Well salinization risk and effects of Baltic Sea level rise on the groundwater-dependent Island of Öland, Sweden
2018 (English)In: Water, E-ISSN 2073-4441, Vol. 10, no 2, article id 141
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
In this study, we estimate baseline conditions in terms of the current risk of well salinization on the Baltic Sea island of öland, Sweden, and assess the effects of future sea level rise on the land area, infrastructure and cultural values. We use a multicriterion geographical information systems (GIS) approach. Geomorphological and physical parameters affect the risk of saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers, including their hydrology, geomorphology, and climatology; the spatial distribution of the current risk of salinization is mapped in this study. In the event of a future 2 m sea level rise, a total land area of 67 km2 will be inundated on öland, corresponding to approximately 5% of the island's land surface. Inundation includes urban areas, nature reserves, and animal protection areas, implying the loss of environmental and socioeconomic values. A future 2 m sea level rise will also cause direct inundation of 3% of all wells on the island. Currently, 17.5% of all wells are at a high risk of becoming saltwater contaminated. More generally, the present results add evidence showing a relatively high vulnerability of major Baltic Sea islands and their infrastructure to future sea level rise. The approach used here and related results, including salinization risk maps, may prove useful for decision-makers in the planning of infrastructure. Drilling of new wells could for instance preferably be done in areas with identified lower risk-index values, which would facilitate an overall higher freshwater withdrawal in the interest of the entire island. © 2018 by the authors.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2018. Vol. 10, no 2, article id 141
Keywords [en]
GIS-analysis, Groundwater, Risk assessment, Saltwater intrusion, Sea level rise, Well salinization, Öland, Aquifers, Decision making, Floods, Geographic information systems, Groundwater resources, Hydrogeology, Maps, Mercury (metal), Risk perception, Salt water intrusion, Sea level, Urban planning, Water, Base-line conditions, Decision makers, Freshwater aquifer, GIS analysis, Multi-Criterion, Nature reserves, Physical parameters, Landforms, aquifer, environmental effect, geomorphology, GIS, groundwater pollution, hydrology, infrastructure planning, parameter estimation, risk factor, saline intrusion, salinization, sea level change, spatial distribution, well water, Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Kalmar [Sweden], Oland, Sweden, Animalia
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Baltic and East European studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-34664DOI: 10.3390/w10020141ISI: 000426775500051Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85041471639OAI: oai:DiVA.org:sh-34664DiVA, id: diva2:1184972
2018-02-222018-02-222023-08-28Bibliographically approved