Origin and Distribution of Groundwater Chemical Fields of the Oilfield in the Songliao Basin, NE China

There are many factors affecting the chemical characteristics of groundwater in the forming process of groundwater chemical fields, such as freshening due to meteoric water leaching downwards, freshening due to mudstone compaction and water release, concentration due to infiltration and freshening due to dehydration of clay minerals. As a result, the groundwater chemical fields are characterized by lengthwise stages and planar selectivity. The former arouses vertical chemical zonality of groundwater. Five units could be identified downwards in the Songliao basin: (1) freshening zone due to downward-leaching meteoric water, (2) concentration zone due to evaporation near the ground surface, (3) freshening zone due to mudstone compaction and water release, and concentration zone due to compaction and infiltration, (4) freshening zone due to dehydration of clay minerals, and (5) filtration-concentration zone; whereas the latter determines the planar division of groundwater chemical fields: (1) the freshening area due to meteoric water, asymmetrically on the margin of the basin, (2) the freshening area due to mudstone compaction and water release in the central part of the basin, (3) the leaky area, which is a transitional zone, and (4) leakage-evaporation area, which is a concentration zone. In the direction of centrifugal flows caused by mudstone compaction in the depression area, the mineralization degree, concentrations of Na+ and Cl?, and salinity coefficient (SC) increase, while concentrations of (CO32 ?+HCO3 ?) and SO42 ?, metamorphism coefficient (MC) and desulfuration coefficient (DSC) decrease. However, all these parameters increase in the direction of gravity-induced centripetal flows.