Analysis of groundwater discharge in the Geological Structure of Montenero Valcocchiara (Southern-central Apennine), Italy
Giuseppe Capelli1 and Luigi Jovane2
1 Università degli Studi di Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo 1, 00146, Roma, Italy
2 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143, Roma, Italy
Groundwater definition in terms of quality and amount represents an important resource for today’s human and economic development. In order to effectively manage a groundwater system, it must be described to the extent that its variations can be correctly predicted in time. Groundwater systems, as all natural systems, are best described through the measurement of multiple variables and through an understanding of their interactions.
Most of the cental-Italian carbonate aquifers are contained in highly porous and permeable limestone, and collect a large amount of hydro-potable water. This work is a multidisciplinary study that outlines and specifies the hydrogeological settings of a geological structure: the Montenero Valcocchiara Geological Structure. The Montenero Valcocchiara Ridge, which represents a klippe overlapping on silicoclastic flycsh, is located between the central and the southern Apennine chain, Italy. This comprises a geological and structural unit, which has a stratigraphic sequence including limestone and marls at the bottom, and clay and calcareous marls at the top.
Rivers and springs and piezometric well levels have been monitored for one year. In addition, some chemical and physical properties of the water were analyzed during this period.
The directions of groundwater flow are considerably complicated by the complex tectonic pattern and the uncertain stratigraphic succession. Here we define an interactive method to estimate the withdrawal rates that could be sustained relative to the constraints of critical groundwater area designation (hydrogeological units), which have been defined on geological parameters. Throughout the qualitative and quantitative analyses of rain volume and steam offsets, in addition to the chemical-physical analyses for each area and group, we achieve the water balance of the groundwater discharge and the isolation of relatively homogenous rangeland units. The hydrogeological boundaries between the units do not follow the superficial watershed; therefore they represent an important set of information for a deeper geological knowledge of the structural setting of the entire Geological Structure. Moreover, the values of temperature, pH and conductivity permit us to retain the high water quality of the structure of Montenero Valcocchiara, which represents an excellent resource of hydro-potable water.
