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The origin of fluoride in the granitic aquifer of Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

The Porto Alegre region, Southern Brazil, comprises a fractured aquifer system constituted by pre-Cambrian granitic and gneissic rocks, and a porous aquifer system formed by Cenozoic muddy–sandy to sandy sediments. A model is presented for the origin of the fluoride in the groundwater of the fractured aquifer system, based on ionic interrelations, a statistical analysis of physicochemical parameters and geochemical modeling. The fluoride is present at levels of up to 6.13 mg/L in groundwater and it arises due to the dissolution of secondary fluorite filling fractures in the granitic and gneissic rocks. The dissolution of fluorite occurs at the same time as calcite and dolomite solubilization. The statistical analysis identified three chemically distinct groups (named 1, 2 and 3) and two subgroups (1A and 1B) of groundwater in the fractured aquifer. The most significant differences between these groups are the different concentration ranges of fluoride, calcium, bicarbonate, magnesium, total dissolved solids and chloride and pH values, as well as the correlations between them. The compositional evolution of each groundwater group is governed mainly by how much high-salinity groundwater from the porous aquifer system is mixed with them and the different thermodynamic equilibrium conditions of calcite, dolomite and fluorite.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the financial support given by the Municipality of Prefecture Municipal de Porto Alegre, by the Rio Grande do Sul Research Foundation (FAPERGS) and by the National Research Council (CNPq).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Mineralogia e Petrologia, IG-UFRGS, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500 Bairro Agronomia, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91501-970, Brazil

    A. P. Viero & A. Roisenberg

  2. PETRBRAS, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500 Bairro Agronomia, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91501-970, Brazil

    C. Roisenberg

  3. Departamento de Estatística, IM-UFRGS, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500 Bairro Agronomia, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91501-970, Brazil

    A. Vigo

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  1. A. P. Viero
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  2. C. Roisenberg
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  3. A. Roisenberg
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  4. A. Vigo
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Correspondence to A. P. Viero.

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Viero, A.P., Roisenberg, C., Roisenberg, A. et al. The origin of fluoride in the granitic aquifer of Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. Environ Geol 56, 1707–1719 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1273-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1273-5

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