Infiltration and Short-Time Recharge in Deep Karst Aquifer of the Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy): An Observational Study

Abstract

Time series of micrometeorological data from the CNR ISAC-Lecce base have been used to estimate the seasonal/yearly surface infiltration in the period 2003-2016 in the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy). The estimated values of infiltration were compared with piezometric levels measured in the regional karst aquifer during the overlapping period 2009-2011. The results, besides the complex groundwater circulation, suggest the possibility of a quite short-time component in the deep aquifer response to the recharge input. This quick response, together with the growing hydroclimatic intensity, outlined in literature studies and observed in the last decade, could increasingly affect the seasonal aquifer dynamics in the near future. Some possible consequences on the water management in karst regions under Mediterranean climate are discussed.

Assessment of Local Climate Change: Historical Trends and RCM Multi-Model Projections Over the Salento Area (Italy)

“…Increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall can also negatively impact water resources, both in terms of quantity and quality [33], in an area that already has a water budget deficit, imports water from the neighboring regions [20] and overexploits its coastal aquifers with increasing salinization problems [34]. Our work can be a starting point but further studies are required to investigate these not so obvious and local aspects.…”

The Recent Floods in the Asso Torrent Basin (Apulia, Italy): An Investigation to Improve the Stormwater Management

“…It has been pointed out that climatic configurations with two positive anomalies of the 500 hPa GPH, located over the North Atlantic and the Siberian Plateau, became increasingly frequent in recent decades as a signature of the climate change [30]. In the short/mean term, this circumstance and the observation of a possible increasing trend of quick strong precipitation events over the Salento peninsula, especially in the dry season [19], suggest diminishing return times for the floods in the basin. Table 1).…”

“…The Asso Torrent is a network of natural and artificial channels crossing urban and rural areas, flowing towards six swallow karst holes, locally named "vore" (singular vora, from Latin, means swallow or whirlpool ). The karst holes are connected to a regional karst aquifer, affected by seawater intrusion, providing about 75% of the local water supply (the hydrogeological setting is described in [10,19]). The basin is endorheic (i.e., it retains runoff within the watershed) and extends over 220 km 2 , excluding the area drained by an artificial sea channel (Figure 1).…”

Three-Dimensional Geophysical Characterization of Deeply Buried Paleokarst System in the Tahe Oilfield, Tarim Basin, China

“…It can develop a series of underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. The structure of these caves is very complex, often first forming some cave channels and then forming a multi-layered conduit network by changes of water table [5][6][7][8][9]. In the long geological history, soluble rocks are subjected to leaching by liquid, especially rainwater, for a long period.…”