Hydrochemical Analysis of Groundwater in Coastal Coal Mining Areas-A Case Study of the Liangjia Coal Mine, North China

To understand the hydrochemical characteristics and circulation pattern of groundwater in coastal coal mining areas, we analyzed 81 water samples from different water bodies in the Liangjia coal mine (LCM) area using multivariate statistical analysis and hydrochemical methods. The Quaternary groundwater (QW), accumulated water (AW) in the subsidence area, and mine water (MW) in the LCM all exhibit weakly alkaline to slightly saline water chemistry. The dominant cations and anions in the water are sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-), reflecting the influence of seawater intrusion. Some ions in QW, AW, and MW exhibited significant annual variations, but Na+ and Cl- concentrations increased with time. The water samples were divided into four categories through cluster analysis: C1 and C2 (bedrock water samples), C3 (water samples prominently affected by seawater intrusion), and C4 (QW and AW in the surface subsidence area). According to the Piper diagram, QW and AW in the surface subsidence area mainly correspond to the Na-Cl type, whereas the MW mainly consists of Na-Cl and Na-HCO3 types. Factor analysis revealed four main factors: seawater recharge, HCO3-rich bedrock water, alkaline water, and Quaternary groundwater (QW) with eigenvalues of 4.18, 2.44, 1.22, and 1.19 respectively, which explained 81.98% of the original data information. The comprehensive results of hydrochemical analysis and mathematical statistics indicated that the recharge sources of MW in LCM include seawater, QW, AW, HCO3-rich bedrock water, and mixed water. Based on regional hydrogeological conditions, a preliminary groundwater circulation model of the coastal coal mining area was constructed. Groundwater generally flows into the Bohai Sea from southeast to northwest, and coal mining has changed the original local groundwater runoff patterns and intensified seawater intrusion.