Groundwater Salinization in France

The state, sources, and vectors of salinity in French aquifers are assessed through a GIS-based approach and a literature review of geochemical studies. Seawater intrusion is dominant in the insular context, but the most impacted water bodies are inland aquifers affected by WRI with Permian to Tertiary evaporites, mixing with primary and secondary sedimentary brines, partly derived from human activities (salt mining). The complexity of the superposition of natural and anthropogenic sources is illustrated for the alluvial Rhine aquifer.