CRUZ, J.V., ANDRADE, C., COUTINHO, R. (2023) - Salinização da água subterrânea nas ilhas Graciosa e do Pico (Açores, Portugal): cartografia de vulnerabilidade. Livro de Resumos do XI Congresso Nacional de Geologia, Coimbra, Portugal, 467-468.

​In Graciosa and Pico islands, both located in the Central group of the Azores archipelago, groundwater resources are crucial to public water supply. However, the hydrogeological specificities of these islands favors the occurrence of salinization of coastal aquifers, and the quality of groundwater is severely impacted. As a result, one groundwater body on the island of Graciosa and two on the island of Pico, present a poor status according to the EU Water Framework Directive criteria. In the present study the GALDIT index was used to assess seawater intrusion vulnerability. Results show that in both islands the coastal strip up to a distance of 750 m from the coastline depict maximum vulnerability to the saline intrusion process, while vulnerability is moderate towards inland. Overall, the application of GALDIT highlights the high risk of salinization of groundwater resulting from seawater intrusion.​