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Effect of water–rock interaction processes on the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater west of Sohag area, Egypt

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Abstract

Groundwater is used intensively for land reclamations and domestic purposes in new reclaimed areas west of the Nile Valley in Sohag Governorate, Upper Egypt as it is the only source of water in the area. Twenty-six groundwater samples are collected to evaluate the hydrochemical characteristics and the impact of water–rock interaction on the chemistry of groundwater using classical geochemical and statistical tools. The total dissolved solids (TDS) is ranging between fresh and saline water (530–4,850 ppm). The distribution of the major ions is the order of Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ and Cl− > SO4 2− > HCO3 −. The entire samples belong to a shallow meteoric source as indicated by the meteoric genesis index. Ionic abundance plot of alkalis with Ca2+ + Mg2+ is suggestive of mix type trends of concentrations. Two groundwater zones are identified in the area using the cluster analysis; the first zone contains high TDS (mean 2,157.7 ppm) while the second zone is characterized by relatively low TDS values (mean 1,003.1 ppm). Gibbs ratio’s showed that two main processes prevailed, chemical weathering, hydrolysis, and ion-exchange of rock-forming minerals, especially the silicates (middle and southern parts) and evaporation and subsequent crystallization of gypsum and halite (northern part). This is also proved by the hydrochemical signatures and correlation relationships of the different elements. The obtained results revealed that about 53.8 % of the samples are suitable for drinking purposes. The combination of hydrogeochemical and clustering tools is effective in identifying and evaluating the water–rock interaction processes on the chemistry of groundwater.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the reviewers for their helpful comments that improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Sohag University, Sohag, 82524, Egypt

    Mostafa Redwan, Ahmed A. Abdel Moneim & Marwa Abo Amra

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  1. Mostafa Redwan
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  2. Ahmed A. Abdel Moneim
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  3. Marwa Abo Amra
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Correspondence to Mostafa Redwan.

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Redwan, M., Abdel Moneim, A.A. & Amra, M.A. Effect of water–rock interaction processes on the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater west of Sohag area, Egypt. Arab J Geosci 9, 111 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-2042-x

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