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Zghibi, A., Zouhri, L., Tarhouni, J., & Kouzana, L. (2013). Groundwater mineralisation processes in Mediterranean semi-arid systems (Cap-Bon, North east of Tunisia): hydrogeological and geochemical approaches. Hydrological Processes, 27(22), 3227–3239.
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Morales-Baquero, R., Pulido-Villena, E., & Reche, I. (2013). Chemical signature of Saharan dust on dry and wet atmospheric deposition in the south-western Mediterranean region. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 65(1), 18720.
Abstract: We studied if the presence of Saharan dust intrusions and the rains modify the chemical signature of the wet and dry deposition in the southern Iberian Peninsula. We have sorted the 109 sampling weeks by the presence (rainy weeks) or absence (dry weeks) of rain and by the occurrence or not of Saharan dust intrusions. Dry deposition dominated the delivery of particulate material (PM), total phosphorus (TP), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+, whereas wet deposition dominated the delivery of Na+, total nitrogen, and . In the dry weeks, the presence of Saharan dust intrusions lead to higher inputs of PM, TP, SRP, Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+ in the dry deposition. Conversely, in the rainy weeks, there were no differences in mean values of dry deposition irrespective of the occurrence of Saharan dust intrusions. Nevertheless, in the presence of Saharan intrusions and some rain, the weekly collection of PM, TP and Ca2+ in dry deposition were significantly higher and increased as rainfall was lower. By contrast, the ions Cl– and Na+ in wet deposition were higher in absence of Saharan dust intrusion and increased as rainfall increased.
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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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Daniele, L., Vallejos, Á., Corbella, M., Molina, L., & Pulido-Bosch, A. (2013). Hydrogeochemistry and geochemical simulations to assess water–rock interactions in complex carbonate aquifers: The case of Aguadulce (SE Spain). Applied Geochemistry, 29, 43–54.
Abstract: The hydrogeological unit of Aguadulce (Campo de Dalías aquifers, SE Spain) has a complex geometry. This fact, together with a continuous rise in water demand due to intensive agriculture and tourism create problems for groundwater quantity and quality. In this paper classic geochemical tools managed by means of GIS software and geochemical simulations are combined to delineate, identify and locate the possible physicochemical processes acting in the Aguadulce groundwater. Two main aquifers can be distinguished: the carbonate or lower aquifer of Triassic age, and the calcodetritic or upper aquifer of Plio-Quaternary age. Groundwaters from the latter are more saline and, assuming all chlorinity originates from seawater intrusion, the seawater contribution to their composition would be up to 7%. Nevertheless the carbonate aquifer appears not to be homogeneous: it is compartmentalised into 4 zones where different processes explain the different groundwaters compositions. Zone 4 samples (E margin of the carbonate aquifer) resemble those of the Plio-Quaternary aquifer, where calcite precipitation, dolomite and gypsum dissolution and some cation exchange (water–rock interaction) together with seawater–freshwater mixing occur. In contrast, water–rock interaction predominates in zones 1 and 3 of the carbonate aquifer. Moreover, zone 2 samples, located between zones 1 and 3, are explained by water–rock interaction in addition to mixing with Plio-Quaternary aquifer waters. The combination of geochemical simulations with GIS and hydrogeochemical analyses has proven to be effective in identifying and locating the different physicochemical processes in the aquifer areas, thus improving understanding of hydrogeochemistry in complex aquifers.
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