Soil and wetland salinization in the framework of the Danube-Tisza Interfluve hydrogeologic type section

Abstract

The Danube-Tisza Interfluve has an agricultural economy but is plagued by severe problems of soil and wetland salinization. The objective of the study was to determine the source of the salts and the controls and mechanism of their distribution. For the Danube-Tisza Interfluve two different groundwater flow regimes, namely a gravity-driven meteoric fresh water regime and an overpressured saline water one, were identified within the framework of the Danube-Tisza Hydrogeologic Type Section (Mádl-Szonyi and Tóth 2009). It was also recognized that the salts originate partly from the basin sediments and partly from the basin basement. The latter contains NaCl-type water with 10000-38000 mgL -1 total dissolved solid content. The vertical flow through conductive faults and the cross-formational ascent of the deep waters, combined with the gravitational systems' geometry and the flow-channeling effect of the near-surface rocks, explain the pattern of soil salinization and the contrasting chemistry between the wetlands of Danube Valley and the Ridge Region.