Environmental changes in the northern Antarctic Peninsula provide a sensitive local indicator of climate warming. A consequence of these changes is the activation of surface and subsurface hydrological cycles in areas where water, in colder conditions, would remain frozen. This paper analyses the effects of hydrological cycle activation at Cape Lamb, Vega Island. The conclusions are based on hydrochemistry and isotope interpretation of 51 representative water samples from precipitation, streams, lakes, ice, snow and groundwater. Based on these results relationships between the different components of the hydrological cycle are proposed. This paper highlights the important contribution of groundwater to surface water chemistry, the disconnection of the lakes from the overall flow, the lack of an ocean spray signature in surface water and groundwater and the significant influence of windblown dust in the composition of the analysed waters.

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Carbonate aquifers constitute a water reserve of essential importance for human supply. For this, it is necessary to establish suitable protection measures in order to achieve the good status of groundwater bodies intended for human supply according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The objective of this paper is to present a methodology to define safeguard zones for the protection of carbonate groundwater bodies intended for human consumption. To do this, firstly the risk of groundwater contamination is evaluated through a combination of characterising pressures and the evaluation of the intrinsic vulnerability to contamination. Secondly, the existing water abstraction points are identified and their zones of contribution are delineated in order to establish priorities when defining protective measures in the region. Finally, the existing wellhead protection areas and those defined according to the proposed methodology must be integrated into the delineated safeguard zones. The results obtained in a carbonate groundwater body in southern Spain are consistent with the existing quality data and they show the percentage of land that must be protected to preserve the quality of water intended for human consumption, thus facilitating their future integration into adequate land use planning tools.

In this work, the groundwater contamination risk is evaluated as a measure of protection for groundwater bodies intended for human consumption. For this purpose, intrinsic vulnerability maps and hazard maps of anthropogenic activities in the studied region have been taken into account. This region is constituted by carbonate aquifers that supply water to various populations. The methodology employed to determine the contamination risk was adapted from the COST Action 620 which was developed with the aim of protecting karst aquifer water. The vulnerability obtained through the PI method was modified to the COP method for the purpose of this study. The results obtained after evaluating the groundwater contamination risk show a predominance of the very low and low classes that cover more than 80 % of the study area. These areas coincide with outcrops of low permeability materials and an absence of pressures. Only 4 % of the region presents a high to very high risk of contamination which is located in areas of very high vulnerability and low to moderate pressures. These results are supported by chemical analyses of water sampled from a groundwater quality control network. Contamination risk studies are an important tool for the integrated management of groundwater and for designing protection measures. These protection measures should be incorporated into the territorial land use planning; furthermore they should define a possible plan of land uses and activities as well as establish limitations and prohibitions of impacting land uses and activities.

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