Ismail Chenini - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Papers by Ismail Chenini
Geosciences Journal, 2008
The Maknassy basin in central Tunisia receives only a small amount of precipitation (207 mm/year)... more The Maknassy basin in central Tunisia receives only a small amount of precipitation (207 mm/year), and hydrological system retain very small quantities of water due to the steep topography and surface water resource partially mobilized which is evacuated toward the basin outlet. However, the Maknassy plain support agriculture based on ground water irrigation with increasing water demand for the last decades. These developments have boosted agricultural productivity in the region. While these problems are mainly due to poor surface water management strategies in the region, the groundwater resources in this basin should be properly assessed and suitable measures taken for uniform surface water mobilization. As a first step in this direction, groundwater resources have been assessed. Regional specific yield 0.017) and groundwater recharge have been estimated on the basis of water table fluctuation method. During the hydrological year 2004-2005, groundwater recharge amounting to 116*10 6 m 3 in a year takes place in the region through infiltration of rainwater (44.5*10 6 m 3 for phreatic aquifer and 71.5*10 6 m 3 for the deep one), and recharge due to the infiltration in the Leben watercourse bed (1.57*10 6 m 3 ). Recharge from deeper aquifer to the shallow one has been estimated at 0.01*10 6 m 3 . The outflow consists of (1) groundwater draft by wells (4.5*10 6 m 3 from phreatic aquifer and 5.78*10 6 m 3 from the deep one), (2) spring discharges (0.15*10 6 m 3 only from shallow aquifer), and (3) groundwater evapotranspiration (92.52*10 6 m 3 ). Assuming that at least 40% (102.61*10 6 m 3 ) of the total precipitation water (256.645*10 6 m 3
Resource Geology, 2010
The present paper investigates hydrochemical processes and water quality in the Mornag aquifer in... more The present paper investigates hydrochemical processes and water quality in the Mornag aquifer in NE Tunisia. Groundwater samples were collected during a field campaign, and were analysed for major and trace elements. The collected waters have a chemical facies rich in Ca 2+ , Na + and Cl -. Piper diagram shows a progressive increase in chloride ions along with increasing salinity. Saturation indexes calculated by using PHREEQC (USGS) show that the Mornag waters are slightly saturated with respect to carbonates (calcite and dolomite), while undersaturated with respect to gypsum, halite and other evaporitic minerals. The current composition of waters takes place via dissolution of halite and Ca-sulfates, where the increase in calcium is partially balanced by possible calcite precipitation. The relevant recorded pollutant is nitrate, which was likely dispersed from agricultural soils, while heavy metals were generally far below values of pollution thresholds, indicating no influence by mining activity. Fig. 1 Location and simplified geological map of the study area. B. Farhat et al. 378
Geosciences Journal, 2008
The Maknassy basin in central Tunisia receives only a small amount of precipitation (207 mm/year)... more The Maknassy basin in central Tunisia receives only a small amount of precipitation (207 mm/year), and hydrological system retain very small quantities of water due to the steep topography and surface water resource partially mobilized which is evacuated toward the basin outlet. However, the Maknassy plain support agriculture based on ground water irrigation with increasing water demand for the last decades. These developments have boosted agricultural productivity in the region. While these problems are mainly due to poor surface water management strategies in the region, the groundwater resources in this basin should be properly assessed and suitable measures taken for uniform surface water mobilization. As a first step in this direction, groundwater resources have been assessed. Regional specific yield 0.017) and groundwater recharge have been estimated on the basis of water table fluctuation method. During the hydrological year 2004-2005, groundwater recharge amounting to 116*10 6 m 3 in a year takes place in the region through infiltration of rainwater (44.5*10 6 m 3 for phreatic aquifer and 71.5*10 6 m 3 for the deep one), and recharge due to the infiltration in the Leben watercourse bed (1.57*10 6 m 3 ). Recharge from deeper aquifer to the shallow one has been estimated at 0.01*10 6 m 3 . The outflow consists of (1) groundwater draft by wells (4.5*10 6 m 3 from phreatic aquifer and 5.78*10 6 m 3 from the deep one), (2) spring discharges (0.15*10 6 m 3 only from shallow aquifer), and (3) groundwater evapotranspiration (92.52*10 6 m 3 ). Assuming that at least 40% (102.61*10 6 m 3 ) of the total precipitation water (256.645*10 6 m 3
Resource Geology, 2010
The present paper investigates hydrochemical processes and water quality in the Mornag aquifer in... more The present paper investigates hydrochemical processes and water quality in the Mornag aquifer in NE Tunisia. Groundwater samples were collected during a field campaign, and were analysed for major and trace elements. The collected waters have a chemical facies rich in Ca 2+ , Na + and Cl -. Piper diagram shows a progressive increase in chloride ions along with increasing salinity. Saturation indexes calculated by using PHREEQC (USGS) show that the Mornag waters are slightly saturated with respect to carbonates (calcite and dolomite), while undersaturated with respect to gypsum, halite and other evaporitic minerals. The current composition of waters takes place via dissolution of halite and Ca-sulfates, where the increase in calcium is partially balanced by possible calcite precipitation. The relevant recorded pollutant is nitrate, which was likely dispersed from agricultural soils, while heavy metals were generally far below values of pollution thresholds, indicating no influence by mining activity. Fig. 1 Location and simplified geological map of the study area. B. Farhat et al. 378