Isotopic composition of precipitation and groundwater in Sicily, Italy

Abstract

The isotopic composition of meteoric water in Sicily, Italy was investigated from May 2004 until June 2006. Samples were sampled monthly from a network of 50 rain gauges. During the same period 580 groundwater samples were collected from springs and wells to obtain insight into the isotopic composition of the water circulating in the main aquifers of the area. The mean weighted precipitation values were used to define the weighted local meteoric water line for five different sectors of Sicily. The use of Geographical Information System tools, coupled with isotopic vertical gradients, allowed designing an isotopic contour map of precipitation in Sicily. The defined meteoric compositions were highly consistent with most of the groundwater samples in each sector. However, in some areas fractionation processes occurring during and after rainfall slightly modify the isotopic composition of the groundwater. The obtained data set defines the present day isotopic composition of meteoric water in the central Mediterranean area and provides baseline values for future climatic and/or isotope-based hydrology studies.