New evidences on groundwater dynamics from the Souss-Massa system (Morocco): Insights gained from dissolved noble gases

The Souss-Massa plain, an important agriculture area of the Middle Western of Morocco, is a depression zone filled with Plio-Quaternary sediments which are overlying a complex multi-layered sedimentary basement. Over the last decades, population growth, agriculture development and recurrent droughts have been increasing the pressure on the aquifers of the region. The shallow aquifer is intensively exploited. About 94% of the water resources in...