Characterising the post-Cretaceous aquifer in the Brindisi Plain (South Italy) in order to recover and protect underground bodies of water

The area studied is the province of Brindisi and is represented by a large flat area where mainly sea terraced deposits from upper Pleistocene outcrop. These deposits overlie a middle Pleistocene clay layer which in turn overlies a carbonate substrate made up of Mesozoic limestones and Calabrian calcarenites In the area examined there are two hydrogeological environments : one represented by the "deep groundwater",housed in the carbonatic aquifer; the other consists of a "shallow groundwater" housed by the upper Pleistocene deposits and separated by the deep aquifer from the impermeable clayey level.In this work we made a detailed definition of the geological and hydrological features of the shallow aquifer determining both the main components and the value of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and S.A.R, considered as specific indicators of pollution for this area.We have estimated the spatial distribution of these parameters with geostatistical methods. This reconstruction shows that the post-Cretaceous aquifer is rather exposed to anthropogenic pollution coming from intensive agriculture practiced in the area studied