Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

Journal of the Geological Society

This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by EDMUNDS, W. M. Articles by KINNIBURGH, D. G. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

The susceptibility of UK groundwaters to acidic deposition

British Geological Survey, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8BB

The weathering of minerals at shallow depths provides much of the sink for acidic atmospheric deposition. The geology of the UK has been divided into four classes according to the extent to which the bedrock is likely to provide buffering and possibly give rise to acidic surface or groundwaters. Other modifying factors including soils, superficial deposits and land use are also considered. The likely sources and sinks of H⁺ in shallow groundwater systems are also reviewed.

Most available groundwater data are derived from major aquifers, often in carbonate-bearing lithologies which afford excellent buffering and which are unlikely ever to be adversely affected by acidic deposition. Relatively few data exist for shallow groundwaters widely used for domestic supplies in rural areas, especially in western and northern Britain where groundwaters might be most affected.

Acidic groundwaters and/or surface waters are defined on the basis of their alkalinity and calcite saturation index (SI_c). Acidic groundwaters are most likely to occur where (1) acid soils are found and glacial drift is thin or absent, (2) the source of acidic inputs is high, (3) carbonate minerals are absent, (4) the residence time of water is short. Low alkalinity groundwater is found in many sandstone lithologies including the Sherwood Sandstone (a major UK aquifer), many Lower Palaeozoic strata and granites. However, existing data for susceptible areas are insufficient to show whether or not there have been significant long-term changes in groundwater acidity or alkalinity.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J.W.N. Smith and D.N. Lerner A framework for rapidly assessing the pollutant retardation capacity of aquifers and sediments Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, May 1, 2007; 40(2): 137 - 146. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. H. Tellam and R. D. Barker Towards prediction of saturated-zone pollutant movement in groundwaters in fractured permeable-matrix aquifers: the case of the UK Permo-Triassic sandstones Geological Society, London, Special Publications, January 1, 2006; 263(1): 1 - 48. [Abstract] [PDF]

				W. M. EDMUNDS and R. M. KEY Hydrogeochemistry as an aid to geological interpretation: the Glen Roy area, Scotland Journal of the Geological Society, December 1, 1996; 153(6): 839 - 852. [Abstract] [PDF]

				W. M. Edmunds and P. L. Smedley Groundwater geochemistry and health: an overview Geological Society, London, Special Publications, January 1, 1996; 113(1): 91 - 105. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. D. Mather The attenuation of the organic component of landfill leachate in the unsaturated zone: a review Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, August 1, 1989; 22(3): 241 - 246. [Abstract] [PDF]