Statistical and hydrogeochemical characteristics of the M'Daourouch-Drea Plain's groundwater, North-East of Algeria

Abstract

This work was conducted on 23 samples distributed between springs, wells and boreholes tapping the shallow and deep aquifer in the M'Daourouch-Drea area located in extreme northeast of Algeria. Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl-, SO42-, HCO3- and NO3- were analysed. The interpretation of the geological-geophysical data allowed us to highlight two aquifers. The first consists of conglomerates, sandstones, gravels, sands, marls, limestones, lacustrine and alluvial deposits varying in thickness from a few tens to a few hundred meters, representing Neogene-Quaternary filling of the studied basin. The second is more important localized in the cracked and karstified limestones of upper Cretaceous age; these limestones are outcropped on the flanks of the syncline and the borders of the basin. The first aquifer sometimes rests directly on the second which allows hydraulic communication between them. The hydogeochemical and statistical study, with the combination of numerous tools, indicates that the chemistry of groundwater in the M'Daourouch-Drea Plain is controlled both by the dissolution of the minerals of the evaporite formations and those of the carbonate formations.