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Study of the groundwater salinity and modeling the recharge and the renewal rate based on stable and radioactive isotopes in El Haouaria aquifer, Tunisia

  • AGIC 2017
  • Published:
Arabian Journal of Geosciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In El Haouaria region located in the Cap Bon peninsula (N.E. Tunisia), the hydrodynamic survey revealed a decrease in unconfined groundwater reserves of approximately 11% over the last 30 years due to the abstraction of water. Over that same time period, the groundwater table displayed a natural decrease of about 10 m in depth over an area of 230 km2. Hydrogeological investigations have shown that two aquifers which vertically integrate all of the permeable zones in the region can be distinguished: a shallow aquifer formed by filling the Quaternary and another deeper one in the Pliocene. These two aquifers are separated by a semi-permeable layer through which vertical exchange by seepage is possible. Different methods using geochemistry (Na+, Cl−, Br−) and stable isotopes (18O, 2H) are compared with the hydrodynamic information for identifying the main processes involved in the salinization and recharge. Forty groundwater wells were sampled to obtain additional information on the hydrochemical and isotopic characteristics of the groundwater defined in previous studies. Estimation of groundwater recharge in this semi-arid area is difficult due to the low amount and variability of recharge. Two analytical models, taking into account the long term decrease of the water table, were used to interpret 3H and 14C content in groundwater. The median annual renewal rate (recharge as a fraction of saturated aquifer volume) varies between 0.2 and 0.3%. For representative characteristics of the aquifer (30 m of saturated thickness, porosity 14%) this implies a recharge of 10 to 12 mm/yr.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the IAEA Technical Cooperation Project TUN/8/015 and TUN/8/017 “Assessment of Marine Intrusion in Cap Bon’s Coastal Aquifer Systems.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Isotope Hydrology and Geochemistry Unit, CNSTN, Technopark of Sidi Thabet, 2020, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia

    Mohamed Fethi Ben Hamouda

  2. LSTE, Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie, 43 Av. Charles Nicolle, 1082, Tunis, Tunisia

    Mohamed Fethi Ben Hamouda

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Correspondence to Mohamed Fethi Ben Hamouda.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Geology of North Africa and Mediterranean regions

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Ben Hamouda, M.F. Study of the groundwater salinity and modeling the recharge and the renewal rate based on stable and radioactive isotopes in El Haouaria aquifer, Tunisia. Arab J Geosci 14, 2246 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08465-6

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