Free and open-source GIS-integrated hydrogeological analysis tool: an application for coastal aquifer systems

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the application of a recently developed free and open-source GIS-integrated hydrochemical–hydrogeological analysis tool (named AkvaGIS) for the management and interpretation of hydrogeological data with respect to a coastal aquifer system. The aforementioned tool is composed of a geospatial database implemented in Spatialite, complemented with a set of developed tools for the analysis, interpretation, and visualization of groundwater quality parameters and hydrogeological data. This ICT tool is part of the FREEWAT platform, an open-source and public domain GIS-integrated modelling environment based on groundwater flow and solute transport numerical models, including a water management and planning module. The case study that was used to perform a demonstration of the aforementioned tool, is a coastal aquifer system in Greece, suffering from both seawater intrusion and nitrate contamination as a result of extensive agricultural activities. It involves a complex hydrogeological environment incorporating karst and granular aquifer layers, subjected to different exploitation conditions. AkvaGIS was proved a useful ICT tool for the analysis and interpretation of the collected hydrogeological/hydrochemical data and results, which may be considered as a valuable tool for analyzing different aspects of aquifer systems.