Characterization of hydrogeologic properties of the Tabriz plain multilayer aquifer system, NW Iran

Abstract

A detailed hydrogeological investigation was carried out in the Tabriz plain in Iran using conventional hydrogeological field investigations and hydrochemistry. The study was carried out because the aquifers are of particular importance as they are more or less the only source of water supply available to the rural population and for agricultural and industrial activities. Analytical and numerical methods were applied to the constant rate pumping test data from the Tabriz airport and the Tabriz Power Station well fields. Two types of aquifers of different water quality were identified in the study area: an unconfined aquifer that extends over the plain and confined aquifers that are found in the deeper layers of the multilayered sediment terraces of the Aji-Chay River course. Therefore, the central part of the Tabriz plain contains both unconfined and confined aquifers, while close to the highlands, there is only an unconfined aquifer. There was evidence of minor leakage in the confined aquifers when the numerical method was used for analysis. The groundwater in the area can be identified by three main geochemical facies: Na-Cl, Ca-HCO3, and mixed Ca-Mg-Cl-SO4. The processes responsible for the hydrochemical evolution in the area fall into five categories: dissolution of evaporate minerals, precipitation of carbonate minerals, evaporation, ion exchange, and anthropogenic activity.