Quantitative Impact of Climate Variations on Groundwater in Southern Italy

Abstract

The variability of precipitation and temperature, the combined effect of which determines a decreasing trend of recharge, is critic for groundwater resources due to the overlapping with the increasing exploitation. In Campania, from the eighties to 2008 precipitation has decreased, not uniformly in the whole region; now the trend seems increasing, but this trend is highly influenced by the period 2008–2011, very rainy. In Apulia, the decreasing trend of rainfall is notable after 1980: the droughts of 1988–92 and 1999–2001 appear to be exceptional. The Apulian piezometric trend of the last 40 years highlights the dramatic decrease of groundwater availability. This remarkable lowering defines a widespread quantity degradation. The situation severity of groundwater resources is worsened by the effects on the quality of groundwater resources due to the salinization of the wide coastal aquifers of the whole Southern Italy.