Colloids in water from a subsurface fracture in granitic rock, Grimsel Test Site, Switzerland
Abstract
The characterization of colloids from the Grimsel Test Site granitic groundwater has been carried out after concentrating the natural colloids by diaultrafiltration in situ and in the laboratory. A 2-year-long study has shown little variation in the chemistry of the Grimsel water ( T = 285 K, pH = 9.6) and a calculation of saturation indices indicates that quartz and fluorite are slightly oversaturated in the in situ conditions ( log P( CO2)/ atm. = -5.5). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigations indicate a colloid concentration of approximately 10 10 particles (40 to 1000 nm) per litre. On the basis electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), electron energy loss spectrometry (EELS), and laser microprobe mass analysis (LAMMA), the particles are a mixture of organic (C, N, O, (S)) and inorganic (Si, Ca, S and to a lesser extent Mg, Sr and Ba) materials. The alpha specific activity in the colloidal phase is less than 0.5 mBq · 1 -1. The mode of formation is discussed together with the size distribution and the concentration.
- Publication:
-
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
- Pub Date:
- March 1989
- DOI:
- 10.1016/0016-7037(89)90003-3
- Bibcode:
- 1989GeCoA..53..603D