The hydrological monitoring of springs is an auxiliary and indispensable tool that goes alongside investigations in wells to reconstruct a conceptual phenomenological model of an aquifer-groundwater system and its interactions with surface waters. There are manifold ways to carry out this monitoring, but the choice of which way is significant for a correct qualitative and quantitative knowledge of spring systems. The present work focuses on the characterization of the thermo-saline and flow regimes of the Tara spring system along the northern coast of Taranto (southern Italy), where a karst groundwater basin is the major source of the Tara River and the surrounding coastal wetland. A series of measurements was carried out on the spring system to support a technical feasibility study on the possible use of the brackish water of this river to feed a future desalination plant. To estimate the flow rate, a comparison was made between different flow measurement methods in a derivation channel. Through an analysis of the available dataset, the response of the aquifer to the autumn-winter recharge, for which updated hydrologic measurements were not available, is highlighted.

Combined Discharge and Thermo-Salinity Measurements for the Characterization of a Karst Spring System in Southern Italy

Ivan Portoghese
Primo
;
Rita Masciale
Secondo
;
Maria C Caputo;Lorenzo De Carlo
Penultimo
;
2020

Abstract

The hydrological monitoring of springs is an auxiliary and indispensable tool that goes alongside investigations in wells to reconstruct a conceptual phenomenological model of an aquifer-groundwater system and its interactions with surface waters. There are manifold ways to carry out this monitoring, but the choice of which way is significant for a correct qualitative and quantitative knowledge of spring systems. The present work focuses on the characterization of the thermo-saline and flow regimes of the Tara spring system along the northern coast of Taranto (southern Italy), where a karst groundwater basin is the major source of the Tara River and the surrounding coastal wetland. A series of measurements was carried out on the spring system to support a technical feasibility study on the possible use of the brackish water of this river to feed a future desalination plant. To estimate the flow rate, a comparison was made between different flow measurement methods in a derivation channel. Through an analysis of the available dataset, the response of the aquifer to the autumn-winter recharge, for which updated hydrologic measurements were not available, is highlighted.
2020
Istituto di Ricerca Sulle Acque - IRSA - Sede Secondaria Bari
Tara spring system
discharge measurement
electrical conductivity
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14243/405309
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