Nitrate, sulphate and chloride contents in public drinking water supplies in Sicily, Italy.
Water samples collected from public drinking water supplies in Sicily were analysed for electric conductivity and for their chloride, sulphate and nitrate contents. The samples were collected as uniformly as possible from throughout the Sicilian territory, with an average sampling density of about one sample for every 7,600 inhabitants. Chloride contents that ranged from 5.53 to 1,302 mg/l were correlated strongly with electric conductivity, a parameter used as a proxy for water salinity. The highest values are attributable to seawater contamination along the coasts of the island. High chloride and sulphate values attributable to evaporitic rock dissolution were found in the central part of…
Assessment of the Geochemical Potential in a Complex Tectonic Environment of South-East Sicily: New Insights From Hydrochemical Data
We analyzed a large dataset (143 water sampling sites, 22 variables) of chemical parameters in local groundwaters from the south-east sector of Sicily, namely the Hyblean plateau, in order to set an original evaluation of its geothermal potential using applied geochemistry. The area was affected by volcanism until about 1.4 Ma. Today, though no active volcanism occurs, it is site of surface gas manifestations of focused degassing to which a mantle source has been attributed. We identified and thence selected the most promising sites (water springs and wells) based both on their main geochemical characteristics and on their calculated equilibrium temperature (resulting in the range between 5…
Evaluation of the environmental impact of volcanic emissions from the chemistry of rainwater: Mount Etna area (Sicily)
Abstract The S, halogen and NO 3 contents of rainwater samples from the Etnean area were studied in order to define the environmental impact of plume emissions on the local environment. Samples, collected on a network of 11 bulk rain gauges, show significant variability in anion content, which can be ascribed to different meteorological and environmental conditions at each sampling site and to a variable distance from the different source areas. Data analysis suggests that S, F, Cl and Br are mainly magma-derived, whereas NO 3 mainly originates from anthropogenic sources. Samples collected from sites close to craters display considerable temporal variability, with increased anion concentrat…