GRANT 249. GEOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF FORMATION WATERS FROM PALEOZOIC STRATA, SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO.

The groundwater of southwestern Ontario has been analyzed for: major, minor, and trace element geochemistry; stable isotope content; tritium; and strontium isotopic content. The results of these analyses indicate that most sedimentary formations contain very concentrated brines ( greater than 250 grams per litre (g/L), Total Dissolved Solids (T. D. S. ), which have distinctive geochemical and isotopic signatures for individual units. However, some samples which have been collected appear to be mixtures of formation brines with more dilute groundwaters such as glacial meltwaters or recent meteoric waters. The mixing of various water masses would indicate that both paleo-migration and recent migration of groundwater has taken place. This, in turn, has a number of implications on the formation of economic deposits in the area and on active and proposed waste disposal schemes.