Abstract: Degradation of the quality of groundwater due to salinization processes is one of the key issues limiting the global dependence on groundwater in aquifers. As the salinization of shallow aquifers is closely related to root-zone salinization, the two must be considered together. This chapter initially describes the physical and chemical processes causing salinization of the root-zone and shallow aquifers, highlighting the dynamics of these processes and how they can be influenced by irrigation and drainage practices, thus illustrating the connectivity between soil and groundwater salinization. The processes leading to aquifer salinization in both inland and coastal areas are discussed. The roles of extractive resource industries, such as mining and coal bed methane operations, in causing aquifer salinization are also outlined. Hydrogeochemical changes occurring during salinization of aquifers are examined with the aid of Piper and Mixing Diagrams. The chapter then illustrates the extent of the problem of groundwater salinization as influenced by management and policy using two case studies. The first is representative of a developing country and explores management of salt-affected soils in the Indus Valley, Pakistan, while the second looks at a developed country, and illustrates how through monitoring we can deduce causes of shallow aquifer salinity in the Namoi Catchment of NSW, Australia. Finally, there is a section on integration and conclusions where we illustrate how management to mitigate salinization needs to be integrated with policy to diminish the threat to productivity that occurs with groundwater degradation.

Abstract: This paper presents an alternative approach to deal with seawater intrusion problems, that overcomes some of the limitations of previous works, by coupling the well-known SWI2 package for MODFLOW with a stochastic inverse model named GC method. On the one hand, the SWI2 allows a vertically integrated variable-density groundwater flow and seawater intrusion in coastal multi-aquifer systems, and a reduction in number of required model cells and the elimination of the need to solve the advective-dispersive transport equation, which leads to substantial model run-time savings. On the other hand, the GC method allows dealing with groundwater parameter uncertainty by constraining stochastic simulations to flow and mass transport data (i.e., hydraulic conductivity, freshwater heads, saltwater concentrations and travel times) and also to secondary information obtained from expert judgment or geophysical surveys, thus reducing uncertainty and increasing reliability in meeting the environmental standards. The methodology has been successfully applied to a transient movement of the freshwater-seawater interface in response to changing freshwater inflow in a two-aquifer coastal aquifer system, where an uncertainty assessment has been carried out by means of Monte Carlo simulation techniques. The approach also allows partially overcoming the neglected diffusion and dispersion processes after the conditioning process since the uncertainty is reduced and results are closer to available data.

Abstract: The Roussillon sedimentary Basin (South France) is a complex multi-layered aquifer, close to the Mediterranean Sea facing seasonally increases of water abstraction and salinization issues. We report geochemical and isotopic vertical variability in this aquifer using groundwater sampled with a Westbay System® at two coastal monitoring sites: Barcarès and Canet. The Westbay sampling allows pointing out and explaining the variation of water quality along vertical profiles, both in productive layers and in the less permeable ones where most of the chemical processes are susceptible to take place. The aquifer layers are not equally impacted by salinization, with electrical conductivity ranging from 460 to 43,000μS·cm−1. The δ2H–δ18O signatures show mixing between seawater and freshwater components with long water residence time as evidenced by the lack of contribution from modern water using 3H, 14C and CFCs/SF6. S(SO4) isotopes also evidence seawater contribution but some signatures can be related to oxidation of pyrite and/or organically bounded S. In the upper layers 87Sr/86Sr ratios are close to that of seawater and then increase with depth, reflecting water–rock interaction with argillaceous formations while punctual low values reflect interaction with carbonate. Boron isotopes highlight secondary processes such as adsorption/desorption onto clays in addition to mixings. At the Barcarès site (120m deep), the high salinity in some layers appear to be related neither to present day seawater intrusion, nor to Salses-Leucate lagoonwater intrusion. Groundwater chemical composition thus highlights binary mixing between fresh groundwater and inherited salty water together with cation exchange processes, water–rock interactions and, locally, sedimentary organic matter mineralisation probably enhanced by pyrite oxidation. Finally, combining the results of this study and those of Caballero and Ladouche (2015), we discuss the possible future evolution of this aquifer system under global change, as well as the potential management strategies needed to preserve quantitatively and qualitatively this water resource.