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Zhou, X., & Li, C. (1992). Hydrogeochemistry of deep formation brines in the central Sichuan Basin, China. Journal of Hydrology, 138(1), 1–15.
Abstract: Subsurface brines are abundant in the Sichuan Basin, China. Five brine-bearing aquifers have been identified within rocks of Triassic age in the central part of the basin. These are of two types: brine-bearing clastic and brine-bearing carbonate aquifers. Brines in this region have high total dissolved solids and chemical species that are different from those of evaporatively concentrated seawater. Deep formation brines in clastic aquifers, in which evaporites do not exist, are characterized by high concentrations of Ca, Sr, Ba, Br and I, low concentrations of Mg and K, and lack of SO4, and are dominated by the NaCaCl type. Brines in carbonate aquifers, which have interbeds of evaporites, are characterized by high total dissolved solids, low concentrations of Ca, Mg and SO4, and lack of Ba, and are of the NaCl type. The brines in clastic aquifers originate from connate continental sedimentary waters mixed with marine waters; membrane filtration through shales has played an important part in modifying the chemical compositions and increasing the salinity of the brines. Those in carbonate aquifers are bittern marine sedimentary waters, with chemical compositions mainly controlled by precipitation of evaporites.
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Alexakis, D., Gotsis, D., & Giakoumakis, S. (2015). Evaluation of soil salinization in a Mediterranean site (Agoulinitsa district—West Greece). Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 8(3), 1373–1383.
Abstract: Soil salinization is an environmental problem having
significant impacts on the soil–water–plant system. This
problem is more frequent in coastal areas due to seawater
intrusion into the land. Assessing the soil salinization is a
critical issue for the agricultural areas situated in the
Mediterranean basin. This paper examines the deterioration
of soil quality in the cultivated land of a Mediterranean site
(Agoulinitsa district—West Greece). Soil samples were collected
in both pre-irrigation and post-irrigation seasons.
Electrical conductivity (EC), pH and the ions Br−, Ca2+, Cl−,
F−, K+, Li+, Mg2+, Na+, NH4
+, NO2
−, NO3
−, PO4
3− and SO4
2−
were determined by the 1:2 (soil/water ratio on weight basis)
method. The salts which were present in both seasons in the
soils of the area studied are KCl, MgCl2, NaCl, CaSO4 and
K2SO4. The wide spatiotemporal variation of EC in the cultivated
land in both seasons demonstrates that soil salinity is
controlled mainly by seawater intrusion and anthropogenic
factors such as the application of salt-rich water which is
directly pumped from the drainage ditches. Seawater intrusion
provides the affected soil with elevated contents of Ca2+, Cl−,
K+, Mg2+, Na+ and SO4
2−. Classification of the soils by using
criteria given by the literature is discussed. Practices to prevent,
or at least ameliorate, salinization in the cultivated land
of Agoulinitsa district are proposed.
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Di Lorenzo, T., & Galassi, D. M. P. (2013). Agricultural impact on Mediterranean alluvial aquifers: do groundwater communities respond? Fundamental and Applied Limnology/Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 182(4), 271–282.
Abstract: In Mediterranean countries agricultural development heavily depends on groundwater availability due
to arid and semi-arid climate and poor surface-water resources. Agriculture represents one of the most relevant
pressures which generate impacts in alluvial aquifers by means of fertilizers and pesticides usage and groundwater
overexploitation. Until now, very few studies have addressed the ecological response of groundwater fauna to
groundwater contamination and overexploitation due to agricultural practices. We investigated a Mediterranean
alluvial aquifer heavily affected by nitrates contamination and groundwater abstraction stress due to crop irrigation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of groundwater communities to (a) groundwater nitrate
contamination, (b) groundwater abstraction due to irrigation practices, and (c) saltwater intrusion. The present
work suggests that nitrate concentration lower than 150 mg l
–1 is not an immediate threat to groundwater biodiversity in alluvial aquifers. This conclusion must be carefully considered in the light of the total lack of knowledge
of the effects of long-term nitrate pollution on the groundwater biota. Moreover, local extinctions of less tolerant
species, prior to monitoring, cannot be ruled out. Conversely, species abundances in ground water are affected by
groundwater withdrawal, but species richness may be less sensitive. This result is attributable to the disappearance
of saturated microhabitats and to the depletion of fine unconsolidated sediments, reducing the surface available
to bacterial biofilm, which represent the trophic resource for several groundwater invertebrates and where the
main aquifer self-purification processes, such as denitrification, take place. Saltwater intrusion seems not to affect
groundwater species at the values measured in this coastal aquifer.
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El Mandour, A., El Yaouti, F., Fakir, Y., Zarhloule, Y., & Benavente, J. (2007). Evolution of groundwater salinity in the unconfined aquifer of Bou-Areg, Northeastern Mediterranean coast, Morocco. Environmental Geology, 54(3), 491–503.
Abstract: The Bou-Areg plain in the Mediterranean coast at the North-eastern of Morocco is characterized by a semiarid climate. The aquifer consists of two sedimentary formations of Plio-quaternary age: the upper formation of fine silts and the lower one of coarse silts with sand and gravels. The aquifer is underlain by marly bedrock of Miocene age that dips toward the coastal lagoon of Bou-Areg. The
hydrodynamic characteristics vary between 10–4 and 10–3 m/s; and transmissivities range between 10–4 and 10–1 m2 /s. The general direction of flow is SW to NE, toward the lagoon. The aquifer is crossed by the river Selouane, which also ends in the lagoon. The groundwater is characterized by a high salinity that can reach 7.5 g/l. The highest values are observed in the upstream and in the downstream sectors of the aquifer. The temporal evolution of the physicochemical parameters depends on the climatic conditions and
piezometric variations. The analysis of the spatio-temporal distribution of the physico-chemical parameters suggests different sources of groundwater salinization: the seawater intrusion, the influence of marly gypsum-bearing terrains, and the influence of anthropogenic products as the agricultural fertilizers, which cause great nitrate concentrations that vary between 80 and 140 mg/l.
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Houben, G. (2018). Annotated translation of “Die Wasserversorgung einiger Nordseebäder [The water supply of some North Sea spas]” by Alexander Herzberg (1901). Hydrogeology Journal, 26(6), 1789–1799.
Abstract: The publication “The water supply of some North Sea spas” by Alexander Herzberg in 1901 is a cornerstone of coastal groundwater research. It was fundamental to the development of the Ghijben-Herzberg principle, which describes the hydrostatic equilibrium between fresh and saline groundwater. Due to its age and the language barrier, the paper is often cited but probably rarely read. Therefore, the original paper has been translated from German into English, accompanied by an introduction and notes explaining the historical context.
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