The origin and the formation laws of groundwater and mine water chemistry in the Eastern Donets Basin

Abstract

Successive classification modeling of multivariate observations was used to objectively identify and quantitatively describe four major hydrogeochemical directions of changes in mine water chemistry and two hydrogeochemical trends for groundwater in the Eastern Donets Basin (two types of vertical hydrogeochemical zonality). Processes along the first hydrogeochemical direction result in the formation of acid sulfate mineralized water, those along the second direction form neutral chloride-sulfate waters, those along the third direction form sulfate-chloride and chloride, and those along the fourth direction form soda, hydrocarbonate-sulfate-chloride waters; the processes of sulfur oxidation and water mixing play the main role in the formation of water chemistry. In the case of groundwater, the first trend (direct zonality) manifests itself in the formation of highly mineralized chloride sodium water (mineralization of up to 60–80 g/l), while the second trend (inverse zonality) results in the formation of moderately mineralized soda hydrocarbonate-chloride and chloride sodium water (1–3 g/l). The genesis of water chemistry is explained with the engagement of infiltration, sedimentation, and evaporation-condensation hypotheses. Giving preference to the evaporation-condensation genesis of groundwater chemistry according to the second trend, the authors came to the conclusion that the Eastern Donets Basin is promising in terms of oil and gas accumulations.