News and Announcements

RGFC session at IAH 2024, Davos, Switzerland

We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming IAH Congress in Davos, 9-13 September 2024. We would like to draw your attention to the session proposed by the Regional Groundwater Flow Commission (RGFC) of the IAH. The session intends to collect any basin-scale groundwater flow-related studies – wherein basin refers to the groundwater basin – in oral or poster form. We encourage anyone to submit an abstract to the submission platform by 29 February 2024.

The session title and details are:

Basin-scale groundwater flow, heat & mass transport processes – Looking beyond individual aquifers to address current hydrogeological challenges

Conveners: Etienne Bresciani, Hanneke Verweij, Xiao-Wei Jiang, Joel Carrillo Rivera, Szilvia Simon, Judit Mádl-Szőnyi

 regional, or basinal approach to groundwater flow and transport from recharge to discharge areas is required for effectively resolving resource issues such as freshwater and energy supplies. This approach contributes to all practical aspects of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for water. This session encourages contributions on regional groundwater flow and transport topics such as new approaches and methods in hydrogeologic characterization, advances in modelling techniques, and scenario analysis. The evaluation of uncertainty in predictions, new insights into coupled flow, heat, and/or mass transport systems at the basin scale, and discussions about the concept of regional groundwater flow systems and associated terminology are also welcome. Relevant fields of application include but are not limited to water and energy transitionoffshore assessment of fresh groundwater dischargemountain-block hydrogeology; interpretation of various tracers in groundwater (heat, hydrochemistry, and isotopes); and regional aspects of managed groundwater recharge. Presentations discussing the role of regional groundwater flow systems in the expected transition period due to climate change, intensive extraction, quality concerns, and ecosystem services also align with the session’s objectives. Regional groundwater governance, water conflicts, societal response, and the role of education and outreach will also be considered.

Please, share this information with your colleagues and anyone who might be interested! In case of any questions, feel free to contact us.

Hope to meet you in Davos!

Special Issue “Regional Groundwater Flow Concept and Its Potential for Interdisciplinary Application”

The Special Issue “Regional Groundwater Flow Concept and Its Potential for Interdisciplinary Application” is now completed and published.

The 2022 World Water Day slogan is “Groundwater: Making the invisible visible”, which can help visualise and understand the pattern of groundwater flow. There is a great need for a systematic basin-scale approach to reveal the regional relationships in groundwater. These can open new possibilities for scientists and professionals to understand the frontiers of hydrogeology with different disciplines. The main challenges are connected to climate change and the adjustment of flow systems to modified climate and the buffering capacity of the flow. Over the quantitative aspects, the qualitatives induced by pollution, especially emerging contaminants, are also challenging. Groundwater flow and quality will influence groundwater-dependent ecosystems and the future water supply. Groundwater flow patterns are also significant in exploring geothermal energy and controlling hydrocarbon migration. We await innovative papers on the topic, considering theoretical and practical aspects, regional studies and generalised conclusions.

The Regional Groundwater Flow Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeologists and the National Multidisciplinary Laboratory for Climate Change, RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00014 project initiated this Special Issue. The guest editors invited contributions from the EGU2023 General Assembly.

Guest Editors:

Dr. Judit Mádl-Szőnyi
Dr. Ádám Tóth

Please visit this website for more information: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water/special_issues/H4I7230H76

 

Table of contents:

Tóth, Á.; Baják, P.; Szijártó, M.; Tiljander, M.; Korkka-Niemi, K.; Hendriksson, N.; Mádl-Szőnyi, J. Multimethodological Revisit of the Surface Water and Groundwater Interaction in the Balaton Highland – Implications for the Overlooked Groundwater Component of Lake Balaton, Hungary. Water 2023, 15(6), 1006; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15061006.

Baják, P.; Molnár, B.; Hegedűs-Csondor, K.; Tiljander, M.; Jobbágy, V.; Kohuth-Ötvös, V.; Izsák, B.; Vargha, M.; Horváth, Á.; Csipa, E.; Óvári, M.; Tóbi, C.; Völgyesi, P.; Pelczar, K.; Hult, M.; Erőss, A. Natural Radioactivity in Drinking Water in the Surroundings of a Metamorphic Outcrop in Hungary: The Hydrogeological Answer to Practical Problems. Water 2023, 15(9), 1637; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15091637.

Czauner, B.; Szabó, Z.; Márton, B.; Mádl-Szőnyi, J. Basin-Scale Hydraulic Evaluation of Groundwater Flow Controlled Biogenic Gas Migration and Accumulation in the Central Pannonian Basin. Water 2023, 15(18), 3272; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15183272.

Hunt, M.; Marandi, A.; Retike, I. Water Balance Calculation for a Transboundary Aquifer System between Estonia and Latvia. Water 2023, 15(19), 3327; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15193327.

Männik, M.; Karro, E. Application of Modified DRASTIC Method for the Assessment and Validation of Confined Aquifer Vulnerability in Areas with Diverse Quaternary Deposits. Water 2023, 15(20), 3585; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15203585.

Simon, S.; Déri-Takács, J.; Szijártó, M.; Szél, L.; Mádl-Szőnyi, J. Wetland Management in Recharge Regions of Regional Groundwater Flow Systems with Water Shortage, Nyírség Region, Hungary. Water 2023, 15(20), 3589; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15203589.