GEOLOGICAL AND HYDROGEOLOGICAL REAPPRAISAL OF THE GUARANÍ AQUIFER SYSTEM IN THE URUGUAYAN AREA

E. MERONI, G. PIÑEIRO, P. GOMBERT

Abstract


The lack of knowledge of water resources in a region and the absence of obvious symptoms of their deterioration do not favour the establishment of effective management mechanisms for their preservation. This problem is exacerbated in the case of transboundary aquifers such as the "Guaraní Aquifer System" (GAS), a large multi-layered aquifer system in central-eastern South America. We present here a reappraisal of some important aspects that contribute to a better knowledge of the GAS in the Uruguayan area, as for instance an integrated stratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and sedimentological (paleoenvironmental) study of the sequence that encloses their constituent aquifers in order to identify the main hydraulic, hydrochemical and hydrogeological paths that define this fundamental resource. Moreover, we also provide a well-supported re-evaluation of the SAG outline, by including the outcropping areas of the San Gregorio-Tres Islas and the Yaguarí and Cerro Conventos aquifers in the Cerro Largo County. Some hydraulic interconnections between the GAS aquifers has been previously detected but more work needs to be done to evaluate this behaviour within already proposed conceptual flow models. Some evidence for aquifer-river relationships between the GAS and the main rivers such as the Paraná, Uruguay and their tributaries is herein also discussed.


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