A conceptual model of mildly alkaline water discharging from the Zlatibor ultramafic massif, western Serbia

A conceptual hydrogeological model of ophiolitic aquifers (serpentinised peridotite): The test example of Mt. Prinzera (Northern Italy)

“…• vertical heterogeneity was also found by Nikic et al (2013), but also in this Serbian case, the contrast in permeability with depth is not due to the interposition of an aquitard layer within the fractured peridotite; the authors found that a role of utmost importance, from the hydraulic point of view, is played by the contrast in fracturing degree with depth; moreover, the authors observed a slow response of spring flow to atmospheric precipitation events, differently from observations made in the Prinzera aquifer system, where fast response and multiple-peak hydrographs have been detected; however, according to our studied system, Nikic et al (2013) suggest the existence of higher permeability fault zones enhancing the hydraulic communication within the fractured medium;…”

“…When comparing this conceptual model with the few available in the scientific literature related to serpentinised peridotite, the following main suggestions can be made: the studied aquifer system is not characterised by a significant weathered horizon overlying the fissured bedrock; therefore, differently from Join et al (), the hydrogeological behaviour of the whole system is not influenced by the coexistence of both a regolith‐subsystem and a fracture‐subsystem; however, according to the same authors, the shallower and the deeper groundwaters are interdependent despite the significant vertical heterogeneity of the aquifer system; moreover, in the case study, the shallower groundwater flows seasonally in a perched aquifer, due to the existence of an aquitard layer within the fractured peridotite, and an unsaturated zone is diffusely interposed between the shallower and the deeper groundwater; vertical heterogeneity was also found by Nikic et al (), but also in this Serbian case, the contrast in permeability with depth is not due to the interposition of an aquitard layer within the fractured peridotite; the authors found that a role of utmost importance, from the hydraulic point of view, is played by the contrast in fracturing degree with depth; moreover, the authors observed a slow response of spring flow to atmospheric precipitation events, differently from observations made in the Prinzera aquifer system, where fast response and multiple‐peak hydrographs have been detected; however, according to our studied system, Nikic et al () suggest the existence of higher permeability fault zones enhancing the hydraulic communication within the fractured medium; similarly, some differences can be found also comparing the Prinzera system with that analysed by Dewandel et al () in Oman; concerning the role of vertical heterogeneity, the hydrogeological functioning of the Oman ophiolite aquifer is not influenced by aquitard layers; in that case, the role of utmost importance is played by the contrast in permeability because of the superimposition of a fissured near‐surface horizon (about 50 m thick) to a less fractured bedrock; however, also Dewandel et al () suggest that deeper waters can rise relatively rapid along highly permeable and well‐connected faults. …”

“…The ophiolites are retained as one of the main aquifers within the northern Apennines (Gargini et al, 2014), but a few hydrogeological studies have been carried out worldwide to understand the behaviour of such aquifers (e.g., Boronina et al, 2003;Boronina et al, 2005;Dewandel et al, 2003;Dewandel et al, 2004;Dewandel et al, 2005;Join et al, 2005;Nikic et al, 2013). In this framework, an experimental study has been carried out in the test site of Mt.…”

Hydrogeological mapping of heterogeneous and multi-layered ophiolitic aquifers (Mountain Prinzera, northern Apennines, Italy)

“…From the hydrogeological point of view, a few studies have been carried out in ophiolitic media worldwide (e.g. Boronina, Balderer, Renard, & Stichler, 2005;Boronina, Renard, Balderer, & Christodoulides, 2003;Critelli et al, 2015;Dewandel et al, 2005;Dewandel, Lachassagne, & Qatan, 2004;Dewandel, Lachassagne, Bakalowicz, Weng, & Al, 2003;Join, Robineau, Ambrosi, Costis, & Colin, 2005;Marques et al, 2008;Nikic et al, 2013;Segadelli et al, 2017), contrary to what is observed in the scientific literature focused on other types of aquifer systems made up of other rocks of magmatic origin (e.g. Binet, Guglielmi, Bertrand, & Mudry, 2007;Cruz & Silva, 2001;Davis & Turk, 1964;Dewandel et al, 2005;Dewandel, Lachassagne, Maréchal, Wyns, & Krishnamurthy, 2006;Gustafson & Krásný, 1994;Lachassagne et al, 2001;Lachassagne et al, 2009;Sander, 1997;Walker, Holdsworth, Armitage, & Faulkner, 2013;Wright, 1992).…”

Groundwater flow characterization of an ophiolitic hard-rock aquifer from cross-borehole multi-level hydraulic experiments

“…Villages developed close to the (often intermittent) rivers (wadis) that form from the ophiolite water sources often occurring at the peridotite -gabbro interface, the former forming the low permeability reservoir while the latter, fractured and often altered, draining the ophiolite massif water toward sources (Dewandel et al, 2004). In a general manner, ophiolites may impact strongly the chemical composition of the water (e.g., in western Serbia (Nikic et al, 2013) and…”