Original Papers
26 June 2025
Vol. 14 No. 2 (2025)
Geochemical study of Recoaro Terme and Valli del Pasubio area mineral springs (Vicenza Pre-Alps)
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[Article in Italian]
The mineral waters of the Vicenza Prealps - “Piccole Dolomiti” area, including the basins of the Agno and Leogra streams (Vicenza province), have been characterized from a geochemical point of view. Twenty-two samples of mineral waters were collected and analyzed for the determination of main cations, anions, and some trace constituents. Processing of analytical data allowed us to classify the waters, to identify the geochemical processes that originate them and to simulate the reaction paths of the different groups of waters identified. Statistical analysis highlighted the presence of a population with anomalous carbon dioxide partial pressure, which substantially influences the chemical composition of the mineral waters of interest. PhreeqcI, a computer program for a wide variety of aqueous geochemical calculations, was used to simulate: (i) the processes generating the alkaline waters of Recoaro Terme “external sources” and Regina, Reale, Margherita and Iolanda sources which interact with volcanic rocks of different composition, (ii) the evolutionary paths of the dedolomitization process which, starting from waters with a bicarbonate-calcium composition, gives rise to waters with a sulphate-calcium composition with high magnesium concentrations such as those of the Lelia, Amara, Lorgna, and Nuova sources (“internal sources” of Recoaro Terme), (iii) the processes originating the acidic waters of the Virgiliana and Catulliana sources and the weakly acidic waters of the Felsinea source. Finally, based on geological and geochemical data collected, a hydrogeological scheme of the possible supply circuits of different water groups was developed.
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Geochemical study of Recoaro Terme and Valli del Pasubio area mineral springs (Vicenza Pre-Alps). (2025). Acque Sotterranee - Italian Journal of Groundwater, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.7343/as-2025-841
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