Environmental tracing in coastal aquifers: old problems and new solutions

E n v i ronmental tracing, based on the use of physical, chemical and isotope parameters, is a valid support in the re c o n s t ruction of aquifer conceptual models under natural and exploita - tion conditions. In the case of coastal aquifers, the phenomenological approach gets compli - cated due to the overlapping effects of peculiar natural conditions and human activities. H y d ro geochemistry and isotope geochemistry deal with essential questions concerning sea - water intrusion: the role of different natural and human sources of salinisation, the conse - quences on water quality, aquifer pro p e rties and pollutant transport, the evolution of the phe - nomenon in time and space, the time and conditions for aquifer recovering. The paper deals with the geochemical and isotope methods applied in the last decade in the field of seawater i n t rusion and with future potential goals of environmental tracing as well.