Abstract
Groundwater quality is determined by a variety of factors. Petrographic properties of the rocks in the vadose and in the groundwater saturated zones as well as the regional hydrological and hydrodynamic conditions are regarded as its major natural influencing factors together with groundwater’s initial composition. For an assessment of major groundwater composition on a continental scale, the complexity of individual aquifers needs to be organized into simplified patterns. For this purpose, European scientists, among them representatives from several European national geological surveys, jointly defined a harmonized European aquifer typology, which includes the major classes of aquifers showing comparable petrographic properties. This process has led to the development of the European aquifer typology map presented in this paper. Similar groundwater compositions are expected for the various classes in comparable hydrodynamic and hydrologic conditions. Application of the aquifer typology with regard to the intercomparison of hydrochemical data sets across Europe for several aquifer types clearly points out that typical groundwater compositions can be distinguished for the various aquifer types. In the future this typology may serve as a basis for referencing hydrogeochemical groundwater composition on a European scale.
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Acknowledgments
The groundwater monitoring data sets, provided by national research bodies and the national water authorities, like the Flemish Environmental Agency (VMM), are greatly appreciated. Same is true for the results of statistical evaluations of groundwater analyses provided by national and regional studies. The contents of this paper have been compiled in the framework of the EU-specific targeted research project “BRIDGE” (Background cRiteria for the IDentification of Groundwater thresholds). The views expressed in the paper are purely those of the writers and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission.
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Wendland, F., Blum, A., Coetsiers, M. et al. European aquifer typology: a practical framework for an overview of major groundwater composition at European scale. Environ Geol 55, 77–85 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0966-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0966-5