Identification of hydrogeochemical processes in a volcano-sedimentary aquifer of Ciénega de Chapala in Michoacán, Mexico

The present study characterized the hydrogeochemical processes of the aquifer of Ciénega de Chapala in Michoacán, Mexico. The dominant water families contained bicarbonate magnesium and sodium. In the region, water infiltrates into a fractured volcanic environment exposed in the surrounding mountains and is transmitted to the volcano-sedimentary units of the ciénega, where silicate alteration and ion exchange processes occur in the clays of the subsoil. The Gibb diagrams confirm that the main evolutionary processes in the aquifer are rock-water interactions in the local flow and evaporation in the intermediate and regional flows. The molar ratios of HCO₃/Na and Ca/Na are congruent with the type of volcano-sedimentary environment present in the area. Ternary mixing processes associated with three end members were also identified and were related to the flow systems in the area. The local flow contributes 77% of water to the system, and the intermediate and regional flows contribute 16% and 7%, respectively.