Open AccessStudies on water resources salinization along the Italian coast: 30 years of work
Author(s) -
Micòl Mastrocicco
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acque sotterranee
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2280-6458
pISSN - 1828-454X
DOI - 10.7343/as-2021-537
Subject(s) - human settlement , soil salinity , water resources , mediterranean climate , geography , distribution (mathematics) , natural resource , population , work (physics) , water resource management , environmental protection , environmental science , oceanography , salinity , ecology , geology , archaeology , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , demography , mathematics , sociology , engineering , biology
The population density on the Italian coasts is twice the national average. Numerous urban, economic, and productive settlements lie along the coast, which in many areas have altered the natural characteristics of the territory. Moreover, recent climate change studies forecast large impacts on the hydrologic cycle in the Mediterranean. Thus, in the next years, coastal water resources will be gradually more stressed. This in turn may result in a progressive salinization, which is a widespread and worrying phenomenon worldwide. In this paper, the historical and geographical distribution of peer-review studies focusing on the salinization of water resources along the Italian coasts will be critically discussed.