Intrinsic Vulnerability Assessment of a Confined Carbonatic Aquifer: the Brindisi Plain Case (Southern Italy)

n/

Hydrogeological problems relating to the construction of an underground metro system in Bari urban and suburban areas

Many problems are related to the construction of an underground metro system in Bari urban and suburban areas, excavations involving namely dolomite-limestones in both anhydrous and saturated zones and low-thickness postcretaceous covers. A number of rock-sealing methods are reviewed. Consideration is given to the rock hydrodynamic characteristics of the urban area alongside impacts on groundwater flows

Geomorphological, pedological, and hydrological characteristics of karst lakes at Conversano (Apulia, southern Italy) as a basis for environmental protection

The land around Conversano (Apulia, southern Italy) is part of the Murge karst, interesting limestones and dolomitic limestones of Upper Cretaceous age, in a flat environment with sub-horizontal setting. Dolines and karst depressions are the most typical landforms in the area. Filling of these landforms with eluvial deposits locally created the possibility of water stagnancy at the surface. The Conversano territory presents ten karst lakes that represented, until some decades ago, the only water resource available for the local people, who built the typical bell-shaped wells to collect water volumes satisfying local needs during the dry season. Currently, these lakes have no great importance as water supplies, but represent habitats of great naturalistic value that are still able to support the ecological functionality and the wet environments with self-vegetation. Hydrological and hydrogeological studies have been carried out with the aim to fully estimate the related environmental problems. For this purpose, the hydrogeologic data of historical time series have been collected and compared to those of the last 5 years; successively, according to the Thornthwaite method, a hydrological monthly balance has been evaluated to quantify the distribution of water volumes interacting annually between the surface water bodies and the underlying carbonate groundwater. This evaluation has highlighted the need to carefully consider all the parameters concurring to a right definition of water balance for a karst environment, where pedological features, climatic conditions and anthropogenic modifications to the environment represent the elements of a very delicate system. Particularly, on the basis of recent soil map and field surveys, a re-evaluation of the available water capacity, estimated in some 40 mm, has been carried out. The studies have highlighted the need to extend the environmental protection rules to larger areas around the lakes, e.g. at the catchment scale, with definition of buffer zones; in this manner, it will be possible to constantly monitor the protected land and the local anthropogenic activities, that represent real polluting sources for both the surface water resources and the underlying carbonate groundwaters. © Springer-Verlag 2008

Hydrogeological problems relating to the construction of an underground metro system in Bari urban and suburban areas

Many problems are related to the construction of an underground metro system in Bari urban and suburban areas, excavations involving namely dolomite-limestones in both anhydrous and saturated zones and low-thickness postcretaceous covers. A number of rock-sealing methods are reviewed. Consideration is given to the rock hydrodynamic characteristics of the urban area alongside impacts on groundwater flows.PublishedCernobbioope

The piezometric chemical phisical monitoring of Murgia and Salento groundwater (Apulia)

l territorio murgiano-salentino, data la sua natura prevalentemente carsica, è praticamente privo di risorse idriche superficiali; d’altra parte lo stesso è dotato di risorse idriche sotterranee anche notevoli, che hanno a tutt’oggi consentito, per vaste aree, lo sviluppo delle attività produttive. La natura di tali risorse idriche sotterranee, le particolari fenomenologie che regolano i processi di alimentazione, di deflusso e di svuotamento nonché l’influenza esercitata dal mare, rendono quanto mai delicato il problema di una oculata gestione e di un corretto impiego delle acque sotterranee. Sono dunque di attualità i problemi relativi alla degradazione delle acque sotterranee, sia per fenomeni di contaminazione salina che per fenomeni di inquinamento antropico, derivanti dalla pratica di utilizzare il sottosuolo come ricettacolo di reflui anche non trattati. La corretta gestione e tutela del patrimonio idrico sotterraneo rappresenta quindi un obiettivo prioritario da perseguire a breve termine; a tal fine si fa ricorso a due tipi di approccio, attuati a diversa scala: a scala regionale si opera un controllo continuo dei fenomeni evolutivi che interessano la disponibilità e la qualità delle risorse idriche sotterranee; a scala locale, con il massimo dettaglio, si studiano le iniziative di tutela delle acque sotterranee di maggior pregio destinate al consumo umano attraverso la delimitazione delle aree di salvaguardia