Groundwater and Hydrogeochemistry

Developing strategies for controlling anthropogenic and geogenic pollutants in groundwater

The sustainability of freshwater resources is one of the most important challenges of the Mediterranean region and European Union, constituting a social, economic, and technological challenge, as pressure on these resources is increasing rapidly due to sharp population growth and industrial and agricultural activities. This situation will be especially dramatic in urban areas, which are expected to amass 70% of the world's population by 2050. Moreover, water resources will be also affected by climate change, especially in the south of Europe, where droughts will be more frequent, intense, and long. Combining both chemical and quantitative status assessments show that 29% of the total groundwater body area lacks sufficient capacity to meet the needs of ecosystems or society. Consequently, it is essential to preserve groundwater resources from overexploitation, but also from anthropogenic pollution.

WATERPOLLUT is focused on the newest classes of contaminants (organic contaminants of emerging concern, microplastics, geogenic trace elements and inorganic elements of emerging concern), investigating their presence, their hydrodynamic behaviour and natural attenuation through modelling and identification of their transformation products in groundwater, and also the potential risk associated with the consumption of drinking water produced from contaminated groundwater. In addition, the project aims at identifying pollution sources of emerging contaminants and at distinguishing between anthropogenic and geogenic origins in case of inorganic pollutants. Studies will be conducted in the deltas of two Mediterranean with distinct characteristics.

WATERPOLLUT will consist of two sub-projects: ATTENUATION and GEOTHROP-H₂O, which are executed by two research institutes. the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA) and Desertification Research Centre (CIDE) with recognized expertise in water quality analysis, risk assessment of contaminants in human health and environment, the assessment urban groundwater quality and evaluation of the impact of climate change on freshwater resources. To achieve the demanding objectives of this project, subject matter experts from the fields of analytical chemistry, hydrogeochemistry and numerical modelling will team up to design and execute the project in order to generate meaningful quality results. The need for such multidisciplinarity has been the driver for the collaboration between the two Centers coordinating the two subprojects that constitute the project WATERPOLLUT.

Funding: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; PID2022-138556OB-C21

Coupled processes of multiphase flow, transport, and mechanical deformation in heterogeneous porous and fractured media across spatial and temporal scales.

Multiphase flow, deformation, transport, mixing, and reaction processes in porous and fractured media are fundamental across many scientific and engineering disciplines. Unraveling the underlying mechanisms that control them and developing quantitative and predictive tools are key to understanding a series of engineered technologies and natural phenomena such as the quantification of natural nutrient cycles in soils, the design of effective soil and groundwater remediation strategies, and the development of safe and efficient geoenergy technologies. The inherent heterogeneity of porous and fractured media across scales is at the heart of the limitations of current conceptual models. The main goal of HydroPore II therefore is to determine the fundamental principles underlying coupled flow, transport, reaction, and deformation processes in heterogeneous porous and fractured media. Following an interdisciplinary methodology based on laboratory scale experiments, high resolution numerical simulations, and numerical and analytical upscaling techniques, HydroPore II will identify and quantify the dynamics of two-phase displacements, thermally-driven deformation and fracturing, and solute mixing and chemical reactions under complex flow conditions across scales.

KARST: Predicting flow and transport in complex Karst systems

Karst aquifers are a treasure and a threat: while up to 25% of the world population depends on them for drinking water, they also have capabilities for extremely fast conduction of water and contaminants. In the light of climate change, we need to prepare for extreme flooding and understand the consequences for karst aquifers. Despite their socio-economic importance, decades of research, and high-profile disasters, karst structures and processes remain notoriously difficult to assess. Because of the complexity of karst and its lack of accessibility, the foundations of flow and transport modeling in karst systems are weak. Key phenomena related to extreme events such as flash floods and heavy tails in tracer recovery are still beyond current modeling capabilities.

KARST will establish the next generation of coupled stochastic modeling frameworks to predict karst processes, assess the vulnerability of karst aquifers, and forecast their response to extreme events. Our approach will bridge structures and processes on all scales, far beyond the capabilities of current theories and computer simulations. This will be achieved by targeting three key objec- tives: (i) Identification and quantification of flow and transport dynamics at the conduit scale. (ii) Characterization and modeling of karst network structure at the catchment scale. (iii) Derivation of a new upscaled approach to predict karst processes at different resolution scales. Together, this will result in an unprecedented multiscale modeling framework for the prediction of flow and transport in karst.

Funding: European Union, ERC Synergy Grants 2022 - Ref.: 101071836

Understanding groundwater pollution to protect and enhance water quality

Groundwater plays a key role in providing water supplies and livelihoods to respond the pronounced water scarcity. Groundwater pollution is a widespread worldwide problem. The scientific and technological goals of the UPWATER project are:
-To provide scientific knowledge on identification, occurrence and fate of pollutants in the groundwater with cost-efficient sampling methods based on passive samplers.
-To develop sources apportionment methods to identify and quantify the pollution sources.
-To validate and assess the performance of bio-based engineered natural treatment systems designed as mitigation solutions.
The monitoring and mitigation solutions will be validated in 3 case studies (Denmark, Greece and Spain), representing different climate conditions and a combination of rural, industrial and urban pollution sources. Expected outcomes include amongst others updating the EU chemical priority lists, scaling-up the pilot bio-based solutions to demonstration scale, the adoption of some preventive measures in the case studies and the close-to-market development of the passive sampling devices.