Abstract Colloid concentration is an important parameter in models of colloid-facilitated transport. The purpose of the present study is to characterize colloid concentrations and colloid stability in natural groundwater from the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) in Hokkaido, Japan. The particle sizes of colloids in groundwaters from the Horonobe URL range from several nanometres to c . 500 nm, with a mode particle size of c . 120 nm. Evaluation of colloid stability by DLVO theory suggests that larger colloids (i.e. >100 nm in diameter) would be more stable than smaller colloids in some groundwaters. The estimated colloid particle concentrations when considering the results of DLVO calculations ranged from 2.33 × 10 6 to 1.12 × 10 8 particles/ml, and mass concentrations were estimated to range from 45 to 1540 µg l −1 for diameters greater than 100 nm. Colloids in Horonobe groundwaters appear to be less stable, with a moderate potential for transport, than colloids investigated in similar international studies. This reduced stability may be due to relatively higher ionic strengths and moderate dissolved organic concentrations in Horonobe groundwaters compared to their international counterparts.

Slurry colloidal and particle interaction theory is described and applied to clay mineral suspensions. Mechanisms which affect the colloidal properties of the dewatering behaviour of clay mineral suspensions are described, after which the processes of coagulation and flocculation are discussed. Finally, sedimentation and self-weight consolidation are discussed as the mechanisms by which a low-density slurry transitions to a high-density slurry or soil.

Abstract: The lacustrine carbonate reservoirs of the South Atlantic host significant accumulations of chemically reactive and Al-free Mg-silicate minerals (e.g. stevensite, kerolite and talc). Petrographic data from units such as the Cretaceous Barra Velha Formation in the Santos Basin suggest that Mg-silicate minerals strongly influenced, and perhaps created, much of the observed secondary porosity. The diagenetic interactions between reactive Mg-silicate minerals and carbonate sediments are, however, poorly known. Here we develop a conceptual model for the origin of secondary porosity in the Barra Velha Formation guided by considerations of the chemistry that triggers Mg-silicate crystallization, as well as the geochemical and mineralogical factors that act as prerequisites for rapid Mg-silicate dissolution during early and late diagenesis. We conclude that sub-littoral zones of volcanically influenced rift lakes would have acted as the locus for widespread Mg-silicate accumulation and preservation. Organic-rich profundal sediments, however, would be especially prone to Mg-silicate dissolution and secondary porosity development. Here, organic matter diagenesis (especially methanogenesis) plays a major role in modifying the dissolved inorganic carbon budget and the pH of sediment porewaters, which preferentially destabilizes and then dissolves Mg-silicates. Together, the sedimentological, stratigraphic and geochemical predictions of the model explain many enigmatic features of the Barra Velha Formation, providing a novel framework for understanding how Mg-silicate–carbonate interactions might generate secondary porosity more broadly in other lacustrine carbonate reservoirs across the South Atlantic.