A hydrogeological type section for the Duna-Tisza Interfluve, Hungary

摘要

The Duna-Tisza Interfluve, Hungary has an agricultural economy but is plagued by severe problems of soil and wetland salinization despite 200years of intensive research. The study’s objective was to determine the origin of salts and the mechanisms of salinity distribution. To this end, flow-patterns and chemistry of groundwater were evaluated in a 100km×65km area, with emphasis on the Kolon- and Kelemenszék Lakes region. The lakes are located 13km apart and have chemically contrasting water and soil types. Two groundwater flowdomains were identified: a gravity-drive meteoric fresh water and an over-pressured deeper domain of saline water. The waters are channeled by a highly permeable gravel aquifer to the surface and may merge near Kelemenszék Lake, causing it to be saline. Kolon Lake receives meteoric groundwater only, hence its fresh chemical character. The cross-formational ascent of the deep waters, combined with the gravitational systems’ geometry and the flow-channeling effect of the nearsurface rocks, explains the contrasting chemistry between lakes, and the origin and pattern of soil salinization. The scheme is proposed as a generally valid hydrogeological profile for the interfluve, and has been named the Duna- Tisza Interfluve Hydrogeological Type Section.