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Revision of the hydrogeological conceptual models of two Portuguese thermomineral water systems: similarities and differences

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Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the role that the assessment of hydrogeological conceptual models of the thermomineral water systems of a given region plays in the sustainable management and protection of its resources (e.g., possible drilling plans to capture thermomineral waters with higher flow rate and/or temperature) and development (use of thermomineral waters in the various forms). Therefore, a multi and interdisciplinary approach from a variety of scientific fields of the domain of geoscience such as geology, geochemistry, hydrogeology, and isotope hydrology was applied. Despite the contrasting features of the two thermomineral systems studied, namely, different geochemical signatures ascribed to distinct geological environments (e.g., the Caldas do Moledo system HCO3-Na with 8 < pH < 9, and the Cabeço de Vide system Na-Cl/Ca-OH with pH ≈ 11.5), the respective hydrogeological conceptual models show clear similarities. Regional/local higher altitude areas associated with highly fractured rocks play an important role in conducting the infiltrated meteoric waters towards the discharge zones near the Thermal Spas. The discharge zones are mainly related to the intersection of the main local/regional fault lineaments and conjugate structures, responsible for promoting the ascent of the thermomineral waters. The use of thermomineral waters in spas, bottling industries, or low-temperature geothermal facilities often promote social and economic development at local and/or regional scale. In many cases, it is even a major, if not the main, source of local/regional development. Thus, the importance of such multidisciplinary studies for the sustainable management of these important types of georesources is obvious.

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Fig. 1

Adapted from Espinha Marques et al. (2001a, b)

Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Adapted from Marques et al. (2003a, b)

Fig. 4

Adapted from Marques et al. (1999)

Fig. 5

(adapted from Marques et al. 2003a, b, b)

Fig. 6

Adapted from Marques et al. (2008) and Fernandes (pers. comm.)

Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Adapted from Marques et al. (2008)

Fig. 9
Fig. 10

(adapted from Marques et al. 2008). For detailed geological information, see Fig. 5

Fig. 11
Fig. 12

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Acknowledgements

CERENA/IST acknowledges the FCT (the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation) support through the UID/ECI/04028/2013 Project and C2TN/IST author gratefully acknowledge the FCT support through the UID/Multi/04349/2013 Project. J. Espinha Marques acknowledges the funding provided by the Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT), under contracts UID/GEO/04683/2013 with FCT and COMPETE POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690. An early draft of this manuscript was critically read by four anonymous reviewers and we gratefully acknowledge their contribution. The authors also would like to thank L. Rocha, Technical Director of Cabeço de Vide thermal Spa, for his contribution to improve the early draft of this manuscript. L. Harding is thanked for editing the English language text.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente (CERENA), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal

    J. M. Marques & O. Neves

  2. Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares (C2TN), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    P. M. Carreira

  3. Instituto de Ciências da Terra (ICT), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    J. Espinha Marques

  4. Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP/LABCARGA), Porto, Portugal

    J. Teixeira

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  1. J. M. Marques
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Marques, J.M., Carreira, P.M., Neves, O. et al. Revision of the hydrogeological conceptual models of two Portuguese thermomineral water systems: similarities and differences. Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 5, 117–133 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-018-0218-8

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