#aquifer — Public Fediverse posts

La Grotta Rotolo, nota anche come Abisso Donato Boscia, rappresenta il cuore estremo del carsismo pugliese e detiene il record assoluto di profondità della regione. Situato nel Canale di Pirro in territorio di Monopoli, è un sistema sotterraneo di immenso valore esplorativo e idrogeologico.

La grotta scende fino a -324 metri nel sottosuolo, l'unica in Puglia a raggiungere e intercettare direttamente il livello della falda idrica profonda. Un abisso tecnico dominato da maestosi pozzi verticali e complesse condotte scavate nei calcari del Cretaceo.

Rilevanza scientifica: Offre una finestra senza precedenti per lo studio, il monitoraggio e la tutela degli acquiferi sotterranei dell'altopiano murgiano.

La sua esplorazione è frutto prevalentemente della tenacia del CAI-GASP e dei gruppi speleologici locali (scoperta nel 2012), la sua progressione richiede preparazione tecnica e tenacia.

Qui alcuni scatti sul fondo, ad agosto 2025, dove ormai è evidente l'abbassamento del livello della falda, con la storica pedana in legno adesso ben alta rispetto all'acqua.

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Grotta Rotolo, also known as the Donato Boscia Abyss, represents the extreme heart of Apulian karst and holds the absolute depth record for the region. Located in the Canale di Pirro within the territory of Monopoli, it is a subterranean system of immense exploratory and hydrogeological value.

The cave drops to a depth of -324 meters underground, making it the only one in Apulia to reach and directly intercept the deep water table. A technical abyss, it is dominated by majestic vertical shafts and complex conduits carved into Cretaceous limestone.

Scientific significance: It provides an unprecedented window for studying, monitoring, and protecting the Murge plateau's underground aquifers.

Its exploration is primarily the result of the persistence of the CAI-GASP and local caving groups (discovered in 2012); progressing through it demands technical skill and endurance.

Here are a few shots from the bottom in August of 2025, where the drop in the water table is now clearly evident, with the historic wooden platform sitting well above the waterline.

#Speleology #GrottaRotolo #Puglia #Murgia #Geology #Carsismo #Caving #photography #aquifer #caves

💧 Aggressive groundwater and the long memory of contamination

Even after more than a decade of monitoring, the groundwater in this carbonate aquifer remains undersaturated with respect to calcite — consistently showing negative SI values across nearly all observation wells.

This means that the system is still chemically aggressive toward limestone, slowly dissolving the host rock.
The impoundment, operating since 1976, continues to influence the aquifer — with the geometry of possible subsurface voids still uncertain to this day.

📘 All supporting data and modeling results are included in the draft monograph:
🔗 https://zenodo.org/records/16741148

🧪 Data & visualization: PHREEQC + R + QGIS

#Hydrogeochemistry #Geochemistry #MineWater #Groundwater #PHREEQC #EnvironmentalGeoscience #IndependentResearch #OpenScience #QGIS #RStats #Aquifer #Zenodo #SvystunovaGully #GroundwaterContamination #FOSS

🌎 Mapping dominant chemical speciation in a polluted carbonate aquifer

In my recent modeling work, I modeled the dominant forms of element speciation in groundwater within a carbonate system.

Beyond pure geochemical curiosity, this approach provides a practical lens:
– it reveals where mineral precipitation is most probable,
– and helps identify zones where remediation can be most effective.

💻 Combining thermodynamic modeling (PHREEQC) with spatial analysis in R and QGIS turns subsurface processes into actionable insights for water-quality management and contamination mitigation.

Two figures below show the modeled distribution of cadmium species across the aquifer and their evolution with dilution

📘 Full details in the draft monograph:
🔗 https://zenodo.org/records/16741148

#Geochemistry #Hydrogeology #PHREEQC #GroundwaterContamination #MineWater #EnvironmentalGeochemistry #Metasomatism #Aquifer #RStats #QGIS #GeospatialAnalysis #OpenScience #IndependentResearch #WaterQuality #Remediation #SvystunovaGully

Groundwater Sustainability And Land Subsidence In California’s Central Valley
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https://doi.org/10.3390/w16081189 <-- shared paper
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#groundwater #landsubsidence #wateravailability #CentralValley #water #hydrology #subsidence #pumping #overpumping #vulnerable #damage #California #GIS #spatial #mapping #overpumping #extraction #waterresources #agriculture #irrigation #farming #crops #vegetables #landuse #storage #watersecurity #waterquality #sustainability #management #plan #SGMA #USGS #CVHM #model #modeling #numericalmodeling #modflow #groundwatermodel #climatechange #recharge #geology #engineeringgeology #geomorphometry #aquifer #recharge #well #waterbalance #streamflow #risk #hazard #impacts #storageloss #infrastructure #climateextremes #planning #earthobservation #remotesensing #salinity #seawater #intrusion #saltwater #insar #saltwaterintrusion
@USGS

A Perfect Storm Of Factors Is Causing Major East Coast Cities To Sink. What Are They, And Can We Do Anything About It?
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https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/a-perfect-storm-of-factors-is-causing-major-east-coast-cities-to-sink-what-are-they-and-can-we-do-anything-about-it <-- shared technical article
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https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad426 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #coast #coastal #risk #hazard #subsidence #landsubsidence #infrastructure #EastCoast #USA #geology #sediments #engineeringgeology #remotesensing #radar #NewYork #Baltimore #Norfolk #planning #mitigation #climatechange #movement #sealevel #sealevelrise #SLR #flooding #urbanplanning #urban #cities #city #glacial #sediment #glacialisostaticadjustment #groundwater #pumping #groundwaterextraction #water #aquifer #weight #buildings #watermanagement #spatialanalysis #model #spatiotemporal

Arguably Australia's most precious asset.
The largest and deepest confined #freshwater #aquifer on Earth 1,700,000 square kilometers.
Let's look after it 🙏
#water #naturalresource
[Pic: Muja Mundu Creations]

Scientists Map Loss Of Groundwater Storage Around The World
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https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-loss-groundwater-storage-world.html <-- shared technical article
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41933-z <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #insar #radar #groundwater #pumping #waterresources #AI #machinelearning #subsidence #landsubsidence #engineeringgeology #risk #hazard #water #hydrology #global #agriculture #urban #extraction #impacts #humanimpacts #opendata #model #modeling #numericmodeling #watersecurity #storage #storageloss #aquifer #groundwaterstress #aquiferdepletion #geomorphometry

The Ghost Of Tulare Lake Returns, Flooding California’s Central Valley
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https://grist.org/extreme-weather/tulare-lake-flooding-california-central-valley-subsidence-agriculture/ <-- shared article
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #TulareLake #CentralValley #California #Tulare #flood #flooding #subsidence #groundwater #pumping #aquifer #mining #elevation #remotesensing #agriculture #framing #croplands #runoff #water #hydrology #rainfall #precipitation #landsubsidence #groundsubsidence #snowmelt