Groundwater is well known as a natural resource that includes dissolved solution according to the geology, origin, flow route and storage condition. The calling code of the deep groundwater is divided by the saline concentration and condition, in usual. Brine, saline, brackish are the technical words of groundwater depended by the salinity, on the other hand, fresh and fossil are the words of groundwater condition. The study is introducing the previous studies and makes a scientific define of the Brine Water in the field of groundwater hydrology. The study also shows the sample of brine water in the Kanto basin, which is the largest and deepest deposit basin in Japan.

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We have summarized in this review that the concentration of iodine and chlorine in brine distributed in Japan Sea side, Pacific coast side of Japan, Oklahoma State in USA. We have introduced the concentration mechanisms of iodine based on sedimentological and geological points of view in Boso peninsula, central Japan. These are as follow;
1. The organic matter both of continental origin such as plant fragment in turbidites as absorption materials and of marine origin such as plankton as original iodine supplier are important to produce a high concentration of iodine in brine.
2. Depositional environment such as neritic has poorly concentration of iodine, but deep marine environment such as bathyal has relatively high concentration of iodine in the Pacific coast side of Japan.
3. The ocean current system is another controlling factor of iodine concentration such as more iodine concentration region located in counter part of warm and cold water currents, whereas poor iodine concentration region located in either one.
But the radioactive age of iodine indicates 50Ma in Boso area can not explain reasonable brine movement based on geological framework.

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Based on molecular analyses and cultivation, ancient brine water in natural gas/oil fields were found to harbor a diverse array of microorganisms. Together with a number of different species of heterotrophic microorganisms, methane-producing archaea (methanogens) were abundant, suggesting that methanogens are actively present in such environment. Whether or not the present microorganisms contribute, to a great extent, to ongoing methane production in natural gas/oil fields still remain unknown, but further study will allow us to estimate the potential of those microorganisms for methane production in deep subsurface environment.

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The underground brine is pumped up from the stratum to produce biogenic natural gas (NG) and iodine in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. NG from the brine is greatly valuable natural resource that occupies about 16% of total domestic production in Japan. Iodine also bears economic values, as Japan is the second largest iodine producer in the world. In this paper we introduce the utilization of these resources in recent years.

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The examination for water quality of salty groundwater pumped up from a depth of about 50 m located on the campus of the School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokai University, Shizuoka, Japan was implemented from August 2003 to December 2004, for the purpose of clarifying the merit and demerit of the water concerned when it is applied to aquaculture. The groundwater pumped up has good qualities in terms of a salinity as similar to seawater, an almost constant temperature of around 20°C, a constant pH value and highly nutritious. However, its disadvantage is that ammonium and manganese, which are toxic to the growth of fishery flora and fauna, are in high amounts. To alleviate those major constraints caused by both the ammonium and manganese ions, an enhancement measure has been established by installing an oxidation tank, which acts as a facilitator to achieve oxidation for ammonium and manganese ions, being made of specified microbes. It has successfully reduced those hazardous ions to a level favorable to aquaculture. Carbon fibers were used as a substrate for the bacteria growth and also for the precipitation of the substances. Finally, the aquaculture business on land can be developed better by utilizing the results obtained through the current study.

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As an example of underground brackish-seawater, well seawater from coral limestone layers was high lighted as a new characteristic oceanographic resource, that is free of bacteria and also percolating microorganisms like viruses and pico-plankton. The well seawater was brought up from a 70m depth under a metamorphic Ryukyu limestone layer drilled by a diamond cutting boring machine. The well seawater has a constant temperature of 24°C over the year, the same salinity and density as natural seawater, but an extremely small amount of microorganism. A shellfish (Abalone) cultivation test using well seawater continued successively over the last 2 years, and as a result, a growth rate that is about 2 times higher than the growth of natural juveniles in the open sea and a survival ratio of about 100 % free of diseases and microorganisms was obtained.

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The potential of near infrared spectroscopy to determine the main inorganic components of concentrated-seawater was investigated. The characteristics of the near infrared spectra of aqueous solutions of various standard salt reagents were examined. Then a partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis was performed based on inorganic components and the original near infrared spectra (1100-1850 nm) of concentrated-seawater. As a result, it was indicated that the interaction of ions with surrounding water molecules caused characteristic changes in the near infrared spectra of aqueous solutions, and the changes in spectra could be used for identification of ions in aqueous solutions. The PLS regression analysis showed that concentration of the main inorganic components (Cl^-, SO₄^2-, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) could be predicted with good accuracy using near infrared spectra.

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The antiputrefactive effect of salt was quantitatively analyzed using a calorimetric method. Using an isothermal microcalorimeter, the heat evolved due to the growth of putrefactive microorganisms (metabolic heat) during putrefaction of foods was recorded as growth thermograms at 25°C in the absence and presence of various concentrations of salt up to 5.8% (w/w). Seven kinds of foods, including Asari clams, soy milk, and bean curd refuse were examined. The antiputrefactive effect of salt was evaluated by measuring the decrease in putrefactive activity, i. e., the decrease in specific growth activity of the microorganisms, with increasing concentrations of salt, and the 50% inhibitory concentration (K_i) and the 100% inhibitory concentration (MIC) of salt in putrefaction were successfully evaluated. K_i for Asari clams, for example, was 3.5±0.1%, and MIC was 6.5±0.2%. It is argued that the calorimetric method is a convenient and sophisticated way for quantitatively analyzing the effect of antiputrefactive substances such as salt.

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We attempted to desalinate surface seawater from Imari Bay using an upward spray flash seawater desalination plant. Considering that the rise in the boiling point caused the nonvolatile solutes in seawater, the evaporation phenomenon with seawater was almost the same as that with tap water, and a sufficient desalination ratio was confirmed. The principle components of seawater and B were removed from the product water, and the product water had a high purity of <0.5 mS/m.

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