Quantification of Groundwater - Saline Surface Water Interaction in a Small Coastal Plain in North-East Tunisia using Multivariate Statistical Analysis and Geophysical Method.

Amultivariate statistical analysis used with geophysical investigation enabled the assessment of interaction between saline surface water and groundwater in the coastal plain of Wadi Al Ayn and Daroufa in CapBon peninsula, north-east Tunisia. The application of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified the end members which contribute to groundwater recharge: the wastewater infiltrated from Wadi Al Ayn, the oilfield brine infiltrated to the aquifer through the sandy bed of Wadi Al Ayn, the intruded seawater near Wadi Daroufa in the downstream region and the fresh groundwater flowing from the upstream region. The contribution of wastewater in groundwater recharge varies from 1.4% in the upstream region of Wadi Al Ayn to 77% near its downstream part. The fraction of oilfield brine mixed with groundwater in the alluvial aquifer under Wadi Al Ayn varies from 1% to 13%; whereas the fraction of intruded seawater into the coastal part of the aquifer near Daroufa region varies from 2% to 21%.