Temporal variation of the halide ions (F−, Cl−, Br−, I−) in medium-temperature (46–52 °C) thermal waters from the Sob-1 and Sob-2 wells, the Mura Basin, north-eastern Slovenia

Abstract

An eleven-year monitoring (1987/88–1999) of chemical composition of Na-HCO3 thermal water from the wells Sob-1 and Sob-2 has shown long- and short-time scale changes occurring as a result of mixed character of abstracted thermal water and overexploitation of the wells. Constantly reoccurring changes of dynamic pressure induced the inflow of variable proportions of water from the most productive aquifer Thermal I and from lower-permeability aquifers in the underlying Lendava Formation which contain abundant CO2. The chloride ions originate from formation waters in the Lendava Formation, and for Thermal I, a local natural background is 80–85 mg/L. The fluoride ions mainly originate from waters in the Lendava Formation but do not correlate entirely with the chloride ions. It is assumed their abundance is largely controlled by interaction of CO2-rich waters with detritial marine carbonates and clay minerals. Temporal variations of concentrations of the bromide and iodide ions in thermal water from the Sob-1 largely correlate with variation of the chloride ions and indicate that the Lendava Formation is their major source. By overexploitation, some low-permeability aquifers in the Lendava Formation have been activated along with leakage from clayey lenses rich in organic matter and coal in the Mura Formation. The sources rich in the bromide and iodide, and iodide and chloride ions have been also recognized in the Sob-2 well at high pumping rate that amounted to 8.7 L/sec.