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Seawater intrusion and coastal aquifer management in China: a review

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Abstract

Seawater intrusion has been an important topic in hydrogeology in China in recent decades. The rapid growth of the population and economy in the coastal regions has been consuming a tremendous amount of groundwater resources and has increased the extent of seawater intrusion. The spatial discrepancy of water resource distribution has caused the studies of seawater intrusion into China to mainly be concentrated on the area around the Bohai Sea in the northern part of China. The total area of seawater-intruded land due to excessive groundwater utilization in the area was estimated to be approximately 2,457 km2 in 2003. Great efforts have been made to mitigate the extent of seawater intrusion and to secure more freshwater resources, including building monitoring networks, subsurface barrier and groundwater reservoirs, and artificial infiltration facilities. Management projects over the years were evaluated to satisfy the objectives and to provide valuable experiences for future research and planning. It is expected that the coastal groundwater conditions of the northern region will improve through the development of a national water resource plan, such as the ongoing south-to-north water diversion project.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the General Research Fund of the Research Grants Council, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (HKU 702611P and HKU 703010P) and National Natural Science Fundation of China (41372261).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Lei Shi & Jiu Jimmy Jiao

  2. Shenzhen Water Resources Planning & Design Institute, Shenzhen, China

    Lei Shi

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  1. Lei Shi
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  2. Jiu Jimmy Jiao
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Correspondence to Jiu Jimmy Jiao.

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Shi, L., Jiao, J.J. Seawater intrusion and coastal aquifer management in China: a review. Environ Earth Sci 72, 2811–2819 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3186-9

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