Abstract
Inverse geochemical modelling was used to identify the hydrogeochemical processes at Xinzhou basin, northern China. The modelling was based on results of chemical and isotopic analysis of the groundwater samples and chemical and mineralogical investigation of aquifer host rocks and sediments. Results of geochemical modelling clearly indicate the importance of mineral dissolution/precipitation on groundwater chemistry, but provide no clue about the effect of mixing and evaporation. Combining the hydrogeochemical data with strontium, hydrogen and oxygen isotope composition data helps in understanding the hydrogeochemical processes. On the graph of 87Sr/86Sr against 1/Sr plot, an evident mixing process occurred at the depth of 160 m, while water samples from wells with depths less than 100 m were significantly affected by evaporation. The oxygen isotope shift observed in the water samples from Xinzhou was caused by evaporative processes. The deuterium-excess for the groundwater samples from Xinzhou ranged from −0·4 to 12·2‰, with an average of 5·7294‰ reflecting the effect of the semi-arid climate. The multi-isotope approach can provide valuable information which can be used for groundwater model calibration and make the inverse modelling more valid.
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