Salento, the southernmost part of Apulia, is an elongated peninsula, wide some 30-40 km. Outcropping of carbonate rocks made karst the main agent in controlling the landscape in the area, with formation of many natural caves, both inland and along the coasts. The human pressure, mostly deriving from the high tourist presence during summer, has repeatedly caused severe problems of sea water intrusion in the area. Karst research in Salento may therefore be approached from many different perspectives, including, but not limited to, karst hydrogeology, speleogenesis, relationships between karst phases and sea level fluctuations, and interaction of karst caves and groundwater with human activities. Within the framework of a project funded by Apulia Region, dedicated to control of groundwater quality and quantity, several research activities have been started at Vora Bosco (PU 1613 in the Regional Register of Natural Caves), in the municipality of Galatina (Lecce province). Choice of the cave was dictated by the presence of the water table in the deepest part of the system, located some 70 m below the ground level, an occurrence that made possible direct surveys of the groundwater. Further, the cave itself represents a natural geological section, since along its development it shows different lithologies, from the marine terraced deposits at the surface, down to the Pleistocene Gravina Calcarenites, followed by the Miocene Pietra Leccese and Andrano Calcarenites Fms. Only in the terminal pit, about 8 m-deep, the Cretaceous limestone bedrock crops out, hosting the water table. In addition to all the above, breccia deposits characterize the room from where the final sequence of pits starts. In this peculiar cave, a variety of activities is going on: a detailed geological survey, to better define the relationships among the different lithologies; monitoring the climatic parameters in different sections of the cave; continuous control of the main parameters of the groundwater, by means of a multi-parameter probe installed in its deepest part; analysis of the time lag in the response of the water level to the recharge by rainwaters; geochemical analysis of the groundwater, in different seasons. In this contribution we present the preliminary outcomes of the research, aimed at describing this interesting system in the general context of the Salento geology, of the karst history of the area, and with specific regard to karst hydrogeology.
A natural geological section in southern Apulia, Italy: Vora Bosco, the deepest cave of Salento
PARISE M.
2018-01-01
Abstract
Salento, the southernmost part of Apulia, is an elongated peninsula, wide some 30-40 km. Outcropping of carbonate rocks made karst the main agent in controlling the landscape in the area, with formation of many natural caves, both inland and along the coasts. The human pressure, mostly deriving from the high tourist presence during summer, has repeatedly caused severe problems of sea water intrusion in the area. Karst research in Salento may therefore be approached from many different perspectives, including, but not limited to, karst hydrogeology, speleogenesis, relationships between karst phases and sea level fluctuations, and interaction of karst caves and groundwater with human activities. Within the framework of a project funded by Apulia Region, dedicated to control of groundwater quality and quantity, several research activities have been started at Vora Bosco (PU 1613 in the Regional Register of Natural Caves), in the municipality of Galatina (Lecce province). Choice of the cave was dictated by the presence of the water table in the deepest part of the system, located some 70 m below the ground level, an occurrence that made possible direct surveys of the groundwater. Further, the cave itself represents a natural geological section, since along its development it shows different lithologies, from the marine terraced deposits at the surface, down to the Pleistocene Gravina Calcarenites, followed by the Miocene Pietra Leccese and Andrano Calcarenites Fms. Only in the terminal pit, about 8 m-deep, the Cretaceous limestone bedrock crops out, hosting the water table. In addition to all the above, breccia deposits characterize the room from where the final sequence of pits starts. In this peculiar cave, a variety of activities is going on: a detailed geological survey, to better define the relationships among the different lithologies; monitoring the climatic parameters in different sections of the cave; continuous control of the main parameters of the groundwater, by means of a multi-parameter probe installed in its deepest part; analysis of the time lag in the response of the water level to the recharge by rainwaters; geochemical analysis of the groundwater, in different seasons. In this contribution we present the preliminary outcomes of the research, aimed at describing this interesting system in the general context of the Salento geology, of the karst history of the area, and with specific regard to karst hydrogeology.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
