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Geophysical approach for assessment of seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifer of Wadi Nador (Tipaza, Algeria)

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Abstract

The aquifer of Nador has suffered significant salinization due to seawater intrusion. It was strongly exploited during the 1980s and 1990s. A piezometric analysis in April 2012 showed the piezometric level to lie at 0 m a.s.l. over the plain; as a result, this aquifer is highly sensitive to the marine intrusion with an electrical conductivity of the groundwater in of exceeds 2500 μS/cm and so there are no abstractions for irrigation or drinking purpose from these sectors. The geoelectric study also showed the lateral variation in the electrical resistivity for two moments separated in time by more than 45 years. The fall in resistivity may be due to the encroachment of seawater into previously freshwater zones and/or infiltration during the era of pumped abstractions downstream. The resistivity surveys reveal two distinct sectors: the saturated aquifer in brackish and saltwater having resistivity values to 36-10 Ωm, which extends nearly 1600 m inland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Khemis Miliana, Ain Defla, Algeria

    Abdelkader Bouderbala

  2. Institute of Water Sciences, University of Blida, Blida, Algeria

    Boualem Remini

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  1. Abdelkader Bouderbala
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  2. Boualem Remini
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Correspondence to Abdelkader Bouderbala.

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Bouderbala, A., Remini, B. Geophysical approach for assessment of seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifer of Wadi Nador (Tipaza, Algeria). Acta Geophys. 62, 1352–1372 (2014). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-014-0220-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-014-0220-y

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