Origins and distribution of saline ground waters in the Floridan Aquifer in coastal southwest Florida

Water-Resources Investigations Report 82-4052
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Abstract

Twenty-three ground-water samples from the Floridan aquifer in coastal southwest Florida show that water quality deteriorates to the south and west. The waters grade from a fresh calcium magnesium bicarbonate sulfate type to a very saline sodium magnesium chloride type downgradient. Bromide-chloride and specific conductance ratios indicate that dilution of marine-like ground water is a signigicant mechanism in the evolution of the different water types found. Calcium, magnesium , and bicarbonate concentrations occur within a relatively narrow range and are primarily a function of mineral equilibria. Magnesium and strontium concentration distributions suggest several mineral-water interactions, including aragonite inversion, incongruent solution of magnesium calcite to a lower magnesian form, and dedolomitization. Sulfate concentrations increase downgradient and evince gypsum-anhydrite solution, particularly in the fresher waters. The extent to which each factor affects dissolved specie concentrations is a function of the location of the water in the flow system. (USGS)
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Origins and distribution of saline ground waters in the Floridan Aquifer in coastal southwest Florida
Series title Water-Resources Investigations Report
Series number 82-4052
DOI 10.3133/wri824052
Edition -
Year Published 1982
Language ENGLISH
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey,
Description iv, 38 p. :ill., maps ;28 cm.
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