Hydrochemical and statistical characterization of groundwater in the Chemora area, Northeastern Algeria

This work aims to evaluate the hydrochemical characteristics of a shallow aquifer located between carbonated formations and salt lake in the Chemora region in northeastern Algeria. Hydrochemical, multivariate statistical, and the thermodynamics techniques were used to investigate the hydrochemical evolution within the aquifer. Twenty-five water samples were collected during May 2013 in this the aquifer wells. The results indicate that this shallow water is characterized by sulfate-dominant facies representing about 64% of cases, followed by the chloride with 24%, and the remaining (12%) is represented by the bicarbonate facies. The sulfate facies is acquired mainly by the alteration of pyrite. The saturation index showed that all carbonate minerals are supersaturated and all evaporate minerals are undersaturated which suggest that their soluble component Na+, Cl-, Ca2+, and concentrations are not limited by mineral equilibrium. The application of the cluster analysis and the principal components analysis based on major ion contents defined 3 main chemical water types reflecting different hydrochemical processes with salinity increases along the groundwater flow.