Groundwater temperature as a natural tracer to characterize hydraulic behaviour and geometry of carbonate aquifers:Mt. Nerone karst system, central Italy
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Marco Menichetti; Andrea Tamburini
- Source
- Subject
- Hydrology
geography
Apennines
geography.geographical_feature_category
spring
karst aquifer
Stratification (water)
Geology
Aquifer
Groundwater recharge
Groundwater temperature
Karst
Groundwater temperature, spring, karst aquifer, Apennines
TRACER
Spring (hydrology)
Groundwater discharge
Groundwater
- Language
- English
Temperature variations in groundwater discharge from the Giordano karst system (northern Apennines) have been observed continuously for six months (from January 2016 to July 2016), to determine the flow patterns and geometrical properties of aquifer. The karst system discharge about 32.2 L/s on average during over the hydrological year and it’s characterized by two outlets: a basalcontinuousspring (BCS) with a mean discharge of 8.9 L/s and an upper-intermittent spring (UIS) with a mean discharge of 23.3 L/s, located about 60 m above the previous one.Results show significant difference in the two spring outlets between the time lags as well as non-simultaneous and not analogue responses of temperature (T) to the same recharge events: temperature of UIS range from 9.7 to 10.7°C whereas temperature of BCS remain rather stable, ranging from 9.8 to 9.9°C. This data suggests a stratification of the water along the aquifer probably associated by different residence times and linked to the structural organization of karst aquifer (conduit and fracture networks): deeper and oldest water in the BCS and youngest water in the UIS.