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Alberta Geological Survey, 4999-98 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6B 2X3
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E3
Received 15 December 2001; received in revised form 10 August 2002; accepted 25 December 2002
Abstract
Analysis of hydraulic heads and chemical compositions of Devonian formation waters in the west central part of the Alberta
Basin, Canada, characterizes the origin of formation waters and migration of brines. The Devonian succession in the study area
lies 2000 5000 m below the ground surface, and has an approximate total thickness of 1000 m and an average slope of 15 m/
km. Four Devonian aquifers are present in the study area, which form two aquifer systems [i.e., a Middle Upper Devonian
aquifer system (MUDAS) consisting of the Elk Point and Woodbend Beaverhill Lake aquifers, and an Upper Devonian aquifer
system (UDAS) consisting of the Winterburn and Wabamun aquifers]. The Ireton is an effective aquitard between these two
systems in the eastern parts of the study area. The entire Devonian succession is confined below by efficient aquitards of the
underlying Cambrian shales and/or the Precambrian basement, and above by overlying Carboniferous shales of the Exshaw and
Lower Banff Formations.
The formation water chemistry shows that the Devonian succession contains two distinct brine types: a heavy brine, located
updip, defined approximately by TDS >200 g/l, and a light brine with TDS < 200 g/l. Hydraulic head distributions suggest that,
presently, the light brine attempts to flow updip, thereby pushing the heavy brine ahead. The interface between the two brines
is lobate and forms large-scale tongues that are due to channeled flow along high-permeability pathways. Geological and
hydrogeochemical data suggest that the following processes determined the present composition of the light and heavy brines:
original seawater, evaporation beyond gypsum but below halite saturation, dolomitization, clay dehydration, gypsum dewatering,
thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR), and halite dissolution. The influx of meteoric (from the south) and metamorphic (from
the west) waters can be recognized only in the light brine. Albitization can be unequivocally identified only in the heavy brine.
The heavy brine may be residual Middle Devonian evaporitic brine from the Williston Basin or the Elk Point Basin, or it may
have originated from partial dissolution of thick, laterally extensive Middle Devonian evaporite deposits to the east of the study
area. The light brine most probably originated from dilution of heavy brine in post-Laramide times.
D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Brines; Hydraulic heads; Chemical composition; Devonian; Alberta
1. Introduction
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-780-427-4197; fax: +1-780422-1459.
E-mail address: Karsten.Michael@eub.gov.ab.ca (K. Michael).
0375-6742/03/$ - see front matter D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0375-6742(03)00191-2
194
Fig. 1. Location of the study area (shaded) and relevant previous studies in the Alberta Basin (a) in plan view and (b) in cross-section. Regionalscale hydrogeological studies that are referenced in this paper were performed in the Peace River Arch (Hitchon et al., 1990) and Red Earth
(Toth, 1978) areas. Main basin-scale flow systems in Devonian aquifers identified previously (Bachu, 1995a, 1997, 1999; Anfort et al., 2001)
are shown by the arrows in plan view. Line of cross-section A AVrefers to Fig. 2.
195
196
Fig. 2. Structural dip cross-section A AVperpendicular to the deformation front, showing general lithology of the Devonian and adjacent
successions (see Fig. 1a for line of cross-section).
197
strata to form the Rocky Mountains. Jurassic to Devonian strata now subcrop from west to east at the subCretaceous unconformity as a result of basement tilting
and significant pre-Cretaceous erosion. Deposition in
the foreland basin is dominated by syn-orogenic clastics derived from the emerging Cordillera. Tertiary-toRecent erosion has removed an estimated 3800 m
(proximal) to 2000 m (distal) of sediments since the
peak of the Laramide orogeny about 65 60 Ma
(Nurkowski, 1984; Bustin, 1991) and produced the
present-day topographic relief and drainage pattern. As
a result, the elevation of the ground surface in the study
area drops from >1200 m along the deformation front
to < 700 m in the north.
Fig. 3. General lithology and hydrostratigraphy of the Devonian and adjacent successions in the study area.
198
Fig. 4. Various boundaries of Cambrian Devonian strata in the study area: (a) erosional limits of the Cambrian and the Elk Point Group, and (b)
extent of carbonate platforms in the Beaverhill Lake and Woodbend Groups (modified from Oldale and Munday, 1994; Switzer et al., 1994).
199
Fig. 5. (Hydro)Stratigraphic cross-section parallel to the deformation front showing breaches in the Ireton aquitard and thinning of the
Woodbend Beaverhill Lake aquifer between Leduc reef built-ups (stratigraphic correlations from Buschkuehle and Machel, 2001, 2002). Well
locations noted along the top of the section are in the Dominion Land Survey format (see Fig. 4b for line of cross-section).
3. Hydrogeological patterns
TDS data of formation waters and drill stem tests
(Table 1) were used to interpret the flow of brines in
Table 1
Number of chemical analyses and drillstem tests in the hydrogeological analysis, along with ranges of salinity and hydraulic
heads in the four Devonian aquifers
Aquifer
Chemistry
number
TDS (g/l)
DST
number
H0 (m) for
q0 = 1090
kg/m3
Elk Point
Woodbend
Beaverhill Lake
Winterburn
Wabamun
Total
37
211
178 300
120 262
24
97
605 775
600 750
46
25
319
130 265
116 265
54
36
211
450 750
480 810
200
Fig. 6. Pressure variation with (a) depth and (b) elevation in all four Devonian aquifers.
Fig. 7. Distributions of (a) hydraulic heads (50 m contour interval, except for the addition of the 625-m contour line), and (b) salinity (25 g/l
contour interval) in the Elk Point aquifer.
201
Fig. 8. Distributions of (a) hydraulic heads (50 m contour interval), and (b) salinity (25 g/l contour interval) in the Woodbend Beaverhill Lake
aquifer. Areas with hydraulic heads < 700 m are shaded in grey for better visualization. Lines of cross-sections B BVand C CVrefer to Figs. 5
and 12, respectively.
202
northern part of the study area. The salinity of formation waters in the Elk Point aquifer generally increases
northward, in the direction of decreasing hydraulic
heads, from 180 to 300 g/l, with a relatively steep
increase from 200 to 250 g/l along 54.25jN in the
centre of the study area (Fig. 7b).
Fig. 9. Distributions of (a) hydraulic heads (50 m contour interval), and (b) salinity (25 g/l contour interval) in the Winterburn aquifer. Areas
with hydraulic heads < 700 m are shaded in grey for better visualization. Lines of cross-sections B BVand C CVrefer to Figs. 5 and 12,
respectively.
203
Fig. 10. Distributions of (a) hydraulic heads (50 m contour interval) and (b) salinity (25 g/l contour interval) in the Wabamun aquifer. Areas with
hydraulic heads < 700 m are shaded in grey for better visualization.
204
Fig. 11. Distributions of light brine and heavy brine and inferred flow directions in the four Devonian aquifers.
205
Fig. 12. (Hydro)Stratigraphic cross-section perpendicular to the deformation front showing a single Devonian aquifer in the south, which
contains only thin and largely ineffective aquitards. Farther to the north, the Ireton aquifer thickens considerably, dividing the strata in the
MUDAS and UDAS. Well locations noted along at the top of the section are in the Dominion Land Survey format (see figure for line of crosssection).
206
207
208
Table 2
Chemical analyses used in the interpretation of brine origin and evolution
Well location
TDS
(mg/l)
Cl
(mg/l)
Na
(mg/l)
K
(mg/l)
SO4
(mg/l)
Mg
(mg/l)
Ca
(mg/l)
HCO3
(mg/l)
Caex
Nadf
Na/Cl
(mEq/l)
Aquifer
0655172406000
0695192602000
0635262812000
0675243116000
0525150706000
0525161306000
0465170306000
0465170306000
0665151602000
0435150406000
0665151616000
0665150513000
0695261810000
0675243116000
0696051107000
0635260109000
0675233006000
0675222106000
0595243507000
0695220111000
0685221414002
0675231208000
0625263305000
0665252115000
0645190405000
0655152909000
0635192312000
0465173402000
0575151201000
0625262609000
0525141808000
0685211416000
230,037
220,572
246,848
215,334
144,324
158,086
130,674
144,657
148,967
137,054
157,787
186,212
191,507
214,594
253,687
242,983
242,322
241,137
229,921
206,888
215,601
246,826
240,862
172,321
165,913
166,174
244,032
178,745
209,086
229,858
184,706
245,866
142,178
136,100
153,000
134,100
86,500
95,000
78,460
87,300
90,900
83,465
93,800
114,000
117,500
133,300
157,100
150,000
149,700
150,000
142,500
129,090
134,000
153,500
147,700
104,500
103,000
102,000
151,000
110,300
128,455
140,590
113,700
151,500
64,873
57,964
63,641
53,437
50,954
55,873
46,089
50,356
51,785
46,673
51,931
57,129
50,220
52,819
67,184
64,017
62,967
62,154
58,771
49,591
53,892
60,062
53,998
61,199
50,602
43,625
62,540
44,401
63,044
64,888
51,403
67,645
4680
4251
4055
3750
2350
2890
2813
3853
1672
3700
1920
3225
3860
3782
3880
4190
3771
3314
4742
3550
3660
3989
4389
1220
1420
2736
4150
10,950
2500
4100
4300
3206
44
570
317
737
762
690
914
636
1827
19
970
646
340
724
432
286
776
436
329
232
258
430
317
1072
364
1282
392
193
373
3325
572
815
2169
2357
3183
4641
457
437
304
323
1348
197
914
1700
2890
3912
2897
2420
2965
4374
2469
3360
3110
3523
4735
1337
1287
1944
2440
2090
1390
1779
1677
2138
17,926
20,780
24,020
20,060
3411
3604
2869
3437
3984
4379
5920
10,610
16,100
21,380
23,710
23,300
23,420
22,020
23,000
23,972
22,000
26,830
26,750
3403
11,590
15,620
25,000
14,930
14,285
19,462
14,770
21,860
185
604
608
307
1739
1586
776
686
176
292
763
464
170
471
159
1000
554
407
122
300
377
266
761
183
527
185
438
793
134
602
106
39
744
892
1036
859
78
79
60
79
102
130
196
408
679
925
1016
1003
1010
940
996
888
955
1176
1178
59
469
671
1087
628
576
822
616
930
617
771
933
919
124
133
107
79
54
11
10
272
658
927
878
844
882
925
890
794
897
1100
1224
134
290
570
932
737
365
578
514
722
0.704
0.657
0.641
0.614
0.908
0.907
0.906
0.889
0.878
0.862
0.854
0.773
0.659
0.611
0.659
0.658
0.649
0.639
0.636
0.627
0.620
0.603
0.564
0.903
0.758
0.659
0.639
0.621
0.757
0.712
0.697
0.688
Wabamun
Wabamun
Wabamun
Wabamun
Winterburn
Winterburn
Winterburn
Winterburn
Winterburn
Winterburn
Winterburn
Winterburn
Winterburn
Winterburn
Woodbend
Woodbend
Woodbend
Woodbend
Woodbend
Woodbend
Woodbend
Woodbend
Woodbend
Beaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake
Elk Point
Elk Point
Elk Point
Elk Point
Well location in Dominion Land Survey coordinates: TTTMMRRSSLLxxxx (Township, Meridian, Range, Section, LSD). Concentrations of
total dissolved solids (TDS) and major ions are in milligrams per liter. See text for the definition of Caex and Nadf values. The Na/Cl ratio was
calculated with the respective ion concentrations in milliequivalents per liter.
These considerations show that the following processes are known to have taken place in the study area
or nearby, and thus provide a framework for the
interpretation of the origin(s) and evolution of the
brines in the Devonian aquifers in the study area:
original seawater
evaporation to gypsum (within the study area) and/
or halite saturation (to the east)
dolomitization
clay dehydration
gypsum dehydration
thermochemical sulfate reduction
influx of metamorphic water
albitization (?)
influx of meteoric water (?)
dissolution of evaporites (?).
209
210
Fig. 15. Variation relative to chloride of (a) sodium, (b) bromide, (c) magnesium, and (d) calcium for formation waters in the study area from the
Devonian succession. Shaded areas represent data distribution in the overlying Mississippian aquifer. The black line on (a) (d) represents the
seawater evaporation curves experimentally determined by McCaffrey et al. (1986). In Fig. 11, the arrow for halite dissolution represents a
family of parallel vectors pointing to the right of the diagram. Similarly, the arrow for meteoric water dilution represents a family of vectors
parallel to the seawater evaporation line (Hanor, 1988).
Davisson and Criss (1996) introduced a mathematical formulation to determine quantitatively the Ca
excess and Na deficit relative to seawater, as follows:
Caexcess
Nadeficit
Ca
2
Cameas
Clmeas
Cl sw
40:08
Na
1
Clmeas Nameas
Cl sw
22:9
211
Fig. 16. Scatter plots of calcium versus (a) magnesium and (b) sulfate, for formation waters in the study area from the Cambrian Devonian
succession and the overlying Mississippian aquifer (shaded; Michael and Bachu, 2002) for comparison. The evaporation trajectory is based on
data from McCaffrey et al. (1986). The dolomitization trajectory is based on a mole-by-mole replacement of Ca by Mg (Hanor, 1988).
Fig. 17. Plot of Caexcess Nadeficit for Devonian formation waters in the study area, showing trends for various processes that may have effected
the fluid composition. The circled numbers in the figure refer to the trends of (1) albitization of plagioclase, (2) evaporation of seawater, (3)
halite dissolution, and (4) dolomitization and gypsum dissolution. The basinal fluid line from Davisson and Criss (1996) is shown for reference.
The grey shading shows the distribution of overlying Mississippian data for comparison (Hanor, 1988).
212
Fig. 18. Distribution of Na/Cl ratios versus salinity in Devonian formation waters showing some processes that may have influenced the brines.
The shaded area (grey) shows the distribution of Mississippian data (Michael and Bachu, 2002) for comparison (Hanor, 1988).
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214
the original formation waters in the Devonian succession (seawater or slightly evaporated seawater) in the
study area relatively early in the geological history,
probably as early as the Late Devonian or Carboniferous. In the second case (brine dissolution), downdip
movement of the heavy brine could have taken place
any time between the deposition of the salts and the
Laramide orogeny. A third alternative would be that
(c) the Devonian aquifer systems contained the light
brine until the Laramide orogeny or even later, and
that the heavy brine is younger and originated from
relatively recent updip salt dissolution. In this case,
the heavy brine would have migrated downdip and
displaced the light brine in response to its elevated
gravity. We consider this a remote, if not unlikely,
alternative considering that both brines are moving
updip at present. With our present understanding of
the hydrogeology in the basin, we cannot conceive of
a process that would have reversed the direction of
movement of the heavy brine in post-Laramide and/
or sub-Recent times.
Fig. 19. Hydrogeological cross-section perpendicular to the deformation front showing conceptually the differential advancement of the less
saline formation water displacement front against a high-saline connate brine in the Cambrian Devonian hydrostratigraphic group. The flow
arrows are dashed and extend over most of the length of the various aquifers to emphasise the overall sluggish movement of formation water in
this succession and the low resolution of differences in hydraulic heads due to the relatively large error associated with pressure data from DST
(see Fig. 1 for line of cross-section).
Acknowledgements
This study was partially supported by the Alberta
Geological Survey and the Natural Science and
Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their
215
216
total dissolved solids is calculated based on the calculated Na+ and the remainder of the major ions. These
calculations do not account for the K+ concentrations
in the formation waters, which in the study area
generally are less than 10% of the Na+ concentrations,
and therefore only introduce a small error in the TDS
calculation. Usually, the analytical errors in the chemical analyses are significantly smaller than errors
introduced by sampling techniques and potential dilution with drilling mud. To account for all potential
errors in the chemical analyses, a relatively coarse
contour interval of 25 g/l (8 25% of the actual TDS
values) was used for the mapping of salinity (TDS) in
the various aquifers. A subset of 32 chemical analyses
(Table 2) containing measured values for Na+ and K+
was used for the plotting of various ion relations in the
formation waters. For these 32 analyses, the Na+
concentration was recalculated by incorporating K+
in the charge balance, to at least partly account for the
relatively large analytical errors associated with Na+.
The transient pressure measurements taken at different times during DSTs were extrapolated to the
formation pressure by sources specialized in DST
interpretation using the Horner method. Based on the
built-up pressure, the industry qualifies the quality of a
DST, using flags in quality-descending order, such as
A, B, C, D, E, and F, which signify, respectively, best
quality, nearing stabilization, possible plugging, questionable, low permeability and low pressure, and low
permeability and high pressure. The accuracy as specified by various manufacturers ranges between 0.025%
and 0.25% of the full scale for newer pressure gauges
(1970 2000) and is as low as 0.5% for gauges from
the 1950s and 1960s (H. Reid, course manual for DST
interpretation). This translates to a maximum error of
approximately F 200 kPa (accepted pressure difference between first and second shut-in measurement for
a C-quality DST) or F 20 m of hydraulic head. On the
other hand, errors introduced by the mechanical procedure of the test are much larger, and empirically
determined errors in pressure measurements generally
increase with depth and range between 170 and 650
kPa (Bredehoeft, 1965; Dahlberg, 1995). Assuming
freshwater density, this translates to a hydraulic head
difference that varies approximately between 17 m for
shallow aquifers and a maximum of 65 m for deep
aquifers. This relatively large methodology error may
be reduced by only using DSTs of A, B, and C quality
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