The strong variation in carbonate content of the geological formations in the basin of Sprimont, Belgium, implies different groundwater behaviours in the substratum. The existence of carbonated materials such as limestone is responsible for the existence of a well-developed karstic system restricted to the Carboniferous materials which has a strong impact on the local hydrology and hydrogeology. Surface streams lose through local sinkholes to resurface at the spring of Trou Bleu, the only outlet of the basin and the drainage point of local aquifers. The study focuses on the assessment of existing links between surface losing streams and the spring, and on the tracing of any anthropogenic contamination, by using hydrochemical parameters (major ions, nitrogen forms, organic carbon…), isotopic compositions (δ15N-NO3, δ18O-NO3 and δ11B), pharmaceutical substances (caffeine, paracetamol…) and natural fluorescence as tools. Results strongly support each other regarding evidences of sewage contamination and agriculture and livestock farming waste occurrence in the basin, while reflecting the strong heterogeneity of landuse as observed on-site. Previous knowledge on hydrological dynamics is supported by collected data and reinforced by stream-by-stream discussions and estimate of the relative contribution of each surface streams to the spring water composition. / Erasmus+ traineeship at University of Liège
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-161567 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Deleu, Romain |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för naturgeografi, Université de Namur, Département de Géologie |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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