干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

A compact laser spectrofluorometer has been developed and employed in the diagnosis of water quality parameters in the frame of the Italian project Integrated Research for Applying new technologies and processes for combating DEsertification (RIADE). The instrument has been designed to be autonomously operated in field campaigns as that conducted in the groundwater-bearing areas of Licata (Southern Italy), affected by high salinity contents induced by the Salso river and by coastal seawater intrusion phenomena. Dissolved (chromophoric dissolved organic matter, tyrosine and tryptophan) and particulate (algae) matter was monitored during the abovementioned field campaign (May 2005) in different wells within the countryside around the Licata area. Measurements of that monitoring activity were therefore compared to: a) the groundwater depth of wells, b) the in situ measurement of chemical-physical parameters (electrical conductivity, pH and temperature) and c) the geochemical composition of the groundwater. The results stress the reduction of water retain due to salt releases in the aquifers. Georeferenced maps of the measured parameters are presented and discussed.