Chemical characterization of aquifers with the same geological origin

In the coastal aquifers of Kaluvelly （Bengal coast, India）, the over exploitation of the main aquifer （the Vanur sandstone） has created a piezometric depression. Water flows from the sea towards inland. A salinization problem is questioned. The geochemical study was dedicated to major, minor and trace elements as well as isotope ratios （δ^18O, δD, δ^37Cl and ^87Sr/^86Sr）. The catchment comprises a crystalline bedrock hinterland （chamockites） overlaid by sediment. The Vanur and Cuddalore sandstones, the two main layers, are issued from the decay of chamockites upland. The geochemical feature of a water body is linked both to the composition of the hosted rock and the interaction time between water and rock. In the deeper parts of the Vanur aquifer, a mixture with long-residence time groundwaters has been evidenced. These waters can originate from a pocket of water entrapped in the Vanur or from the charnockites downward. No seawater intrusion could be assessed. Piezometric data suggest a possible hydraulic connection between the Cuddalore and the Vanur aquifers. Major, minor element data and isotope ratios do not allow to distinguish between old waters from the different aquifers. Data evidence the heterogeneity of the charnokite formation which is characterized by high Ba contents. On the whole, the two sandstones are depleted compared to charnockites in alkaline and earth-alkaline elements, and enriched in less soluble element such as Th or Zr. Trace elements in groundwaters waters from the chamockite aquifer exhibit a high concentration of Ba as compared to Vanur and Cuddalore waters. As Ba is a soluble element, the concentration of Ba in waters is related to the concentration in the hosted rocks. The Li concentration, slightly higher in Vanur rocks, allows to distinguish waters from the deeper parts of the Vanur aquifer. For insoluble elements such as Ti, the hosted rock signature cannot be seen. The Ti concentration in water samples seems to rely on the reaction progress rather than on the available amount. Trace element data show that waters recovered from chamockites and sandstone aquifers present different geochemical features. The host rock signature can be seen in the chamockite and Vanur aquifers for some alkaline and alkaline-earth elements （mainly Ba and Li）.

Chemical characterization of aquifers with the same geological origin