Chemical and physical parameters as trace markers of anthropogenic-induced salinity in the Agua Amarga coastal aquifer (southern Spain)

Alhama Manteca, I.; Alhama, F.; Rodríguez Estrella, T.

Chemical and physical parameters as trace markers of anthropogenic-induced salinity in the Agua Amarga coastal aquifer (southern Spain) | Utilisation de paramètres chimiques et physiques comme marqueurs de la salinisation anthropique de l’aquifère côtier Agua Amarga (Espagne du sud) Parámetros físicos y químicos como marcadores seguimiento de salinidad antropogénica inducida en el acuífero costero de Agua Amarga (sur de España) 化学和物理参数作为示踪剂研究西班牙南部Agua Amarga滨海含水层由于人为因素导致的盐度变化 Utilização de parâmetros físico-químicos como traçadores da salinização induzida antropogenicamente no aquífero costeiro Agua Amarga (sul de Espanha)

2012

Alhama Manteca, I. | Alhama, F. | Rodríguez Estrella, T.

Agua Amarga coastal aquifer in southern Spain has been the subject of chemical and physical measurements since May 2008 in order to monitor the potential effects of water withdrawal for the Alicante desalination plants on the salt marsh linked to the aquifer. Electrical conductivity contour maps and depth profiles, piezometric-head contour maps, hydrochemical analyses, isotopic characterizations and temperature depth profiles show not only the saltwater intrusion caused by water abstraction, but also the presence of a pronounced convective density-driven flow below the salt marsh; this flow was a consequence of saltwork activity in the early 1900s which generated saline groundwater contamination. The influence of a seawater recharge programme, carried out over the salt marsh in 2009–2010, on the diminishing groundwater salinity and the recovery of groundwater levels is also studied. Based on collected field data, the project provides a deeper understanding of how these successive anthropogenic interventions have modified flow and mixing processes in Agua Amarga aquifer.

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