Gypsum precipitation/dissolution as an explanation of the decrease of sulphate concentration during seawater intrusion

Abstract

The precipitation of gypsum during the intrusion of seawater in a coastal aquifer is shown to be a possible cause of the decrease of the sulphate concentration with respect to the conservative freshwater / seawater mixing observed in many field studies. Results of previously published laboratory column experiments and the application of a multicomponent reactive transport model show that gypsum precipitates during the first stages of seawater intrusion, causing a decrease in sulphate concentration. As the resultant front advances, the water becomes undersaturated with respect to gypsum when the content of seawater <50%. At that point, water samples exhibit a deficit of sulphate of several mmol/L, in the range of the field values reported in papers on intrusion in coastal aquifers. Thus, in addition to bacterial sulphate reduction by organic matter, gypsum precipitation is a possible explanation for the non-conservative behaviour of sulphate during seawater intrusion.