A Holistic Approach to Study Groundwater-Surface Water Modifications Induced by Strong Earthquakes: The Case of Campiano Catchment (Central Italy)

Hydrology

Carlo Cardellini¹  Daniela Valigi¹  Costanza Cambi¹  Francesco Mirabella¹  Emiliano Patacchiola¹  Davide Fronzi²  Alberto Tazioli²  Stefano Caliro³  Elisa Mammoliti⁴ 

[1] Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via Pascoli snc, 06123 Perugia, Italy;Dipartimento di Scienze e Ingegneria della Materia, dell’Ambiente ed Urbanistica (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona, Italy;Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Napoli, Osservatorio Vesuviano (INGV-OV), Via Diocleziano 328, 80124 Naples, Italy;Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie, Sezione di Geologia, Università di Camerino, Via Gentile III da Varano, 62032 Camerino, Italy;

关键词: faults;    carbonate aquifers;    earthquakes;    tracer tests;    isotope hydrology;    depletion coefficient;   

DOI  :  10.3390/hydrology9060097

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Carbonate aquifers are characterised by strong heterogeneities and their modelling is often a challenging aspect in hydrological studies. Understanding carbonate aquifers can be more complicated in the case of strong seismic events which have been widely demonstrated to influence groundwater flow over wide areas or on a local scale. The 2016–2017 seismic sequence of Central Italy is a paradigmatic example of how earthquakes play an important role in groundwater and surface water modifications. The Campiano catchment, which experienced significant discharge modifications immediately after the mainshocks of the 2016–2017 seismic sequence (Mmax = 6.5) has been analysed in this study. The study area is within an Italian national park (Sibillini Mts.) and thus has importance from a naturalistic and socio-economic standpoint. The research strategy coupled long-period artificial tracer tests (conducted both before and after the main earthquakes), geochemical and discharge analyses and isotope hydrology with hydrogeological cross-sections. This study highlights how the seismic sequence temporarily changed the behaviour of the normal faults which act predominantly as barriers to flow in the inter-seismic period, with water flow being normally favoured along the fault strikes. On the contrary, during earthquakes, groundwater flow can be significantly diverted perpendicularly to fault-strikes due to co-seismic fracturing and a consequent permeability increase. The interaction between groundwater and surface water is not only important from the point of view of scientific research but also has significant implications at an economic and social level.

【 授权许可】

Unknown