Stratigraphic architecture and anthropic impacts on subsoil to assess the intrinsic potential vulnerability of groundwater: the northeastern Campania Plain case study, southern Italy

Ruberti, Daniela; Vigliotti, Marco; Marzaioli, Rossana; Pacifico, Annamaria; Ermice, Antonella

doi:10.1007/s12665-013-2436-6

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The latter (Figure 3b) form a large piedmont glacis connected to the hills through wedges of detrital fans consisting of reworked volcanic and calcareous even coarse debris [40][41][42]. Below the CGT, marine and transitional sediments intercalated with pyroclastic layers [42][43][44] are found; above the CGT a discontinuous layer of paleosol, with a maximum thickness of 2 m [41,43], marks the transition to the thin volcaniclastic deposits of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff. Alluvial sediments are present close to the hill slopes.…”

Section: Site B Eastern Sector Of Campania Plainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Vulnerability to Agricultural Nitrate in Two Highly Diversified Environmental Settings

2020

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A significant rise of groundwater pollution has been registered worldwide, where nitrate has been recognized as the most widespread pollutant. In this context, the groundwater vulnerability assessment and more specifically the delineation of “Nitrate Vulnerable Zones” represents a reliable cost-effective tool for groundwater management. In this study, the Agricultural Nitrate Hazard Index (ANHI) method was applied to two case histories in southern Italy: the Lete River catchment and the eastern sector of the Campania Plain. The first area is characterized by agricultural activities and a low anthropic influence while the eastern part of the Campania Plain, around Caserta city, is strongly urbanized and developed on an extensive alluvial plain filled with volcaniclastic deposits. The parametric method applied suggests moderate hazard for the more natural setting highlighting how the intensive crop farming and livestock activities that characterized the area negatively influenced the results. For the eastern part of the Campania Plain, where a strong urbanization and widespread industrial crops are dominant, a low to very low hazard has been identified. The groundwater quality value, in contrast with the methodology results underlines the importance of further risk evaluations based on accurate aquifer characterization. A multiple year assessment based on land use change and climate variation could further highlights the difference between the study areas.

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Section: Site B Eastern Sector Of Campania Plainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Vulnerability to Agricultural Nitrate in Two Highly Diversified Environmental Settings

2020

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“…The stratigraphic reconstruction relies on more than 1500 shallow borehole stratigraphies (mostly up to 20-30 m in depth) located along the lower Volturno plain. Sedimentological analyses were performed on boreholes drilled on the delta plain and compared with radiocarbon dating previously performed [29,30,37].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Holocene Evolution of the Volturno Coastal Plain (Northern Campania, Southern Italy): Implications for the Understanding of Subsidence Patterns

Buffardi

Barbato²,

Vigliotti

et al. 2021

Water

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In the Mediterranean area, several alluvial coastal plains, developed after the Holocene transgression, are affected by subsidence. The Volturno alluvial-coastal plain, along the eastern Tyrrhenian Sea (southern Italy) is characterized by subsidence rates determined through InSAR data analysis and ranging between 0 and <−20 mm/yr in an area of about 750 kmq across the Volturno River. Inside this area, the pattern of subsidence shows sites with apparently anomalous localized subsidence. To understand the driving mechanisms of this process, a lithostratigraphic reconstruction was provided focusing on the spatial distribution of the horizons considered weak by a geotechnical point of view; then, the subsidence map was overlain spatially with geological data in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The spatial analysis highlighted the major ground deformation occurring within the outer boundary of the incised paleo-valley, corresponding to the Holocene alluvial/transitional filling that overlies a compaction-free Pleistocene basement. Inside this general trend, differential compaction was detected corresponding to the thick occurrence of clay and peat deposits, suggesting that the subsidence rate registered in the plain are due in part to the consolidation of primary settlements of soft and compressible soils that characterize the subsoil of these areas, and in large part to the secondary consolidation settlements.

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“…From a geological point of view, this area belongs to the larger Pliocene structural depression (graben) of the Campanian Plain, which was filled with pyroclastic deposits and lavas erupted by the Phlegraean Fields (60 k-yrs-1538 A.D.) and Mount Somma-Vesuvius (39 k-yrs-1944 A.D.) volcanic centers [51,52]. In addition, during the Plio-Pleistocene period, alluvial, marine, and fluvio-palustrine sediments filled the tectonic depression, forming a pyroclastic-alluvial plain characterized by a high stratigraphic heterogeneity and lateral variability [53,54].…”

Section: Study Area Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through a first analysis of the borehole data, principal stratigraphic settings were recognized as mainly formed by typical and complex interfingering between alluvial deposits and pyroclastic soils erupted by the Phlegraean Fields and Somma-Vesuvius Volcanoes and generally characterized by alternating fine to coarse ashes and pumiceous lapilli horizons [54,66]. Starting from these data, 1D representative hydro-stratigraphic models were reconstructed down to the depth of 20 m, considering both homogeneous and heterogeneous stratigraphic conditions, with soil horizons varying in grain size from sand to silt.…”

Section: Modeling Of Nitrate Pollutant Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Assessment of Specific Vulnerability to Nitrate Pollution of Shallow Alluvial Aquifers by Process-Based and Empirical Approaches

Fusco

Allocca

Coda

et al. 2020

Water

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Shallow aquifers of coastal and internal alluvial plains of developed countries are commonly characterized by the challenging management of groundwater resources due to the intense agricultural and industrial activities that determine a high risk of groundwater contamination. Among the principal origins of pollution in these areas are agricultural practices based on the amendment of soils by nitrate fertilizers, which have been recognized as one of the most severe environmental emergencies for which specific policies and regulations have been issued (e.g., EU Directive 2006/118/EC). In such a framework, the results of research aimed at assessing the specific vulnerability of shallow alluvial aquifers to nitrate fertilizer pollutants by coupled process-based and empirical approaches are here proposed. The research focused on assessing the specific vulnerability to nitrate pollution of a shallow alluvial aquifer of the Campania region (southern Italy), which was selected due to its representativeness to other recurrent hydrogeological settings occurring in alluvial plains of the region and worldwide. In this area, 1D hydro-stratigraphic models of the unsaturated zone were reconstructed and applied for simulating the transport of nitrate pollutants at the water table and estimating the associated travel times. Numerical modeling was carried out by the finite differences VS2TDI code and considered a 10-year time series of rainfall and evapotranspiration as well as typical local farming practices of nitrate fertilizer input. Results of the travel time calculated for the 1D hydro-stratigraphic models considered and at different depths were recognized as a proxy to assess the specific vulnerability to nitrate fertilizer pollution. Among the principal outcomes is an empirical multiple correlation between the travel time of the nitrate fertilizer pollutant, water table depth, and equivalent saturated hydraulic conductivity of the unsaturated zone or hydraulic resistance, which was used to assess the travel time at the distributed scale over the whole area studied as well as the related specific vulnerability. Given such results, the coupled process-based and empirical approach is proposed as generally applicable for assessing and mapping groundwater vulnerability in shallow aquifers, for which detailed stratigraphic and piezometric data are available.

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Stratigraphic architecture and anthropic impacts on subsoil to assess the intrinsic potential vulnerability of groundwater: the northeastern Campania Plain case study, southern Italy

Cited by 12 publications

References 23 publications

Assessment of the Vulnerability to Agricultural Nitrate in Two Highly Diversified Environmental Settings

Assessment of the Vulnerability to Agricultural Nitrate in Two Highly Diversified Environmental Settings

The Holocene Evolution of the Volturno Coastal Plain (Northern Campania, Southern Italy): Implications for the Understanding of Subsidence Patterns

Quantitative Assessment of Specific Vulnerability to Nitrate Pollution of Shallow Alluvial Aquifers by Process-Based and Empirical Approaches

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