Saltwater encroachment or intrusion is the shoreward movement of water from a sea or ocean into confined or unconfined coastal aquifers and the subsequent displacement of fresh water from these aquifers.
The hydrostatic equilibrium between immiscible freshwater and saltwater bodies in contact with each other along a certain interface was studied first by Ghyben and Herzberg (De Wiest, 1965). The equation for the depth of the interface is (Figure G4)
where ρf is the density of fresh water, ρs is the density of salt water, z w is the height of the freshwater table above mean sea level, and z sis the depth of the interface below sea level. This equation is in good agreement with measurements made in the field indicating that for every meter of fresh water above mean sea level, the thickness of the freshwater lens resting on the salt water was about 40m. The limitations of the hydrostatic theory are obvious: if both fluids were truly in static condition, the water table would have...
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De Wiest, R.J.M. (1998). Ghyben–herzberg theory . In: Encyclopedia of Hydrology and Lakes. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4497-6_104
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