BALANCE : A computer program for calculating mass transfer for geochemical reactions in ground water

BALANCE is a Fortran computer program designed to define and quantify chemical reactions between ground water and minerals. Using (1) the chemical compositions of water samples from two points along a flow path and (2) a set of mineral phases hypothesized to be the reactive constituents in the system, the program calculates the mass transfer (amounts of the phases entering or leaving the aqueous phase) necessary to account for the observed changes in composition between the two water samples. Additional constraints can be included in the problem formulation to account for mixing of two end-member waters, redox reactions, and, in a simplified form, isotopic composition. The computer code and a description of the input necessary to run the program are presented. Three examples typical of groundwater systems are described.