Characteristics of water chemistry and their influencing factors in subsidence waters in the Huainan and Huaibei mining areas, Anhui Province

Abstract

In order to know water sources and total dissolved solids (TDS) of mining subsidence waters, six sites were selected in the mining areas of Huainan “Panxie” and Huaibei “Zhu-Yang Zhuang”. The contents, compositions and types of major ions were analyzed based on the general theories and principles of water chemistry. Using the Gibbs graph and the method of factor analysis, the influencing factors were further discussed. The results indicate that the TDS are elevated in all sites during the period of wet season, median water period, and dry season. TDS, alkalinity and hardness of the subsidence waters in Huainbei are obviously higher than those in Huainan. Meanwhile, Na+ and HCO3- accounts for a great part of the total cations and anions respectively, although their water chemistry varied depending on the sampling site. The Huainan mining subsidence waters mainly belongs to water chemistry type of “Na+-HCO3--Cl-” and “Na+-Ca2+-HCO3-”, and it is the type of “Na+-Mg2+-HCO3-” in the subsidence waters of Huaibei. Over all, the Gibbs graph and factor analysis show that water chemistry in the Huainan mining subsidence waters are mainly related to local shallow underground water and surface runoff, whereas it reflects the relationship to underground water for the compositions of ions in the Huaibei mining subsidence waters.