Scientific Results

This catalogue is obtained by conducting a systematic literature review of scientific studies and reviews related to monitoring, forecasting, and simulating the inland water cycle. The analysis maps scientific expertise across research groups and classifies findings by the type of inland water studied, application focus, and geographical scope. A gap analysis will identify missing research areas and assess their relevance to policymaking.

ID â–² Type Year Authors Title Venue/Journal DOI Research type Water System Technical Focus Abstract Link with Projects Link with Tools Related policies ID
publications-2391 Peer reviewed articles 2022 Kath Standen, Rui Hugman, José Paulo Monteiro Decision-Support Groundwater Modelling of Managed Aquifer Recharge in a Coastal Aquifer in South Portugal Frontiers in Earth Science 10.3389/feart.2022.904271 Simulation & Modeling Water Distribution Networks The Vale do Lobo sector of the Campina de Faro aquifer system in the Algarve (Portugal) is at risk of seawater intrusion. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is being considered to avoid groundwater quality deterioration. Numerical modelling was undertaken to assess the feasibility of several proposed MAR schemes. Although some data is available, many aspects of system behaviour are not well understood or measured. We demonstrate the use of a structurally simple but parametrically complex model for decision-making in a coastal aquifer. Modelling was designed to facilitate uncertainty reduction through data assimilation where possible, whilst acknowledging that which remains unknown elsewhere. Open-source software was employed throughout, and the workflow was scripted (reproducible). The model was designed to be fast-running (rapid) and numerically stable to facilitate data assimilation and represent prediction-pertinent uncertainty (robust). Omitting physical processes and structural detail constrains the type of predictions that can be made. This was addressed by assessing the effectiveness of MAR at maintaining the fresh-seawater interface (approximated using the Ghyben-Herzberg relationship) below specified thresholds. This enabled the use of a constant-density model, rather than attempting to explicitly simulating the interaction between fresh and seawater. Although predictive uncertainty may be increased, it is outweighed by the ability to extract information from the available data. Results show that, due to the limit on water availability and the continued groundwater extraction at unsustainable rates, only limited improvements in hydraulic heads can be achieved with the proposed MAR schemes. This is an important finding for decision-makers, as it indicates that a considerable reduction in extraction in addition to MAR will be required. Our approach identified these limitations, avoiding the need for further data collection, and demonstrating the value of purposeful model design. 814066
publications-2392 Peer reviewed articles 2023 Kath Standen, Luís Costa, Rui Hugman, José Paulo Monteiro Integration of Managed Aquifer Recharge into the Water Supply System in the Algarve Region, Portugal Water 10.3390/w15122286 Simulation & Modeling Natural Water Bodies The Algarve region of Portugal is experiencing severe water scarcity with existing water supplies insufficient to meet demand, with limited resilience to drought. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) can provide intermediate storage and bridge the gap between water availability and demand, with success depending on the water available and the aquifer capacity to accept and store the water. We present the results of a regional study quantifying both these aspects to estimate the regional potential for MAR. Our results demonstrate that MAR can comprise 10% of the total water demand of the region (24 Mm3/yr) using water that is not otherwise captured, with quality that meets the requirements of the Groundwater Directive. MAR can replace 15 Mm3/yr of surface water used in the public irrigation perimeters and 9 Mm3/yr can be used to develop and maintain a strategic groundwater resource in the aquifers of the Central Algarve. Although climate change is predicted to result in an 8–13% decrease in MAR recharge, this can be addressed by incrementally increasing MAR design capacity. MAR has similar water resource benefits to the planned major infrastructure projects (desalination and River Guadiana abstraction), with reduced environmental impacts and lower costs than almost all feasible alternatives. We conclude that MAR is an important measure to increase water supply security and drought resilience in the Algarve region. 814066
publications-2393 Peer reviewed articles 2024 Rodrigo Pérez-Illanes; Guillem Sole-Mari; Daniel Fernàndez-Garcia Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics for anisotropic dispersion in heterogeneous porous media Advances in Water Resources 10.1016/j.advwatres.2023.104601 IoT & Sensors Water Distribution Networks No abstract available 814066
publications-2394 Peer reviewed articles 2022 Jose David Henao Casas, Enrique Fernández Escalante, Francisco Ayuga Alleviating drought and water scarcity in the Mediterranean region through managed aquifer recharge Hydrogeology Journal 10.1007/s10040-022-02513-5 Data Management & Analytics Irrigation Systems AbstractDrought and water scarcity can significantly impair the sustainable development of groundwater resources, a scenario commonly found in aquifers in the Mediterranean region. Water management measures to address these drivers of groundwater depletion are highly relevant, especially considering the increasing severity of droughts under climate change. This study evaluates the potential of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) to offset the adverse effects of drought and water scarcity on groundwater storage. Los Arenales aquifer (central Spain), which was unsustainably exploited for irrigation in the second half of the twentieth century, is employed as a case study. Two neighbouring zones within this aquifer are contrasted, namely, Los Arenales (LA) and Medina del Campo (MC). The primary difference between them in terms of water resources management is the wide-scale implementation of MAR systems in LA since the early 2000s. Several groundwater statistical methods are used. Groundwater-level trend analysis and average piezometric levels show in LA a faster recovery of aquifer storage and less susceptibility to drought compared to MC. On the other hand, standardised precipitation indexes and standardised groundwater level indexes of detrended groundwater-level time series, which do not include the effects of MAR, show that LA can be more negatively affected by drought and groundwater abstraction. The sharper recovery of piezometric levels in LA when considering MAR, and bigger drought impacts observed when the effects of this measure are removed, demonstrate that MAR can effectively alleviate the impacts of water scarcity and drought, providing an adaptation solution to climate change worldwide. 814066
publications-2395 Peer reviewed articles 2022 Esteban Caligaris; Margherita Agostini; Rudy Rossetto Using Heat as a Tracer to Detect the Development of the Recharge Bulb in Managed Aquifer Recharge Schemes Hydrology 10.3390/hydrology9010014 Data Management & Analytics Groundwater Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), the intentional recharge of aquifers, has surged worldwide in the last 60 years as one of the options to preserve and increase water resources availability. However, estimating the extent of the area impacted by the recharge operations is not an obvious task. In this descriptive study, we monitored the spatiotemporal variation of the groundwater temperature in a phreatic aquifer before and during MAR operations, for 15 days, at the LIFE REWAT pilot infiltration basin using surface water as recharge source. The study was carried out in the winter season, taking advantage of the existing marked difference in temperature between the surface water (cold, between 8 and 13 °C, and in quasi-equilibrium with the air temperature) and the groundwater temperature, ranging between 10 and 18 °C. This difference in heat carried by groundwater was then used as a tracer. Results show that in the experiment the cold infiltrated surface water moved through the aquifer, allowing us to identify the development and extension in two dimensions of the recharge plume resulting from the MAR infiltration basin operations. Forced convection is the dominant heat transport mechanism. Further data, to be gathered at high frequency, and modeling analyses using the heat distribution at different depths are needed to identify the evolution of the recharge bulb in the three-dimensional space. 814066
publications-2396 Peer reviewed articles 2022 Jose David Henao Casas, Enrique Fernández Escalante, Rodrigo Calero Gil, Francisco Ayuga Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Low-Regret Measure for Climate Change Adaptation: Insights from Los Arenales, Spain Water 10.3390/w14223703 Simulation & Modeling Hydropower Dams & reservoirs In view of heightened climate change (CC), adaptation strategies are imperative to diminish the impacts on social and environmental assets. Two approaches are commonly used to formulate adaptation measures, namely bottom-up and top-down, each with inherited limitations. A sound bridge between both approaches is low-regret adaptive measures, which result in win-win scenarios, as they provide solutions to current pressures and contribute to building CC adaptive capacity. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is a term that includes a series of techniques that enhance groundwater storage for later use or environmental purposes. MAR is often mentioned in the literature as a CC adaptation measure. Nonetheless, few examples explicitly prove this point. We show through the Los Arenales MAR systems (Central Spain) that MAR is a low-regret CC adaptive measure. We evaluate a series of social and environmental challenges that MAR systems contribute to solving, as well as their attributes that diminish the expected impacts of CC in the study area. MAR in the Los Arenales groundwater body has resulted in an overall increase in groundwater levels; a reduction in groundwater pumping energy and costs and CO2 emissions; restoration of a surface water body; improvement in rural population indexes; and enhanced groundwater demand control and CC adaptive capacity through irrigation communities. To cope with CC, the Los Arenales MAR systems can be operated even if decreasing streamflow precludes the use of river water surpluses; they provide surface storage volume to mitigate flooding; and they decrease the impacts of droughts and water scarcity. This research proves that MAR is a water management tool capable of providing solutions to several pressures simultaneously in the present and future, an attribute particularly useful when dealing with adaptation gaps in developing countries, rural areas, or regions lacking long-term climatic data. 814066
publications-2397 Peer reviewed articles 2022 Enrique Fernández Escalante, José David Henao Casas, Jon San Sebastián Sauto, Rodrigo Calero Gil Monitored and Intentional Recharge (MIR): A Model for Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) Guideline and Regulation Formulation Water 10.3390/w14213405 Simulation & Modeling Hydropower Dams & reservoirs Guidelines and regulatory frameworks for conducting managed aquifer recharge (MAR) are scarce worldwide compared to the countries where MAR projects operate. At the same time, guidelines and regulations are crucial to implementing MAR activities safely, respecting human health and the environment, and guaranteeing the sustainability of the intentional recharge. The present study aims to provide a conceptual model comprising the minimum elements to consider when drafting guiding and normative MAR documents. To this end, aspects discussed in nine guidelines were evaluated through a score that allowed their significance to be assessed. The authors also reviewed 22 regulations, guidelines, or MAR site operation rules to construct the monitored and intentional recharge (MIR) conceptual model. This effort was enhanced by active participation in the real drafting of two national regulating documents for MAR. The evaluation of aspects in the documents showed the importance of water reuse and risk and impact assessment. The MIR conceptual model comprises nine blocks that summarize the most important aspects to consider. This conceptual model, which guides MAR regulations in two countries, has great potential for application in different sites under diverse contexts. 814066
publications-2398 Peer reviewed articles 2020 Kathleen Standen, Luís R. D. Costa, José-Paulo Monteiro In-Channel Managed Aquifer Recharge: A Review of Current Development Worldwide and Future Potential in Europe Water 10.3390/w12113099 Simulation & Modeling Natural Water Bodies Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) schemes often employ in-channel modifications to capture flow from ephemeral streams, and increase recharge to the underlying aquifer. This review collates data from 79 recharge dams across the world and presents a reanalysis of their properties and success factors, with the intent of assessing the potential of applying these techniques in Europe. This review also presents a narrative review of sand storage dams, and other in-channel modifications, such as natural flood management measures, which contribute to the retardation of the flow of flood water and enhance recharge. The review concludes that in-channel MAR solutions can increase water availability and improve groundwater quality to solve problems affecting aquifers in hydraulic connection with temporary streams in Europe, based on experiences in other parts of the world. Therefore, to meet the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), in-channel MAR can be considered as a measure to mitigate groundwater problems including saline intrusion, remediating groundwater deficits, or solving aquifer water quality issues. 814066
publications-2399 Peer reviewed articles 2024 Rebecca Sultana; Ulrike Werban; Marco Pohle; Thomas Vienken Introducing a tailored site delineation approach to optimize the design of managed aquifer recharge surface spreading infrastructure Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10.1016/j.gsd.2024.101169 AI & Machine Learning Water Distribution Networks No abstract available 814066
publications-2400 Peer reviewed articles 2019 Enrique Fernández-Escalante, Jon San Sebastián Sauto, Rodrigo Calero Gil Sites and Indicators of MAR as a Successful Tool to Mitigate Climate Change Effects in Spain Water 10.3390/w11091943 IoT & Sensors Water Distribution Networks In this article, the authors will support Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) as a tool to combat Climate Change (CC) adverse impacts on the basis of real sites, indicators, and specific cases located Spain. MAR has been used in Spain in combination with other measures of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change (CC) challenges. The main effects of CC are that the rising of the average atmospheric temperature together with the decreasing average annual precipitation rate cause extreme weather and induce sea level rise. These pattern results in a series of negative impacts reflected in an increase of certain events or parameters, such as evaporation, evapotranspiration, water demand, fire risk, run-off, floods, droughts, and saltwater intrusion; and a decrease of others such as availability of water resources, the wetland area, and the hydro-electrical power production. Solutions include underground storage, lowering the temperature, increasing soil humidity, reclaimed water infiltration, punctual and directed infiltration, self-purification and naturalization, off-river storage, wetland restoration and/or establishment, flow water distribution by gravity, power saving, eventual recharge of extreme flows, multi-annual management and positive barrier wells against saline water intrusion. The main advantages and disadvantages for each MAR solution have been addressed. As success must be measured, some indicators have been designed or adopted and calculated to quantify the actual effect of these solutions and their evolution. They have been expressed in the form of volumes, lengths, areas, percentages, grades, euros, CO2 emissions, and years. Therefore, MAR in Spain demonstrably supports its usefulness in battling CC adverse impacts in a broad variety of environments and circumstances. This situation is comparable to other countries where MAR improvements have also been assessed. 814066