Nitrogen losses from non point agricultural sources, mainly originated by fertilizers’ application, have been recognized as one of the most serious threats for pollution of groundwater. The assessment of nitrogen losses from the soil surface and the degree of groundwater pollution constitutes the fundamental element in order to apply the measures and limitations established in the European Community Framework Directive for water protection (WFD). Several vulnerability methods have been developed in order to describe the intrinsic vulnerability of the groundwater to contamination. The LOS, SINTACS and GOD methods were applied in this study in order to assess the groundwater intrinsic vulnerability of the Ferrara Province. The first method is based on deterministic approach and regression analysis, while the other two are parametric methods based on weights and ratings. The three methods were applied and evaluated using experimental data obtained by a network of 56 piezometers, distributed in the whole area. The piezometers were installed in order to monitor both water table fluctuations and nitrogen inorganic species variation in the shallow aquifer over time. This study shows that the intrinsic vulnerability mapping of the study area is appreciably different using the three methods. This is mainly attributed to the different kind and number of parameters involved in the different methods, more than to their different weights and ratings. On the basis of the collected data, the LOS indices method provided the best estimates. Nevertheless, SINTACS and GOD methods can be used for a preliminary assessment of intrinsic vulnerability, prior to apply the LOS indices which are more data and time requiring.
Comparison of three different methods for groundwater intrinsic vulnerability mapping in the Ferrara Province (IT)
SALEMI, Enzo;MASTROCICCO, Micol;COLOMBANI, Nicolo';ASCHONITIS, Vasileios
2012
Abstract
Nitrogen losses from non point agricultural sources, mainly originated by fertilizers’ application, have been recognized as one of the most serious threats for pollution of groundwater. The assessment of nitrogen losses from the soil surface and the degree of groundwater pollution constitutes the fundamental element in order to apply the measures and limitations established in the European Community Framework Directive for water protection (WFD). Several vulnerability methods have been developed in order to describe the intrinsic vulnerability of the groundwater to contamination. The LOS, SINTACS and GOD methods were applied in this study in order to assess the groundwater intrinsic vulnerability of the Ferrara Province. The first method is based on deterministic approach and regression analysis, while the other two are parametric methods based on weights and ratings. The three methods were applied and evaluated using experimental data obtained by a network of 56 piezometers, distributed in the whole area. The piezometers were installed in order to monitor both water table fluctuations and nitrogen inorganic species variation in the shallow aquifer over time. This study shows that the intrinsic vulnerability mapping of the study area is appreciably different using the three methods. This is mainly attributed to the different kind and number of parameters involved in the different methods, more than to their different weights and ratings. On the basis of the collected data, the LOS indices method provided the best estimates. Nevertheless, SINTACS and GOD methods can be used for a preliminary assessment of intrinsic vulnerability, prior to apply the LOS indices which are more data and time requiring.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
