Net infiltration in the Gran Sasso Massif of central Italy using the Thornthwaite water budget and curve-number method

The study was carried out in order to determine the net infiltration in the Gran Sasso Massif, central Italy, a typical central Mediterranean karstic hydrogeological system. It relied on the Thornthwaite water-budget method, which was modified in order to account for the local hydrological setting. The changes to the method were as follows: (1) use of the curve-number (CN) method of the US Soil Conservation Service to estimate runoff; (2) addition of runoff to the water budget of endorheic areas; and (3) assessment of snow melt in mountain areas. The analysis of net infiltration in individual land units in extensive and complex groundwater systems, such as the Gran Sasso, is a useful tool for the indirect study of groundwater flow. The generalized direction of Gran Sasso groundwater flow is toward the south, i.e., from the areas with the highest net infiltration to the areas with the lowest net infiltration, where the largest springs are located at low altitude. The average annual net infiltration, estimated by the above method, is 506 mm/year, i.e., about 53% of the average annual rainfall (945 mm/year). The results of the Gran Sasso water budget, obtained by the modified Thornthwaite method integrated with the CN method, are considered to be satisfactory because the computed inflows (17.3 m(3)/S) and the measured outflows (17.4 m(3)/S), which are estimated for a period of about 40 years (1950-1990), are very similar.