Variations in the Brine Chemical Composition of the Oriskany Sandstone of Ohio

Abstract

The Na and Mg concentrations of 24 brine samples of the Oriskany Sandstone in eastern Ohio are the result of subsurface mixing of at least two distinctively different brine components. In addition the concentrations of conservative elements in the Mg-rich and the Na-rich brines were altered by dilution. The concentrations of major elements (Ca, Mg, K, and Na) in the brine of the Oriskany Sandstone of eastern Ohio vary regionally depending on the location of the brine sample. The concentrations of the major elements also vary with depth below the surface and are the result of mixing of two brine components whose chemical compositions were affected by chemical reactions with the rocks they interacted with before entering the Oriskany Sandstone.