Article written by: Alireza Motevalli, Hamid Reza Moradi, Hossein Hashemi, Saman Javadi, Ronny Berndtsson in the Journal of Contaminant Hydrology.
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Highlights
• Coastal aquifer salinity risk assessed using a probabilistic approaches.
• 26% of aquifer area identified as high-risk (salinity extensity).
• Risk intensity reduced by up to 52% under management interventions.
• Recharge enhancement was the most effective strategy for risk mitigation.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess aquifer salinity risk by identifying high-risk land-use zones and proposing a new paradigm for groundwater resource management under salinization pressure. Salinity risk modeling was conducted with consideration of land-use patterns and agricultural production in the study region. The results revealed that approximately 26% of the aquifer lies within high-risk salinity zones. To mitigate this risk, three management strategies were evaluated: water balancing, crop pattern adaptation, and aquifer recharge. Implementation of these strategies reduced the extent of high and very high salinity risk areas by 6%, 9%, and 12.5%, respectively. Similarly, the maximum intensity of salinity risk decreased by 13%, 35%, and 52%, while the average intensity declined by 9%, 14%, and 55% under the balancing, adaptation, and recharge scenarios, respectively. These findings demonstrate that integrated groundwater management approaches, particularly recharge enhancement, can substantially reduce salinity risk and improve the resilience of coastal aquifers.
Read the full article here: Link to external website.