Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the Nordic and Baltic countries
Groundwater utilization and groundwater quality vary in the Baltic and Nordic countries mainly because of different geological settings. Based on the geology, the countries were treated in the following three groups: (1) Fennoscandian countries (Finland, Sweden, and Norway), (2) Denmark and Baltic c...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IWA Publishing
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Hydrology Research |
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| Online Access: | http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/53/7/958 |
| _version_ | 1798037927343685632 |
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| author | Nils-Otto Kitterød Jens Kværner Per Aagaard Jurga Arustienė Jānis Bikše Atle Dagestad Pål Gundersen Birgitte Hansen Árni Hjartarson Enn Karro Maris Klavins Andres Marandi Rasa Radienė Inga Retike Pekka M. Rossi Lærke Thorling |
| author_facet | Nils-Otto Kitterød Jens Kværner Per Aagaard Jurga Arustienė Jānis Bikše Atle Dagestad Pål Gundersen Birgitte Hansen Árni Hjartarson Enn Karro Maris Klavins Andres Marandi Rasa Radienė Inga Retike Pekka M. Rossi Lærke Thorling |
| author_sort | Nils-Otto Kitterød |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Groundwater utilization and groundwater quality vary in the Baltic and Nordic countries mainly because of different geological settings. Based on the geology, the countries were treated in the following three groups: (1) Fennoscandian countries (Finland, Sweden, and Norway), (2) Denmark and Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and (3) Iceland. Most of the utilized groundwater resources are taken from Quaternary deposits, but Denmark and the Baltic countries have in addition, important resources in Phanerozoic rocks. The groundwater quality reflects the residence time of water in the subsurface and the chemical composition of the geological formations. Concentrations of ions in the Fennoscandian bedrock are elevated compared to Iceland, but lower than in Denmark and the Baltic countries. Compared to groundwater in the bedrock, groundwater in Quaternary deposits has usually lower concentrations of dissolved minerals. Unconfined Quaternary aquifers are vulnerable to contamination. Examples from Denmark and the Baltic countries illustrate challenges and successful effects of mitigation strategies for such aquifers related to agricultural application and management of nitrogen. Confined and deeper groundwater is better protected against anthropogenic contamination, but water quality may be affected by harmful compounds caused by geogenic processes (viz, sulfide, arsenic, fluoride, and radon).
HIGHLIGHTS
The paper reviews groundwater quality, and groundwater utilization in the Baltic and Nordic countries.;
Chemical data from all involved countries have been compiled and the data is summarized in the Supplementary Material.;
The mineral composition of the underlying bedrock governs to a large extent the chemical character of groundwater in the Quaternary deposits.;
Denmark and the Baltic countries have large and complex aquifers, whereas the aquifers in Iceland and the Fennoscandian countries are relatively small and with less complexity.;
The groundwater in the region is largely of high quality, but local challenges exist related to geogenic (viz radon, arsenic, fluoride) and anthropogenic origin (viz nitrate, pesticides).; |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:33:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5b86442265f4b24aeb94810fd66348d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1998-9563 2224-7955 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:33:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | IWA Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5b86442265f4b24aeb94810fd66348d2022-12-22T04:01:51ZengIWA PublishingHydrology Research1998-95632224-79552022-07-0153795898210.2166/nh.2022.018018Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the Nordic and Baltic countriesNils-Otto Kitterød0Jens Kværner1Per Aagaard2Jurga Arustienė3Jānis Bikše4Atle Dagestad5Pål Gundersen6Birgitte Hansen7Árni Hjartarson8Enn Karro9Maris Klavins10Andres Marandi11Rasa Radienė12Inga Retike13Pekka M. Rossi14Lærke Thorling15 Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Post Box 115, NO-1431 Ås, Norway Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047 Blindern, Oslo 0316, Norway Department of Hydrogeoology, Lithuanian Geological Survey under The Ministry of Environment, S. Konarskio 35, Vilnius 03100, Lithuania Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, Riga LV-1004, Latvia Geological Survey of Norway, P.O. Box 6315 Torgarden, Trondheim NO-7491, Norway Geological Survey of Norway, P.O. Box 6315 Torgarden, Trondheim NO-7491, Norway Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland – GEUS, Universitetsbyen 81, bygning 1872, Århus C 8000, Denmark Iceland GeoSurvey, Urðarteigi 8, Kópavogi 203, Iceland Department of Geology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14A, Tartu 50411, Estonia Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, Riga LV-1004, Latvia Geological Survey of Estonia, F.R. Kreutzwaldi 5, Rakvere 44314, Estonia Department of Hydrogeoology, Lithuanian Geological Survey under The Ministry of Environment, S. Konarskio 35, Vilnius 03100, Lithuania Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, Riga LV-1004, Latvia Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland – GEUS, Universitetsbyen 81, bygning 1872, Århus C 8000, Denmark Groundwater utilization and groundwater quality vary in the Baltic and Nordic countries mainly because of different geological settings. Based on the geology, the countries were treated in the following three groups: (1) Fennoscandian countries (Finland, Sweden, and Norway), (2) Denmark and Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and (3) Iceland. Most of the utilized groundwater resources are taken from Quaternary deposits, but Denmark and the Baltic countries have in addition, important resources in Phanerozoic rocks. The groundwater quality reflects the residence time of water in the subsurface and the chemical composition of the geological formations. Concentrations of ions in the Fennoscandian bedrock are elevated compared to Iceland, but lower than in Denmark and the Baltic countries. Compared to groundwater in the bedrock, groundwater in Quaternary deposits has usually lower concentrations of dissolved minerals. Unconfined Quaternary aquifers are vulnerable to contamination. Examples from Denmark and the Baltic countries illustrate challenges and successful effects of mitigation strategies for such aquifers related to agricultural application and management of nitrogen. Confined and deeper groundwater is better protected against anthropogenic contamination, but water quality may be affected by harmful compounds caused by geogenic processes (viz, sulfide, arsenic, fluoride, and radon). HIGHLIGHTS The paper reviews groundwater quality, and groundwater utilization in the Baltic and Nordic countries.; Chemical data from all involved countries have been compiled and the data is summarized in the Supplementary Material.; The mineral composition of the underlying bedrock governs to a large extent the chemical character of groundwater in the Quaternary deposits.; Denmark and the Baltic countries have large and complex aquifers, whereas the aquifers in Iceland and the Fennoscandian countries are relatively small and with less complexity.; The groundwater in the region is largely of high quality, but local challenges exist related to geogenic (viz radon, arsenic, fluoride) and anthropogenic origin (viz nitrate, pesticides).;http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/53/7/958baltic and nordic countriesgeological frameworkgroundwater qualitygroundwater pollutiongroundwater utilization |
| spellingShingle | Nils-Otto Kitterød Jens Kværner Per Aagaard Jurga Arustienė Jānis Bikše Atle Dagestad Pål Gundersen Birgitte Hansen Árni Hjartarson Enn Karro Maris Klavins Andres Marandi Rasa Radienė Inga Retike Pekka M. Rossi Lærke Thorling Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the Nordic and Baltic countries Hydrology Research baltic and nordic countries geological framework groundwater quality groundwater pollution groundwater utilization |
| title | Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the Nordic and Baltic countries |
| title_full | Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the Nordic and Baltic countries |
| title_fullStr | Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the Nordic and Baltic countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the Nordic and Baltic countries |
| title_short | Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the Nordic and Baltic countries |
| title_sort | hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the nordic and baltic countries |
| topic | baltic and nordic countries geological framework groundwater quality groundwater pollution groundwater utilization |
| url | http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/53/7/958 |
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