Hydrogeochemical features of groundwater resources in Tabriz plain, northwest of Iran

Abstract

The present study seeks to evaluate the hydrogeochemistry of Tabriz plain in NW Iran, through major ion chemistry and their spatial variations. In order to accomplish these, groundwater sampling from 30 shallow and deep wells in the plain were carried out in July 2012. The water samples were analyzed for various physicochemical parameters such as pH, EC, Na+, Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, Cl−, CO32−, HCO3−, SO42− and NO3−. Chadha’s diagram demonstrates that most of the groundwaters belonged to the Na–Cl and mixed Ca–Mg–Cl hydrochemical facies. The concentrations of some major ions in groundwater are above the permissible limit for drinking and domestic purposes except for a few locations. The results of saturation index computation show that dissolution of gypsum, anhydrite, halite and silicate minerals occurs frequently across the study area, whereas the groundwater is supersaturated with regard to calcite and dolomite. Cross-plots show that weathering and dissolution of different rocks and minerals, ion exchange, reverse ion exchange and anthropogenic activities, especially agricultural activities, are effective in hydrogeochemistry of the study area.