Problem statement: The underground waters in the oriental regions of the Algerian Sahara, present real chemical quality problems. Their content in fluorides always exceeds the limit of the recommended levels. That is 0.8 mg L-1, according to the maximum temperature in the region. Combined to a high salinity, it affects the health of the population living around the region. The present work, deals with the presence of fluoride and the geochemical origin in the Complex Terminal aquifer of Ouargla, rarely examined in the Algerian Sahara. Approach: Is based on the following aspects: Sampling and physico-chemicals analysis of water, statistical treatment of the physico-chemical water parameters and simulation to natural and isotherm 25°C evaporation of water parameters. Results: The results show the presence of fluoride in the studied water. The rates vary between 1 and 2 mg L-1. The calculation of water saturation index in relation with the preponderant minerals, using the thermodynamic model phreeqci reveals a sensitivity of carbonate minerals towards precipitation and dissolution of evaporitic minerals and clayey fluorides as well. Conclusions/Recommendations: The increasing alkalinity of water in contact with the aquifer during long periods of stay decreases the chemical activity of calcium and helps with alteration of clayey minerals and fluoride as a necessary condition for a possible fluorite mineralization. Knowing the origin of that fluoridation leads to possible solutions, through the optimization of a water treatment meets the standards
Shallow aquifers are vulnerable to natural geogenic processes as well as anthropogenic influences, and this is especially apparent in desert regions. Within arid and hyperarid climates, evaporation is a controlling hydrologic process leads to an important increase in the concentration of dissolved minerals of both surface water and groundwater. In groundwater, this increase is not only dependent on shallow water table depth, but also on the hydraulic properties of sediments present within the unsaturated zone of the aquifer itself. The main objective of this research is to investigate possible mechanisms that might influence water quality changes under seasonal conditions in shallow aquifers situated within the Saharan desert region of Algeria. In this work, we focus on observed changes in hydrogeochemical characteristics, and the possible responsible processes. Under arid conditions, high water mineralization results in hypersaline water or brine solution formation within shallow aquifers. Due to active physico-chemical mechanisms such as Na+/Ca2+ ion exchange, the successive precipitation of calcite, gypsum, mirabilite or blœdite and halite is induced. Biological processes were also observed as prevalent; evidenced by large measured variations in CO2 load concentrations. These processes contributed to an inverse relationship between CO2 and O2 concentrations within the shallow aquifers studied.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.