Incorporation of Metals into Calcite in a Deep Anoxic Granite AquiferShow others and affiliations
2018 (English)In: Environmental Science and Technology, ISSN 1086-931X, E-ISSN 1520-6912, Vol. 52, no 2, p. 293-502Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Understanding metal scavenging by calcite in deep aquifers in granite is of importance for deciphering and modeling hydrochemical fluctuations and water–rock interaction in the upper crust and for retention mechanisms associated with underground repositories for toxic wastes. Metal scavenging into calcite has generally been established in the laboratory or in natural environments that cannot be unreservedly applied to conditions in deep crystalline rocks, an environment of broad interest for nuclear waste repositories. Here, we report a microanalytical study of calcite precipitated over a period of 17 years from anoxic, low-temperature (14 °C), neutral (pH: 7.4–7.7), and brackish (Cl: 1700–7100 mg/L) groundwater flowing in fractures at >400 m depth in granite rock. This enabled assessment of the trace metal uptake by calcite under these deep-seated conditions. Aquatic speciation modeling was carried out to assess influence of metal complexation on the partitioning into calcite. The resulting environment-specific partition coefficients were for several divalent ions in line with values obtained in controlled laboratory experiments, whereas for several other ions they differed substantially. High absolute uptake of rare earth elements and U(IV) suggests that coprecipitation into calcite can be an important sink for these metals and analogousactinides in the vicinity of geological repositories.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2018. Vol. 52, no 2, p. 293-502
National Category
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences Geochemistry
Research subject
The changing Earth
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-2989DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b05258OAI: oai:DiVA.org:nrm-2989DiVA, id: diva2:1267506
2018-12-032018-12-032018-12-03Bibliographically approved