Geochemical parameters
4. Geochemical data
4.1. Major element concentrations
4.2. Trace element concentrations and U-Sr isotope ratios
4.3. Chemical variations with time
5. Discussion
5.1. Origin of water masses
5.2. Water-rock interaction mechanisms
5.2.1. Geochemical evidence
5.2.2. Thermo-kinetic modelling
5.3. Modelling the evolution of pollution fluxes and its consequences
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
Appendix A
References