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Stable isotope systematics and geochemical signatures constraining groundwater hydraulics in the mining environment of the Korba Coalfield, Central India

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Abstract

The present study explores the use of stable isotopes and major ion chemistry of various water sources such as mine water, groundwater, river water, and rainwater to identify the dominant hydrogeochemical process that controls the water quality in the active opencast coal mining area of the Korba Coalfield, India. Different hydrochemical models have revealed that the study area is mostly characterized by two facies alongside a dominance by ion exchange: i.e., a slightly mineralized Ca2+–Mg2+–Cl− and a meteorically derived Ca2+–HCO3− fresh water facies. In the isotope bivariate plot, the samples plot to the right of the LMWL and slopes observed in pre (4.94) and post-monsoon (5.85) seasons are not as steep as the LMWL (7.95) and this warrants the suggestion that meteoric water is the major source that replenishes the dynamic groundwater resource in the study area after being subjected to evaporation. The negative d-excess values (< 0) and enrichment of the δ18O ratio observed at some locations suggests a non-equilibrium process and a “mechanism of mixing”. A noteworthy fact is that isotopically river water is in tandem with the mine water samples for both seasons and testifies to a hydraulic connectivity between Hasdeo River water and mine water through a major fault. It is substantiated by mine inflows assessed by the sump test for Kusmunda and Gevra, which is two times higher than the predicted values by Darcy’s law. The wide variation in the isotopic composition is attributed to different vapor sources viz., southwest monsoon (SW) that originates in the Arabian Sea and locally driven air moisture from surface water bodies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express sincere thanks to CMPDIL, Ranchi, and Director, IIT (ISM), Dhanbad for according necessary permission to publish this paper. We acknowledge the editor and anonymous reviewers for improving the quality of the manuscript with their insightful comments. The first author is grateful to Dr. A. Subrahmanyam for his unflagging encouragement. The authors would also like to thank Mr. T. Chakraborty and Mr. T. Doley (Hydrogeology division, CMPDIL) and Dr. A.G.S. Reddy, CGWB, Raipur. The authors express sincere gratitude to Dr. Rama Mohan Kurakalva, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad and National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, India for some of the analytical support. The views expressed in this paper are of the authors only and not necessarily of the organization to which they belong.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited, Bilaspur, India

    Rambabu Singh & Manoj Kumar

  2. Department of Applied Geology, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, India

    A. S. Venkatesh & Tajdarul H. Syed

  3. CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India

    L. Surinaidu

  4. Department of Civil Engineering, IIT (ISM), Dhanbad, India

    Srinivas Pasupuleti

  5. Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    S. P. Rai

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  1. Rambabu Singh
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Singh, R., Venkatesh, A.S., Syed, T.H. et al. Stable isotope systematics and geochemical signatures constraining groundwater hydraulics in the mining environment of the Korba Coalfield, Central India. Environ Earth Sci 77, 548 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7725-7

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