A modelling study of seawater intrusion in the Korba Coastal Plain, Tunisia

A numerical model that treats density-dependent variably saturated flow and miscible salt transport is used to investigate the occurrence of seawater intrusion in the Korba coastal plain of northeastern Tunisia. We examine th e effects of and interplay between pumping, artificial recharge, soil/aquif er properties, and the unsaturated zone. The data processing steps undertak en in this study are briefly described, and a critical assessment is given of the data availability and of the requirements for successful monitoring and modeling of seawater intrusion risks in heavily exploited coastal aquif ers such as those found in the semi-arid regions of the Mediterranean basin . An idea of the extent of over-exploitation of the Korba aquifer is obtain ed by examining the pumping and rainfall/infiltration data, and the simulat ion results support groundwater pumping as the mechanism for and seawater i ntrusion as the origin of the salt contamination observed in the soils and subsurface waters of the Korba plain. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All ri ghts reserved.