Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences

The need of water is stringent in the arid regions, mostly in those belonging to North Africa. For this reason, numerous hydrogeological studies have been conducted in southern Algeria, which is under the influence of the Saharan climate. These studies have determined the hydro-chemical characteristics and the origin of the salinity belonging to the aquifer within the terminal complex of the El Meita region, situated in northeastern Algeria. The climate of the region is arid: precipitations of 164.7 mm/year and very high temperatures during the summer. The aspects emphasized on include the annual evolution of the piezometric surface, the chemical facies of the water, binary diagrams (chloride, base exchange index, saturation index, etc.). In the month of April 2016, 29 samples were collected. The water sheet is radially convergent and runoff manifests itself on the northeast – southwest direction. The major elements are dominated by chlorides and calcium sulphate. Water mineralization may have two causes: dolomitization and the dissolution of gypsum; ionic exchange of bases between the water and the solid frame of the aquifer. Saturation index demonstrates that carbonated minerals are oversaturated, while saliferous evaporite minerals are undersaturated. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) shows a rich participation of several mineralization elements, mostly of calcium. Mineralization is also induced by the anthropic factor.