Study on the Influence of Mining Activities on the Quality of Deep Karst Groundwater Based on Multivariate Statistical Analysis and Hydrochemical Analysis

Chen Li; Herong Gui; Yan Guo; Jiayu Chen; Jun Li; Jiying Xu; Hao Yu

doi:10.3390/ijerph192417042

Study on the Influence of Mining Activities on the Quality of Deep Karst Groundwater Based on Multivariate Statistical Analysis and Hydrochemical Analysis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 19;19(24):17042. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192417042.

Authors

Chen Li^{1

2}, Herong Gui², Yan Guo³, Jiayu Chen^{1

2}, Jun Li^{2

3}, Jiying Xu³, Hao Yu³

Affiliations

¹ School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China.
² National Engineering Research Center of Coal Mine Water Hazard Controlling, Suzhou University, Suzhou 234000, China.
³ School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Suzhou University, Suzhou 234000, China.

Abstract

Long-term mining activities have changed the hydrogeochemical evolution process of groundwater and threatened the safe use of groundwater. By using the methods of hydrochemistry and multivariate statistical analysis, this study determined the hydrogeochemical evolution mechanism affecting the quality of karst groundwater by analyzing the conventional hydrochemistry data of the karst groundwater of the Carboniferous Taiyuan Formation in Hengyuan Coal Mine in the recent 12 years. The results show that, under the disturbance of mining, the quality of karst groundwater in Taiyuan Formation is poor, mainly because the contents of Na⁺+K⁺ and SO₄^2- are too high to allow usage as drinking water. The reason for the high content of SO₄^2- in karst groundwater lies in the dissolution of gypsum and the oxidation of pyrite, and the high content of Na⁺+K⁺ lies in the cation exchange. Influenced by the stratum grouting, the circulation of karst groundwater is improved, the cation exchange is weakened, and the desulfurization is enhanced. In the future, it is predicted that the hydrochemical type of karst groundwater in Taiyuan Formation in the study area will evolve from SO₄-Ca·Mg type to HCO₃-Ca Mg type.

Keywords: fuzzy comprehensive evaluation; hydrogeochemical evolution; karst groundwater; mining disturbance; principal component analysis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Groundwater* / chemistry
Mining
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
Water Quality

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Innovation Fund of Suzhou University (2021KYCX03), Open Fund Project of Shanxi Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control Technology for Coal Mine Water Hazard (2021SKQN01), Innovation Fund of Suzhou University (2021KYCX02), Innovation Fund of Suzhou University (2021KYCX01). We sincerely thank the National Engineering Research Center of Coal Mine Water Hazard Controlling (Suzhou University, China) for providing the experimental site.