Submarine and coastal karstic groundwater discharges along the southwestern Mediterranean coast of Turkey

Abstract

A 120 km-long part of the southwestern coast of Turkey, with well-developed karst terrain in contact with the sea, has been investigated by systematic diving surveys to determine the submarine groundwater discharges (SGDs). The physical, chemical and isotopic data have been used to determine the rate of the fresh groundwater end member (FEM) and its temporal dynamics. About 150 SGDs have been detected by diving surveys employed mostly up to a depth of 30 m below sea level (bsl). Among those, 15 SGDs are in the form of coastal or submarine caves with entrances ranging between sea surface and 40 m bsl. The FEM contribution in SGDs ranges from a few percent to more than 80%.Stable isotope data suggest a range of mean recharge area elevations extending from the coast to more than 1,000 m inland. In many of the SGDs, the FEMs are characterized by tritium-based residence times ranging from recent to several decades. Hypothetical geochemical calculations of mixing between freshwater and seawater end members reveal that more than 45% of freshwater contribution is required for karst development in the SGDs. Models suggest a threshold pH of 7.6 or lower for the carbonate rock dissolution.

The drowning of ancient Limyra (southwestern Turkey) by rising groundwater during Late Antiquity to Byzantine times

“…They are in accordance with the data of Bayari et al (2011), representative for the Bey Dağları karst water. Deviating values characterize samples from the Alakır Cayı (Fig.…”

“…Consequently, the chemical composition of water samples from the city indicates that the water originates from the Toçak Dağı karst system (see also Demirel and Gunay, 2000;Bayari et al, 2011). The chemical data also show that the groundwater of the Finike plain, fed by the Alakır Cayı does not influence the groundwater system of Limyra.…”

“…The strongly karstified (Bayari et al, 2011) Beydaglari limestone of the Toçak Dağı shows karst conduits along southwestern dipping bedding planes and along a related conjugated joint system. Steeply dipping faults dismember the southern slope of the mountain (Fig.…”

Characterization and conceptualization of a relict Karst aquifer (Bilecik, Turkey)

“…The complex structure of the karst aquifer makes direct determination of physical parameters related to these properties almost impossible. Thus, the blackbox approach (Berkaloff 1967;Bagaric 1978;Atkinson 1977;Bear 1979;Milanovic 1981;Ford & williams 1989) in analyzing karst aquifers provides a useful tool to under stand the hydrodynamic behavior of the aquifer based upon the tracer tests and hydrographchemograph anal ysis of the springs' discharge from the aquifer of inter est (Schuster & white 1971;Smart & Hobbs 1986;Raeisi & Karami 1997;white 2003;Valdes et al 2005;Geyer et al 2007;Göppert & Goldscheider 2008;Özyurt 2008;Özyurt & Bayarı 2008;Bayarı et al 2011;Abigail et al 2012). Turkey, with its great variety of problems related to karst, is perhaps the most challenging country for the karstologist and hydrogeologist.…”

An assessment of the seawater effect by geochemical and isotopic data on the brackish karst groundwater from the Karaburun Peninsula (İzmir, Turkey)

“…According to Ozyurt (2008), when karstic aquifers are in contact with the sea as is the case in many Mediterranean countries, a considerable amount of water discharges naturally into the sea in the form of coastal and submarine groundwater discharges (Mijatovic 2007;Bayari and Kurttas (2002) ;Günay 1971;Khout 1977). Hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical studies have been done by several researchers in the Aegean and Mediterranean coast of Turkey (Günay 1973;Elhatip and Gunay 1998;Bayari and Kurttas 2002;Elhatip 2003;Ekmekçi 2005;Yüce 2005;Hatipoglu et al 2009;Bayari et al 2011;HatipogluBagci 2014).…”