The vulnerability of complex karst hydrostructures: Problems and perspectives

Abstract

In the last 15 years some large karst aquifers of Italy were studied to realize maps of intrinsic and integrated vulnerability to pollution on the basis of the point count system model SINTACS. The most important characteristics are: the heterogeneity levels of the drainage networks; the level of karst evolution both on the surface and deep into the aquifer; the thickness of the unsaturated zone (which is often highly karstified). In order to obtain a better fitting of the intrinsic vulnerability map with the real situation, the SINTACS values for some of the parameters were sometimes changed with respect to the official ones. The present paper proposes tables in order to obtain a better fitting between the map of integrated and intrinsic vulnerability to pollution and the hydrostructural conditions.