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Bailey, R. T. (2017). Selenium contamination, fate, and reactive transport in groundwater in relation to human health. Hydrogeology Journal, 25(4), 1191–1217.
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Bouzourra, H., Bouhlila, R., Elango, L., Slama, F., & Ouslati, N. (2015). Characterization of mechanisms and processes of groundwater salinization in irrigated coastal area using statistics, GIS, and hydrogeochemical investigations. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(4), 2643–2660.
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Abstract: Throughout the Mediterranean, salinization threatens water quality, especially in coastal areas. This salinization is the result of concomitant processes related to both seawater intrusion and water–rock interaction, which in some cases are virtually indistinguishable. In the Nurra region of northwestern Sardinia, recent salinization related to marine water intrusion has been caused by aquifer exploitation. However, the geology of this region records a long history from the Palaeozoic to the Quaternary, and is structurally complex and comprises a wide variety of lithologies, including Triassic evaporites. Determining the origin of the saline component of the Jurassic and Triassic aquifers in the Nurra region may provide a useful and more general model for salinization processes in the Mediterranean area, where the occurrence of evaporitic rocks in coastal aquifers is a common feature. In addition, due to intensive human activity and recent climatic change, the Nurra has become vulnerable to desertification and, in common with other Mediterranean islands, surface water resources periodically suffer from severe shortages. With this in mind, we report new data regarding brackish and surface waters (outcrop and lake samples) of the Na-Cl type from the Nurra region, including major ions and selected trace elements (B, Br, I, and Sr), in addition to isotopic data including δ18O, δD in water, and δ34S and δ18O in dissolved SO4. To identify the origin of the salinity more precisely, we also analysed the mineralogical and isotopic composition of Triassic evaporites. The brackish waters have Cl contents of up to 2025 mg L−1 , and the ratios between dissolved ions and Cl, with the exception of the Br / Cl ratio, are not those expected on the basis of simple mixing between rainwater and seawater. The δ18O and δD data indicate that most of the waters fall between the regional meteoric water line and the global meteoric water line, supporting the conclusion that they are meteoric in origin. A significant consequence of the meteoric origin of the Na-Cl-type water studied here is that the Br / Cl ratio, extensively used to assess the origin of salinity in fresh water, should be used with care in carbonate aquifers that are near the coast. Overall, δ34S and δ18O levels in dissolved SO4 suggest that water–rock interaction is responsible for the Na-Cl brackish composition of the water hosted by the Jurassic and Triassic aquifers of the Nurra, and this is consistent with the geology and lithological features of the study area. Evaporite dissolution may also explain the high Cl content, as halite was detected within the gypsum deposits. Finally, these Na-Cl brackish waters are undersaturated with respect to the more soluble salts, implying that in a climate evolving toward semi-arid conditions, the salinization process could intensify dramatically in the near future.
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Han, D., & Currell, M. J. (2018). Delineating multiple salinization processes in a coastal plain aquifer, northern China: hydrochemical and isotopic evidence. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 22(6), 3473–3491.
Abstract: Groundwater is an important water resource for agricultural irrigation and urban and industrial utilization in the coastal regions of northern China. In the past 5 decades, coastal groundwater salinization in the Yang–Dai river plain has become increasingly serious under the influence of anthropogenic activities and climatic change. It is pivotal for the scientific management of coastal water resources to accurately understand groundwater salinization processes and their causative factors. Hydrochemical (major ion and trace element) and stable isotopic (δ18O and δ2H) analysis of different water bodies (surface water, groundwater, geothermal water and seawater) were conducted to improve understanding of groundwater salinization processes in the plain's Quaternary aquifer. Saltwater intrusion due to intensive groundwater pumping is a major process, either by vertical infiltration along riverbeds which convey saline surface water inland, and/or direct subsurface lateral inflow. Trends in salinity with depth indicate that the former may be more important than previously assumed. The proportion of seawater in groundwater is estimated to have reached up to 13 % in shallow groundwater of a local well field. End-member mixing calculations also indicate that the geothermal water with high total dissolved solids (up to 10.6 g L−1) with depleted stable isotope compositions and elevated strontium concentrations (> 10 mg L−1) also mixes locally with water in the overlying Quaternary aquifers. This is particularly evident in samples with elevated Sr ∕ Cl ratios (> 0.005 mass ratio). Deterioration of groundwater quality by salinization is also clearly exacerbated by anthropogenic pollution. Nitrate contamination via intrusion of heavily polluted marine water is evident locally (e.g., in the Zaoyuan well field); however, more widespread nitrate contamination due to other local sources such as fertilizers and/or domestic wastewater is evident on the basis of NO3 ∕ Cl ratios. This study provides an example of how multiple geochemical indicators can delineate different salinization processes and guide future water management practices in a densely populated water-stressed coastal region.
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Zhao, Q., Su, X., Kang, B., Zhang, Y., Wu, X., & Liu, M. (2017). A hydrogeochemistry and multi-isotope (Sr, O, H, and C) study of groundwater salinity origin and hydrogeochemcial processes in the shallow confined aquifer of northern Yangtze River downstream coastal plain, China. Applied Geochemistry, 86, 49–58.
Abstract: Economically developed coastal areas have a high water demand, and their groundwater resources can be threatened by salinization. Many methods and tracers have been used to discriminate the source of salinization because a single method does not yield reliable results. In this paper, the shallow confined coastal plain aquifer, north of the downstream Yangtze River in China, is used as a case study to investigate the origin of the salinity and the relevant geochemical processes for this aquifer. Multiple environmental tracers of major ions, minor ions (Br−, I−), and isotopes (18O, 2H, 13C, 87Sr, 3H, 14C) were used so as to provide reliable conclusions. The TDS distribution of the aquifer has an increasing trend, from below 500 mg/L in the inland areas to more than 20,000 mg/L around the southeast coastline. The water chemical type evolves from HCO3-Ca to Cl-Na as the TDS increases. The results suggest that the groundwater salinity is influenced by seawater intrusion. The seawater proportions in the groundwater samples range from 0.07% to 94.41% and show the same spatial distribution pattern as TDS. The 3H and 14C values show that the highest salinity was mainly caused by a seawater transgression around 6000a B.P. The aquifer is also affected by other hydrogeochemical processes: base exchange has enriched Ca2+ and depleted K+ and Na+, sulfate reduction has reduced the concentration of SO42− and enriched HCO3−, and iodine-rich organic matter decomposition has enriched the concentration of I−. The iodine enrichment also suggests paleo-seawater intrusion. In addition, the precipitation of carbonate minerals has decreased the concentration of Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3−, albeit to a limited extent.
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