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1 January 2014 Hydrochemical Facies and Ionic Ratios of the Coastal Groundwater Aquifer of Saudi Gulf of Aqaba: Implication for Seawater Intrusion
Awni Batayneh, Haider Zaman, Taisser Zumlot, Habes Ghrefat, Saad Mogren, Yousef Nazzal, Eslam Elawadi, Saleh Qaisy, Ibrahim Bahkaly, Ahmed Al-Taani
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Batayneh, A.; Zaman, H.; Zumlot, T.; Ghrefat, H.; Mogren, S.; Nazzal, Y.; Elawadi, E.; Qaisy, S.; Bahkaly, I., and Al-Taani, A., 2014. Hydrochemical facies and ionic ratios of the coastal groundwater aquifer of Saudi Gulf of Aqaba: implication for seawater intrusion.

It is now fairly documented that major ion chemistry of the groundwater can be used to determine an interaction between the groundwater and saline water in the costal aquifers, and that there exists a relationship between total dissolved solids and Cl, Na+, Mg2+, and i1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm01.gif concentrations of groundwater. This hypothesis is tested on an aquifer located along the Saudi Gulf of Aqaba coast (Red Sea). Groundwater samples collected from 23 locations show the abundance of ions in the order of: Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+ = Cl > i1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm12.gif > i1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm23.gif > i1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm34.gif. The Piper trilinear diagram reveals two dominant clusters, i.e. the Ca2+–Cli1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm45.gif facies and the Na+–Cli1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm56.gif facies. Besides the major chemical compositions, ionic ratios ( i1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm61.gif/Cl, Na+/Ca2+, Na+/Cl, Ca2+/Cl, Mg2+/Cl, K+/Cl, i1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm62.gif/Cl, Ca2+/Mg2+, Ca2+/ i1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm63.gif, and Ca2+/ i1551-5036-30-1-75-ilm02.gif) are used to evaluate the effects of saline water intrusions. Factor analysis of the studied samples demonstrates that changes in the groundwater composition are primarily controlled by mineral dissolution, human activities, weathering of marine sediments, evaporation/salinization of groundwater, and the residence time of water. An attempt has been made to identify hydrochemical processes accompanied with the current intrusion of seawater through the use of ionic exchanges. Following this procedure, about 7.97% mixing rate of seawater intrusion has been estimated for the month of March 2012. Furthermore, the seawater mixing index has also been applied, which resulted in a range of values from 0.395 to 7.922. These results determine 13 of 23 groundwater samples (57%) as saline, with electrical conductivity > 3000 μS/cm.

© Coastal Education & Research Foundation 2014
Awni Batayneh, Haider Zaman, Taisser Zumlot, Habes Ghrefat, Saad Mogren, Yousef Nazzal, Eslam Elawadi, Saleh Qaisy, Ibrahim Bahkaly, and Ahmed Al-Taani "Hydrochemical Facies and Ionic Ratios of the Coastal Groundwater Aquifer of Saudi Gulf of Aqaba: Implication for Seawater Intrusion," Journal of Coastal Research 30(1), 75-87, (1 January 2014). https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-13-00021.1
Received: 27 January 2013; Accepted: 7 April 2013; Published: 1 January 2014
KEYWORDS
factor analysis
Groundwater interaction
hydrochemistry
ionic exchange
Saudi Arabia
seawater interaction
SMI
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