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Groundwater recharge in semi-arid carbonate aquifers under intensive use: the Estepa Range aquifers (Seville, southern Spain)

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Abstract

Quantifying groundwater recharge in carbonate aquifers located in semi-arid regions and subjected to intensive groundwater use is no easy task. One reason is that there are very few available methods suitable for application under such climatic conditions, and moreover, some of the methods that might be applied were originally designed with reference to non-carbonate aquifers. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the fact that, in any given aquifer, groundwater recharge is modified by the groundwater exploitation. Here we focus on four methods selected to assess their suitability for estimating groundwater recharge in carbonate aquifers affected by intensive exploitation. The methods were applied to the Estepa Range aquifers of Seville, southern Spain, which are subjected to different degrees of exploitation. Two conventional methods were used: chloride mass balance and daily soil–water balance. These results were compared with the results obtained by means of two non-conventional methods, designed for application to the carbonate aquifers of southern Spain: the APLIS and ERAS methods. The results of the different methods are analogous, comparable to those obtained in nearby non-exploited carbonate aquifers, confirming their suitability for use with carbonate aquifers in either natural or exploited regimes in a semi-arid climate.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank to J. A. López-Geta and M. Martin-Machuca (Geological Survey of Spain) for encouraging this study and for their efforts in the monitoring of this aquifers. This study was supported by the projects TOPO-IBERIA CONSOLIDER-INGENIO CSD2006-00041, CGL2009 07721, CGL2009 11384, CGL2010 21048, CGL2010 15498, and CGL 2008 0367 E/BTE of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, as well as by Research Groups RNM-148 and RNM-123 of the Junta de Andalucía Regional Government. Jean Louise Sander has revised the English style. The authors thank Professor J. V. Giráldez (University of Cordoba) the special contribution in the daily-soil water balance section.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Survey of Spain, Madrid, Spain

    Sergio Martos-Rosillo & J. Carlos Rubio

  2. Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain

    Miguel Rodríguez-Rodríguez

  3. University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    J. Javier Cruz-SanJulián

  4. Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra , Avd. de las Palmeras, 4, Armilla, 18100, Granada, Spain

    Antonio Pedrera

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  1. Sergio Martos-Rosillo
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  2. Miguel Rodríguez-Rodríguez
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  3. Antonio Pedrera
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  4. J. Javier Cruz-SanJulián
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  5. J. Carlos Rubio
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Correspondence to Miguel Rodríguez-Rodríguez.

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Martos-Rosillo, S., Rodríguez-Rodríguez, M., Pedrera, A. et al. Groundwater recharge in semi-arid carbonate aquifers under intensive use: the Estepa Range aquifers (Seville, southern Spain). Environ Earth Sci 70, 2453–2468 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2288-0

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