20 The Natural Inorganic Chemical Quality of Crystalline Bedrock Groundwaters of Norway.pdfVIP

20 The Natural Inorganic Chemical Quality of Crystalline Bedrock Groundwaters of Norway B. FRENGSTAD AND D. BANKS One thousand, six hundred and four ground- PHREEQC modelling reveals that a water samples from crystalline bedrock common hydrochemical evolutionary path- aquifers in Norway have been analysed for way exists for most silicate crystalline rock pH, alkalinity, radon, major ions, and met- aquifers, independent of lithology. The als. A subset of 476 samples was further main controlling factors are the initial PCO2 analysed for a range of trace elements by of groundwater recharge, the plagioclase ICP-MS. For most major ion parameters, composition of the host rock, the extent including pH, the median values display to which initial CO2 has been converted modest dependence on lithology, while to HCO3– by hydrolysis, whether the there is a large variation in hydrochemistry system is ‘open’ with regards to CO , and 2 within each lithological subset. Three main to which extent plagioclase hydrolysis has water types can be distinguished: Na–Cl progressed after calcite saturation has been waters, Ca–HCO3– waters and Na–HCO3– reached. waters, of which the latter group comprises 25% of the samples. Many trace elements show a clear dependence on lithology with 20.1 Geological and hydrogeological enrichments in aquifers of Precambrian setting of Norway granites relative to Precambrian anortho- sites. Concentrations of l uoride, radon and 2 Norway, with an area of 324,000 km , uranium are above given drinking water lim- extends 1800 km from Skagerrak to the its for a signii cant part of the samples, while Russian border on the coast of the Barents elevated concentrations of, for example, Sea latitudes 58°–71°N and occupies arsenic and nitrate seem to be rare.