Suchergebnisse

International audience ; Groundwater quantity and quality is of great importance for the economic development in Europe as it is the most important resource for drinking water, irrigation and industrial uses. Groundwater as such and as locally the main contributor to surface water is also a pillar to the ecosystem health. The quality of groundwater is linked to physico-chemical parameters such as temperature, pH, redox potential and the presence of dissolved elements from geogenic (natural) or anthropogenic origin. Initiated in July 2018, the Geoera project HOVER (horizon H2020, grant agreement N°731166) intends to link geological settings and hydrogeological processes to the natural quality of groundwater and the risk of transfer of anthropogenic dissolved elements to aquifers. Project findings are meant to increase political and public awareness and improve groundwater management at EU scale. Thus, information and communication technologies involved will allow producing thematic maps and web service tools at regional to pan-European scale that will be made available for a large public audience through the European Geological Data Infrastructure (http://www.europe-geology.eu/). The project is built around 6 main topics related to groundwater quality; high-concentration of dissolved elements of geogenic origin, microbial ecology in groundwater-surface water transition zones, nitrate and pesticide transfer, groundwater age distribution, vulnerability and emerging contaminants. Thirty partners from 27 countries are sharing their databases and are discussing appropriate data treatment procedures in order to develop products that may support water management in Europe. Various challenges have to be faced in order to build these EU-scale products. The first of them being the heterogeneity of data available in each country, including heterogeneity in density and frequency of molecules analyzed, in data formats used and additional but necessary information (metadata such as geological context, depth of wells…). Another ...

International audience ; Groundwater quantity and quality is of great importance for the economic development in Europe as it is the most important resource for drinking water, irrigation and industrial uses. Groundwater as such and as locally the main contributor to surface water is also a pillar to the ecosystem health. The quality of groundwater is linked to physico-chemical parameters such as temperature, pH, redox potential and the presence of dissolved elements from geogenic (natural) or anthropogenic origin. Initiated in July 2018, the Geoera project HOVER (horizon H2020, grant agreement N°731166) intends to link geological settings and hydrogeological processes to the natural quality of groundwater and the risk of transfer of anthropogenic dissolved elements to aquifers. Project findings are meant to increase political and public awareness and improve groundwater management at EU scale. Thus, information and communication technologies involved will allow producing thematic maps and web service tools at regional to pan-European scale that will be made available for a large public audience through the European Geological Data Infrastructure (http://www.europe-geology.eu/). The project is built around 6 main topics related to groundwater quality; high-concentration of dissolved elements of geogenic origin, microbial ecology in groundwater-surface water transition zones, nitrate and pesticide transfer, groundwater age distribution, vulnerability and emerging contaminants. Thirty partners from 27 countries are sharing their databases and are discussing appropriate data treatment procedures in order to develop products that may support water management in Europe. Various challenges have to be faced in order to build these EU-scale products. The first of them being the heterogeneity of data available in each country, including heterogeneity in density and frequency of molecules analyzed, in data formats used and additional but necessary information (metadata such as geological context, depth of wells…). Another ...

Groundwater knowledge and research in the European Union is often scattered and non-standardised, because of different subjects involved and different approaches from Member States. The Horizon2020 project KINDRA has conducted an EU-wide assessment of existing groundwater-related practical and scientific knowledge based on a new Hydrogeological Research Classification System, identifying more than 280 keywords related to three main categories (namely Operational Actions, Research topics and Societal Challenges) to be intersected in a 3D-diagram approach. The classification is supported by a web-service, the European Inventory of Groundwater Research, which acts not only as knowledge repository but also as a tool to help identify relevant researchm topics, existing research trends and critical research challenges. The records have been uploaded during the project by 20 national experts from National Associations of Geologists, under the umbrella of the European Federation of Geologists. The total number of metadata included in the inventory at the end of the project are about 2300, and the analysis of the results is considered useful for producing synergies, implementing policies and optimising water management in Europe. By the use of additional indicators, the database content has been analysed by occurrence of keywords, type of document, level of innovation. Using the three-axes classification, more easily understandable by 2D diagrams as bubble plots, occurrence and relationship of different topics (main categories) in groundwater research have been highlighted. This article summarizes the activities realized in relation to the common classification system and to the metadata included in the EIGR, showing the distribution of thecollected information in different categories and attributes identified by the classification.

This book offers an overview of key findings in groundwater management in context against the legislative milestones, Until recently, focus on groundwater mainly concerned its use as drinking water and as an important resource for industry (e.g. cooling waters) and agriculture (irrigation). It has, however, become increasingly obvious that groundwater should not only be viewed as a drinking water reservoir, but that it should also be protected for its environmental value. In this respect, groundwater represents an important link of the hydrological cycle through the maintenance of wetlands and river flows, acting as a buffer through dry periods. Hence, deterioration of groundwater quality may directly affect other related aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The groundwater legislative framework under the EU Water Framework Directive and the newly adopted Groundwater Directive establishes criteria linked to environmental objectives which have to be met by 2015 following successive operational steps including characterisation, risk assessment (analysis of pressures and impacts), monitoring and design of programmes of measures. These milestones require that sound technical and scientific information be made accessible to water managers, which is so far still not sufficiently streamlined. In this context, this book describes the groundwater legislative milestones and presents series of research and development activities that aim to directly support them. It has, therefore, the ambition to become a vehicle liaising policy requirements and available scientific knowledge in this area

Hydrogeology-related research activities cover a wide spectrum of research areas at EU and national levels. The KINDRA project (Knowledge Inventory for hydrogeology research, Grant Agreement No. 642047) seeks to create a critical mass for scientific knowledge exchange of hydrogeological research, to ensure wide applicability on research results - including support for innovation and development - and to reduce unnecessary duplication of efforts. A new terminology and classification methodology for groundwater R&D results and activities (Hydrogeological Research Classification System: HRC-SYS) has been developed based on a hierarchical structure using keywords derived from EU directives and scientific journals. This classification allows the population of a European Inventory of Groundwater Research (EIGR) of research results, activities, projects, and programmes to be used to identify critical research challenges and gaps, for better implementation of the Water Framework Directive.

Coastal global oceans are expected to undergo drastic changes driven by climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressures in coming decades. Predicting specific future conditions and assessing the best management strategies to maintain ecosystem integrity and sustainable resource use are difficult, because of multiple interacting pressures, uncertain projections, and a lack of test cases for management. We argue that the Baltic Sea can serve as a time machine to study consequences and mitigation of future coastal perturbations, due to its unique combination of an early history of multistressor disturbance and ecosystem deterioration and early implementation of cross-border environmental management to address these problems. The Baltic Sea also stands out in providing a strong scientific foundation and accessibility to long-term data series that provide a unique opportunity to assess the efficacy of management actions to address the breakdown of ecosystem functions. Trend reversals such as the return of top predators, recovering fish stocks, and reduced input of nutrient and harmful substances could be achieved only by implementing an international, cooperative governance structure transcending its complex multistate policy setting, with integrated management of watershed and sea. The Baltic Sea also demonstrates how rapidly progressing global pressures, particularly warming of Baltic waters and the surrounding catchment area, can offset the efficacy of current management approaches. This situation calls for management that is (i) conservative to provide a buffer against regionally unmanageable global perturbations, (ii) adaptive to react to new management challenges, and, ultimately, (iii) multisectorial and integrative to address conflicts associated with economic trade-offs. ; Funding Agencies|BONUS; EU; Innovation Fund Denmark (Denmark); Estonian Research Council (Estonia); Academy of Finland (Finland); German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Germany); National Centre for Research and Development (Poland); Swedish Research Council (FORMAS, Sweden); Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Sweden); German Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean"