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Hydrogeological behaviour of some fault zones in a carbonate aquifer of Southern Italy: an experimentally based model
Author(s) -
Celico Fulvio,
Petrella Emma,
Celico Pietro
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
terra nova
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.353
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-3121
pISSN - 0954-4879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2006.00694.x
Subject(s) - aquifer , hydrogeology , geology , hydraulic conductivity , carbonate , groundwater flow , groundwater , siliciclastic , petrology , fault (geology) , permeability (electromagnetism) , carbonate rock , geomorphology , aquifer properties , geotechnical engineering , hydrology (agriculture) , geochemistry , structural basin , soil science , groundwater recharge , sedimentary rock , seismology , sedimentary depositional environment , materials science , genetics , membrane , biology , metallurgy , soil water
Complex flow circulation patterns are likely to be present in fault‐controlled groundwater flow systems, such as carbonate aquifers. Nevertheless, not much information is available for faults in carbonates, and their hydrogeological behaviour is often neglected in conceptual and numerical models. The understanding of this aspect of subsurface fluid flow has been improved in a carbonate aquifer, where hydrogeological investigations at site scale demonstrated the existence of fault zones that act as barriers. The hydraulic conductivity of the fault core is as low as that of siliciclastic rocks that represent the regional aquitard of the carbonate aquifer. Despite the lower permeability, the fault zones allow a significant groundwater flowthrough and a good interdependence of piezometric heads upgradient and downgradient of the faults. Because of this discontinuous heterogeneity, the aquifer looks like a basins‐in‐series system, where seasonal springs can be detected along some fault zones, as a function of groundwater level fluctuations.