The Mar Piccolo basin is an internal sea basin located along the Ionian coast (Southern Italy), and it is surrounded primarily by fractured carbonate karstic environment.
In primarily karstic environments, infiltration is greater than runoff; in the karstic coastal Apulian aquifers, the groundwater discharge to the sea is more than two-fold greater than the surface discharge, notwithstanding the high discharges by wells. In such environments, including the Mar Piccolo area, the quantity and quality of groundwater outflow caused by of coastal submarine and subaerial discharge play key roles in the ecological equilibrium of these coastal environmental systems and are particularly important for biodiversity and environmental protection
The Mar Piccolo basin represents a peculiar and sensitive environment and a social emergency because of sea water and sediments pollution. The average seawater salinity of Mar Piccolo is lower than that of the close outer sea because of the inflow of fresh spring water, notwithstanding the effect of evaporation.
The research aimed to define the contribution of subaerial and submarine coastal springs to the hydrological dynamic equilibrium of this internal sea basin. A general approach was defined, including a hydrogeological basin border assessment to detect inflowing springs, detailed geological and hydrogeological conceptualisation, in situ submarine and subaerial spring measurements, including chemical and isotope analyses, and flow numerical modelling.
Multiple sources of data were obtained to define a relevant geodatabase, and it contained information on approximately 2,000 wells, located in the study area (1,600 km2). Five surveys were performed to acquire hydro-geochemical data and spring flow-yield measurements; the isotope groundwater age was assessed and used for model validation.
Zuffianò L E, Basso A, Casarano D, Dragone V, Limoni P P, Romanazzi A, Santaloia F, Polemio M. 2015. Coastal hydrogeological system of Mar Piccolo (Taranto, Italy). Environmental Science and Pollution Research, p. 1-13. DOI:10.1007/s11356-015-4932-6.
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