Geochemistry of groundwater at the seawater/freshwater interface of the Santa Cesarea thermal springs (south Italy)

Livia Emanuela Zuffianò, Maurizio Polemio, Pier Paolo Limoni & Francesca Santaloia
(a) CNR – IRPI, Address: Via Amendola 122/I, 70126 Bari, Italy, Email: m.polemio@ba.irpi.cnr.it

Geochemical processes occurring at the seawater/freshwater interface were studied for the aquifer feeding the Santa Cesarea thermal springs, located along the coastal sector of the Salento peninsula (southern Italy). In this coastal area, seawater is moving into the freshwater carbonate aquifer, pushing so inland beneath the freshwater and creating so an extremely active geochemical environment. In the transition zone, the interaction between the freshwater/saltwater and the aquifer rocks could affect the geochemical composition of the groundwater itself, modifying it even profoundly, as discussed in the paper. The geochemical processes occurring at a seawater/freshwater interface are also described together with the chemical composition of Santa Cesarea thermal springs.

Carbonate aquifer, thermal springs, coastal aquifer, Apulia, Italy