Hydrogeological study of data-scarce limestone massifs: the case of Gualdo Tadino and Monte Cucco structures (central Apennines, Italy)

This work presents a study on the geological framework and water budget of two limestone structures of the central Apennines (Gualdo Tadino Mountains and Monte Cucco, central Italy). Both massifs feed springs which supply high quality water. Since central Italy relies, to a large extent, on structures of this kind to meet water demand, understanding their groundwater circulation scheme is very important. Unfortunately, as in other cases, the need to define the hydrogeological scheme clashes with the scarcity of data available, especially in terms of discharge measurements. In the latest years, the realization of the importance of such data led the ARPA Umbria to equip some springs with new, continuous gauges that record the natural discharge. The new data available make the information more reliable than it was a few years ago, especially for the Gualdo Tadino Mountains. The work presented here is based on all the available instrumental measurements and on data coming from field surveys; although there is still a significant uncertainty on the discharge of several springs, the study allowed us to track the groundwater circulation scheme of the two massifs.