Scaling the Danish national water resources model for a pan-European quasi-3D groundwater resources model

In this study, we upscale and simplify hydrostratigraphic information from a detailed model for Denmark to a pan-European scale. This is part of a larger project to develop a harmonised overview of the volume and depth of groundwater resources in a quasi-3D European groundwater resource model. A 10 km grid and a maximum of c. 10 hydrostratigraphic layers were chosen as the common scale for the European database. The Danish information is based on the national water resources model (the DK-model), where the information is significantly more detailed (100 m grid and up to 26 layers). Information was transferred from the DK-model to the quasi-3D model by a method involving computations of mean volumes and expert assessment to reduce layers in each cell. In this process, detailed hydrostratigraphic information is lost, which could otherwise be used for local groundwater flow modelling in Denmark. However, the strength of the quasi-3D model is that it still contains the volumes of all hydrostratigraphic units, both the saturated and unsaturated parts. Hence, the upscaled model can contribute to a relatively precise calculation of European groundwater resources for the quantitative assessment of groundwater status across Europe at a 10 × 10 km scale

The KINDRA project. Sharing and evaluating groundwater research and knowledge in Europe

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

The KINDRA project. A tool for sharing Europe’s groundwater research and knowledge

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

Making groundwater visible: a contribution for classifying hydrogeological research and knowledge by KINDRA H2020 project

Water Directives, Science, Policy, groundwater, societal challenge

Pan-European geological data, information, and knowledge for a resilient, sustainable, and collaborative future

ABSTRACT: Many fields of research relevant to climate-change-related policy are grounded in geological sciences – far more than is generally recognised by the public or policy makers. These fields include management of marine environments, urban development, groundwater, landslide risk, understanding the geochemistry of soils and water, and securing raw materials. Through the concerted collaborative efforts, over many years, of EuroGeoSurveys – the Geological Surveys of Europe – national datasets bearing on these and other areas have been harmonised at European scale and delivered through an online digital platform, the European Geological Data Infrastructure. This vast store of baseline data, information, and knowledge is crucial for informed pan-European decision making and is considered the core of a future Geological Service for Europe.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Professor W Mike Edmunds: a pioneer in applied hydrogeochemistry and champion of international collaboration

Mike Edmunds was a pioneer in modern applied hydrogeochemistry, helping to develop geochemical tools and their application to managing water resources. In a career span- ning almost 50 years, Mike made major contributions to water resource science as well as pro moting the role of chemistry in solving groundwater problems and championing the need to incorporate science into policy. There can be few hydrogeologists who travelled so extensively in order to study the vast range of groundwater environments of the world. Mike ’ s contribution to water scie nce was recognised through the many accolades he received including the Whitaker Medal in 1999, the O.E. Meinzer Award in 2009, and the Vernadsky Medal in 2010

Analysis of the geological control on the spatial distribution of potentially toxic concentrations of As and F- in groundwater on a Pan-European scale

The distribution of the high concentrations of arsenic (As) and fluoride (F-) in groundwater on a Pan-European scale could be explained by the geological European context (lithology and structural faults). To test this hypothesis, seventeen countries and eighteen geological survey organizations (GSOs) have participated in the dataset. The methodology has used the HydroGeoToxicity (HGT) and the Baseline Concentration (BLC) index. The results prove that most of the waters considered in this study are in good conditions for drinking water consumption, in terms of As and/or F- content. A low proportion of the analysed samples present HGT≥ 1 levels (4% and 7% for As and F-, respectively). The spatial distribution of the highest As and/or F- concentrations (via BLC values) has been analysed using GIS tools. The highest values are identified associated with fissured hard rock outcrops (crystalline rocks) or Cenozoic sedimentary zones, where basement fractures seems to have an obvious control on the distribution of maximum concentrations of these elements in groundwaters.This research was co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (GeoERA HOVER project) under grant agreement number 731166. D. Voutchkova, B. Hansen, and J. Schullehner were also supported by Innovation Fund Denmark (funding agreement number 8055- 00073B). N. Rman participation was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency, research program P1-0020 Groundwaters and Geochemistry. A. Felter, J. Cabalska and A. Mikołajczyk participation was supported by the Polish Ministry of Education and Science. E. Giménez-Forcada is grateful for the support received from the CIPROM/2021/032 Project. Valencian Government. University of Valencia (Spain)

Dissolved organic carbon in European groundwaters

Organic carbon is present in all natural waters and plays an important role in many geochemical processes. Total organic carbon (TOC), measured on unfiltered samples, has been analysed on more than 400 groundwater samples from 8 European Union countries, and the operationally defined dissolved organic carbon (DOC), measured on filtered samples, was analysed on approximately 250 groundwater samples from 4 of these countries. TOC was found at a median concentration of 2.7 mg C/L with a range from 0.1 – 59.4 mg C/L and DOC had a median concentration of 2.2 mg C/L with a range from 0.2 – 58.9 mg C/L, demonstrating that very high natural organic carbon values can occasionally be found locally in some pristine aquifers. A relationship between the assimilable organic carbon (AOC) utilised by bacteria and TOC is observed although the correlation is not clear. Generally, there is a linear correlation between the TOC, DOC and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) values. Organic contaminants derived from anthropogenic activities are generally not identified in the TOC/DOC analysis as these contaminant concentrations are typically several orders of magnitude lower than the bulk aqueous carbon measurement. TOC/DOC analysis can, however be an important indicator of pollution at landfills, effluent ponds and similar pollution settings with high loads of organic carbon, but in many other situations the total or dissolved organic carbon concentration is not a good tracer or indicator of contamination. However, the total or dissolved organic carbon is a very important component in the biogeochemical cycling of elements and consequently it is recommended as a component to be measured on all groundwater samples. The measurement of a filtered organic carbon fraction is recommended where groundwaters contain significant amounts of particulate material. Measurements of TOC and DOC on the same samples in this study show comparable concentrations, however, the TOC/DOC ratio varied and TOC was not always found to be significantly greater than DOC, as may have been expected. Further research is needed to evaluate what part of the TOC is readily available for biogeochemical processes