• Energy Research

The hydrological monitoring of springs is an auxiliary and indispensable tool that goes alongside investigations in wells to reconstruct a conceptual phenomenological model of an aquifer–groundwater system and its interactions with surface waters. There are manifold ways to carry out this monitoring, but the choice of which way is significant for a correct qualitative and quantitative knowledge of spring systems. The present work focuses on the characterization of the thermo-saline and flow regimes of the Tara spring system along the northern coast of Taranto (southern Italy), where a karst groundwater basin is the major source of the Tara River and the surrounding coastal wetland. A series of measurements was carried out on the spring system to support a technical feasibility study on the possible use of the brackish water of this river to feed a future desalination plant. To estimate the flow rate, a comparison was made between different flow measurement methods in a derivation channel. Through an analysis of the available dataset, the response of the aquifer to the autumn–winter recharge, for which updated hydrologic measurements were not available, is highlighted.

Bioclimatic indices combine atmospheric parameters to provide analytical indication of climatic features and their evolution in space and time that can directly relate with natural resource availability, distribution, and related bio-physical processes. The availability of bioclimatic information can provide natural resource managers with analytical means to assess the magnitude and temporal evolution of drought and climate change parameters that could affect the availability, demand and use of natural resources for various sectors. This paper presents a methodology to process bioclimatic data in the space and time domains for assessing the moisture/dryness level and water requirements of a region, and inform water resource planning and management decisions related to drought, climate variability and change. The methodology relies on a modular assembly of statistical tests and methods, and utilizes point scale measurements of meteorological data to perform the analysis of the spatial behavior of derived bioclimatic indicators at the continuous regional scale, and evaluate the significance of the temporal trends. Also, the article presents an application of the proposed methodology to a coastal area of southern Italy (the Apulia Region) that is characterized by recurring water supply limitations, involving the use of the popular De Martonne bioclimatic aridity index. The methodology allowed to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about the aridity level of the Apulia region, the identification of main bioclimatic zones, and the evaluation of spatial pattern and time evolution of aridity. The determination of bioclimatic zones showed that nearly 40% of the regional territory is characterized by dry sub-humid (Mediterranean) climate, about 30% by sub-humid climate, while nearly 10% and 20% are characterized by semi-arid and humid climates, respectively. The temporal analysis revealed that the Salento and the Ionian coastal zone are areas at risk of increasing aridity, with resulting impacts on the water supply and demand for irrigated agriculture.