USGS1983
Geological and hydrological information on the Floridan aquifer in northeastern Florida indicates that isolated occurrences of water having relatively high chloride concentration in the upper part of the aquifer may be associated with buried faults. Water having chloride concentrations of more than 700 mg l −1 occurs in the deeper zone of the aquifer at depths below ∼ 600 m below sea level in the coastal and east-central part of the study area. This deep salty water is under higher artesian pressure than water in the shallower, generally freshwater zones, but it is restricted from moving upward by relatively impermeable dolomite beds. Two buried faults with vertical displacements of 30–45 m are in areas where relatively high concentrations of chloride have been detected in water in the upper part of the aquifer. Geochemical, artesian pressure, and water temperature data show that the source of the relatively high concentrations of chloride in water in the upper part of the aquifer is from the deeper zone. This indicates that the faults may have breached the dolomite confining beds and allowed the upward movement of salty water from the deeper zone. The upward movement of mineralized water along the faults may also have formed some of the solution features found in the aquifer near the faults. In this area, freshwater in the upper part of the aquifer is normally saturated with respect to calcite and dolomite. However, water from wells tapping the upper part of the aquifer near the faults is not fully saturated suggesting that the mixing of deep mineralized water with shallower freshwater produces a mixture that is not saturated with respect to these minerals and allows for the dissolution of limestone in the aquifer near the faults. Dissolution of limestone may also be occurring at the freshwater-saltwater interface in the deeper zones of the aquifer.