Isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid, Southwestern Tunisia
Groundwater is a crucial resource for various purposes, especially in the arid land of Southern Tunisia. The assessment of its properties needs a deeper understanding of the main mineralization processes. Therefore, a comprehensive characterization of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid area has been...
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PAGEPress Publications
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Acque Sotterranee |
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| Online Access: | https://www.acquesotterranee.net/acque/article/view/791 |
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| author | Zohra Kraiem Kamel Zouari Najiba Chkir Aissa Hleimi |
| author_facet | Zohra Kraiem Kamel Zouari Najiba Chkir Aissa Hleimi |
| author_sort | Zohra Kraiem |
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Groundwater is a crucial resource for various purposes, especially in the arid land of Southern Tunisia. The assessment of its properties needs a deeper understanding of the main mineralization processes. Therefore, a comprehensive characterization of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid area has been carried out using isotope methods based on oxygen-18, deuterium, tritium, carbon-14 and carbon-13 on 46 water samples. The obtained results indicated that both oxygen-18 and deuterium pled to meteoric precipitations in the case of the Saharan aquifers. They also highlighted the mixing effect from deeper groundwaters of the underlying Senonian aquifer. This was not the case of the oasis shallow groundwaters, which resulted from the irrigation return flow. Deuterium excess showed that the dissolution of evaporites was considered the main process of salinization (contributing up to 90%), compared to evaporation for oasis groundwaters. Tritium data indicated the presence of a local recharge in the Saharan region; it was estimated by the chloride mass balance to be 13.2 mm/year. The combination of carbon-14 and carbon-13 showed two main groups of water: (1) waters of the Saharan aquifers showing a slight evolution from an old to a recent pole and (2) old waters represented by both the Senonian and the oasis aquifers. A third intermediate group highlighted the mixing effect in the case of several samples from the Saharan neighboring aquifers. In conclusion, isotope-based investigation of shallow aquifers may help decision-makers to set up a sustainable approach for groundwater management in the Djerid harsh environment.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1a1affd48e7245d3bc4352133fa2bad2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1828-454X 2280-6458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
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| series | Acque Sotterranee |
| spelling | doaj-art-1a1affd48e7245d3bc4352133fa2bad22025-08-20T02:53:43ZengPAGEPress PublicationsAcque Sotterranee1828-454X2280-64582025-04-0114110.7343/as-2025-791Isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid, Southwestern TunisiaZohra Kraiem0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5676-6510Kamel Zouari1Najiba Chkir2Aissa Hleimi3Radio-Analysis and Environment Laboratory, National Engineering School, University of SfaxRadio-Analysis and Environment Laboratory, National Engineering School, University of SfaxRadio-Analysis and Environment Laboratory, National Engineering School, University of Sfax; Department of Geography, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, SfaxWater Resources Directory, Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fishing Groundwater is a crucial resource for various purposes, especially in the arid land of Southern Tunisia. The assessment of its properties needs a deeper understanding of the main mineralization processes. Therefore, a comprehensive characterization of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid area has been carried out using isotope methods based on oxygen-18, deuterium, tritium, carbon-14 and carbon-13 on 46 water samples. The obtained results indicated that both oxygen-18 and deuterium pled to meteoric precipitations in the case of the Saharan aquifers. They also highlighted the mixing effect from deeper groundwaters of the underlying Senonian aquifer. This was not the case of the oasis shallow groundwaters, which resulted from the irrigation return flow. Deuterium excess showed that the dissolution of evaporites was considered the main process of salinization (contributing up to 90%), compared to evaporation for oasis groundwaters. Tritium data indicated the presence of a local recharge in the Saharan region; it was estimated by the chloride mass balance to be 13.2 mm/year. The combination of carbon-14 and carbon-13 showed two main groups of water: (1) waters of the Saharan aquifers showing a slight evolution from an old to a recent pole and (2) old waters represented by both the Senonian and the oasis aquifers. A third intermediate group highlighted the mixing effect in the case of several samples from the Saharan neighboring aquifers. In conclusion, isotope-based investigation of shallow aquifers may help decision-makers to set up a sustainable approach for groundwater management in the Djerid harsh environment. https://www.acquesotterranee.net/acque/article/view/791Shallow aquiferisotope toolsrechargemixingoxygen-18deuterium |
| spellingShingle | Zohra Kraiem Kamel Zouari Najiba Chkir Aissa Hleimi Isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid, Southwestern Tunisia Acque Sotterranee Shallow aquifer isotope tools recharge mixing oxygen-18 deuterium |
| title | Isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid, Southwestern Tunisia |
| title_full | Isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid, Southwestern Tunisia |
| title_fullStr | Isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid, Southwestern Tunisia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid, Southwestern Tunisia |
| title_short | Isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in Chott Djerid, Southwestern Tunisia |
| title_sort | isotope investigation of shallow aquifers in chott djerid southwestern tunisia |
| topic | Shallow aquifer isotope tools recharge mixing oxygen-18 deuterium |
| url | https://www.acquesotterranee.net/acque/article/view/791 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zohrakraiem isotopeinvestigationofshallowaquifersinchottdjeridsouthwesterntunisia AT kamelzouari isotopeinvestigationofshallowaquifersinchottdjeridsouthwesterntunisia AT najibachkir isotopeinvestigationofshallowaquifersinchottdjeridsouthwesterntunisia AT aissahleimi isotopeinvestigationofshallowaquifersinchottdjeridsouthwesterntunisia |