The Effect of the Seawater Intrusion on the Robinzon Coastal Spring

Abstract

The Robinzon Spring, located 70 m from the seacoast, is a freshwater,perennial spring with a yield ranging from the maximum 2 m3/s to theminimum 0.165 m3/s. The spring occurs at the contact between permeablecarbonate rocks and impermeable flysch deposits. This contactis deeply weathered, eroded and submerged below sea level. Suchconditions emphasize the delicate relationship between the fresh- andseawater. The objective of the study was to shed more light on thehydrogeological setting of the spring’s underground recharge area bymeans of borehole measurements and preexisting knowledge aboutthe dynamics of the fresh- and seawater acquired from similar cases.The spring’s underground area is divided into three zones: (i) zone ofgood water circulation (rockfall material and fractured dolomite), (ii)zone of poor water circulation (massive dolomites), and (iii) zone of‘trapped’ water (contact between the dolomite and flysch deposits).