Hydrogeochemical and geophysical investigation of the Istanbul Tuzla-Icmeler spring area for environmental and land use planning purposes.
The spring waters of Tuzla-Icmeler are on the Marmara Sea coast in Tuzla town of Istanbul city. The springs discharge a natural sodium chloride mineral water that consumed for ages for therapeutic purposes attributed to their chemical properties. Development of springs commenced during the Ottoman times and a surface collection structure was built at the discharge point of the main spring. Two deep wells were drilled to tap mineral water within the past decades. The bottled water of these springs is also sold for a couple of years and its consumption as a beverage is increasing. The geochemical properties of these springs were investigated by several researchers in the past. This study comprises geochemical and geophysical measurements performed between July 2001 and July 2002 in order to construct a conceptual hydrogeological model for environmental and land use planning purposes. The seasonal evaluation of Tuzla-Icmeler (mineral spring) shows that the chemical properties fluctuate from the beginning of summer until the beginning of winter. This indicates that the overdraft of water during the summer season causes the movement and mix of normal groundwater with the mineralized groundwater. As a result, mixing of less mineralized groundwater decreases the salinity of mineralized groundwater. Using the site-specific hydrogeological, geochemical and geophysical data, zones of protection areas were delineated in order to prevent a possible pollution access to the springs and surroundings from nearby dockyards, dwellings and vehicle traffic. For this purpose, a new land use plan was proposed using the existing settlement sustainability plans.
Yalcin
Tolga
T
Faculty of Mines, Geological Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, TR-34469 Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey. yalcint@itu.edu.tr
Ozürlan
Gülcin
G
Cekirge
Nevin
N
D004777:Environment; D004779:Environment Design; D005618:Fresh Water; D008900:Mineral Waters; D014421:Turkey; D014872:Water Movements; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*
D008900:Mineral Waters