Seawater intrusion and coastal groundwater resources management. Examples from two Mediterranean regions: Catalonia and Sardinia Authors Josep Mas-Pla 1.Institut Català de Recerca de l’Aigua (ICRA), Girona, Catalonia. 2.Grup de Geologia Aplicada i Ambiental (GAiA), Centre de Geologia i Cartografia Ambiental (Geocamb), Dept. Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Catalonia. Giorgio Ghiglieri Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Laboratorio TeleGis, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Caglari.. Gabriele Uras 4Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale e Architettura, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari. Keywords: seawater intrusion, salinity, water management, Sardinia Abstract Seawater intrusion is a natural phenomenon that allows the encroachment of saline water into aquifers. Nevertheless, many human actions along the coastline, in particular groundwater withdrawal, enhance this process and finally cause the salinization of groundwater resources. Here we review the hydrogeological basis of seawater intrusion and describe specific cases in Catalonia and Sardinia, as examples of environmental problems and water management actions. We emphasize the origin of salinization and the hydrogeological details of each case, as well as the solutions that have been implemented to prevent groundwater salinization. [Contrib Sci 10:171-184 (2014)] Downloads PDF Issue Vol. 10 No. 2 (2014) Section Research reviews License This work is subject, unless the contrary is indicated in the text, the photographs or in other illustrations, to an Attribution —Non-Commercial— No Derivative Works 3.0 Creative Commons License, the full text of which can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. You are free to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work provided that the author is credited and reuse of the material is restricted to non-commercial purposes only and that no derivative works are created from the original material.
