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Electrical Soundings Applied to the Contamination at a Feedlot in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 24th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, Sep 2018, Volume 2018, p.1 - 5
Abstract
The cattle fattening in corrals (feedlot) is an activity that has expanded in the last years. These activities may contribute with contaminants to environment through waste water and manure, such as Nitrogen and Phosphorous, pathogens, between others. The aim was to identify and characterize physically, chemically and microbiologically the phreatic aquifer at a feedlot, at the zone of Saladillo, Bs. As. Province, Argentina. A topographic survey was carried out to describe the directions of superficial runoff and to locate the wells. Samples were taken for laboratory analysis. Electrical resistivity tomography was carried out to characterize the extent of the potential contamination. Near the corrals there is a decrease in the resistivity in unsaturated and saturated zone (NSZ, SZ). In the sense of groundwater flow and decreasing topography, an increase of EC of SZ is observed, associated with water salinization. The concentration of nitrates and phosphates increases in the sense of groundwater flow. The Pseudomonas and E coli, in some wells, added to the amount of detected coliforms, demonstrates the deterioration of the groundwater quality. The integration of geophysical survey allowed corroborating the extent of the salinization of the NSZ and SZ by the effect of leachate from the corrals.