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–Č Type Year Authors Title Venue/Journal DOI Research type Water System Technical Focus Abstract Link with Projects Link with Tools Related policies ID
publications-2471 Peer reviewed articles 2021 Enrico Marinelli; Serena Radini; Alessia Foglia; Nicola Lancioni; Alberto Piasentin; Anna Laura Eusebi; Francesco Fatone Validation of an evidence-based methodology to support regional carbon footprint assessment and decarbonisation of wastewater treatment service in Italy. Water Research 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117831 Simulation & Modeling Water Distribution Networks No abstract available 820954
publications-2472 Peer reviewed articles 2021 Enrico Marinelli; Serena Radini; Çağrı Akyol; Massimiliano Sgroi; Anna Laura Eusebi; Gian Battista Bischetti; Adriano Mancini; Francesco Fatone Water-Energy-Food-Climate Nexus in an Integrated Peri-Urban Wastewater Treatment and Reuse System: From Theory to Practice Sustainability 10.3390/su131910952 Data Management & Analytics Water Distribution Networks This paper develops a framework for the identification, assessment and analysis of the water reuse-carbon-energy-food-climatic (WEFC) nexus in an integrated peri-urban wastewater treatment and reuse system. This methodology was applied to the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of Peschiera Borromeo (Milan, Italy) and its peri-urban district to define the most possible affirmations and conflicts following the EU regulations 741/2020. Results of this work showed that transferring the WEFC nexus from theory to practice can realize sustainable resource management in the operating environment by providing a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, overall energy savings, reduction in water stress and optimization of agricultural practices. Particularly, it was found that if the plant configuration is upgraded to reach water quality class C for water reuse, instead of wastewater discharge, energy savings are estimated to reach up to 7.1% and carbon emissions are supposed to be reduced up to 2.7%. In addition, enhancing water quality from class C to class A resulted in increments in energy and carbon footprint of 5.7% and 1.7%, respectively. Nevertheless, higher quality crops can be cultivated with reclaimed water in class A, with bigger economic revenues and high recovery of nutrients (e.g., recovery of 154,450 kg N/y for tomato cultivation). 820954
publications-2473 Peer reviewed articles 2021 Serena Radini; Enrico Marinelli; Çağrı Akyol; Anna Laura Eusebi; V. Vasilaki; Adriano Mancini; Emanuele Frontoni; Gian Battista Bischetti; Claudio Gandolfi; Evina Katsou; Francesco Fatone Urban water-energy-food-climate nexus in integrated wastewater and reuse systems: Cyber-physical framework and innovations Applied Energy 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117268 Data Management & Analytics River Basins No abstract available 820954
publications-2474 Peer reviewed articles 2022 Mesman, J.P., Ayala, A.I., Goyette, S., Kasparian, J., MarcĂ©, R., Markensten, H., Stelzer, J.A., Thayne, M.W., Thomas, M.K., Pierson, D.C. and Ibelings, B.W Drivers of phytoplankton responses to summer wind events in a stratified lake: A modeling study Limnology and Oceanography 10.1002/lno.12040 Data Management & Analytics River Basins AbstractExtreme wind events affect lake phytoplankton by deepening the mixed layer and increasing internal nutrient loading. Both increases and decreases in phytoplankton concentration after strong wind events have been observed, but the precise mechanisms driving these responses remain poorly understood or quantified. We coupled a one‐dimensional physical model to a biogeochemical model to investigate the factors regulating short‐term phytoplankton responses to summer wind events, now and under expected warmer future conditions. We simulated physical, chemical, and biological dynamics in Lake Erken, Sweden, and found that strong wind could increase or decrease the phytoplankton concentration in the euphotic zone 1 week after the event, depending on antecedent lake physical and chemical conditions. Wind had little effect on phytoplankton concentration if the mixed layer was deep prior to wind exposure. Higher incoming shortwave radiation and hypolimnetic nutrient concentration boosted phytoplankton concentration, whereas higher surface water temperatures decreased concentrations after wind events. Medium‐intensity wind events resulted in more phytoplankton than high‐intensity wind. Simulations under a future climate scenario did not show marked differences in the way wind events affect phytoplankton concentration. These findings help to better understand how wind impacts vary as a function of local environmental conditions and how climate warming and changing extreme weather dynamics will affect lake ecosystems. 722518
publications-2475 Peer reviewed articles 2021 Teece, Bronwyn L.; Metternicht, Graciela; Gnassi, Antonio; Vuolo, Francesco; Belfiore, Oscar Rosario Making It Happen: An Experience of Using Earth Observation-Based Research Outputs for Engaging High School Students in Novel Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture  Geographical Education 10.5281/zenodo.5907225 Simulation & Modeling Water Distribution Networks No abstract available 870518
publications-2476 Peer reviewed articles 2020 Belletti, B.; Garcia de Leaniz, C.; Jones, J.; Bizzi, S.; Borger, L.; Segura, G.; Castelletti, A.; van de Bund, W.; Aarestrup, K.; Barry, J.; Belka, K.; Berkhuysen, A.; Birnie-Gauvin, K.; Bussettini, M.; Carolli, M.; Consuegra, S.; Dopico, E.; Feierfeil, T.; Fernandez, S.; Fernandez Garrido, P.; Garcia-Vazquez, E.; Garrido, S.; Giannico, G.; Gough, P.; Jepsen, N.; Jones, P. E.; Kemp, P.; Kerr, J.; "More than one million barriers fragment Europe’s rivers" Nature volume 588, pages 436–441 (2020) 10.1038/s41586-020-3005-2 AI & Machine Learning Uncategorized No abstract available 689682
publications-2477 Peer reviewed articles 2020 Angus J. Lothian, Jeroen S. Tummers, Atticus J. Albright, Pat O’Brien, Martyn C. Lucas River connectivity restoration for upstream-migrating European river lamprey: The efficacy of two horizontally-mounted studded tile designs River Research and Applications 10.1002/rra.3734 Data Management & Analytics Irrigation Systems AbstractMany rivers are heavily fragmented, resulting from anthropogenic cross‐channel structures. Cost‐effective solutions are needed to restore habitat connectivity for migratory fishes, including those of conservation concern, such as the European river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis). Studded material is becoming increasingly used as a low‐cost retrofit solution for lamprey passage at sloping weirs, although little is known about the efficacy of the material or what stud arrangements may be most effective. This study tested whether expanding a single‐density studded tile (SDT) lane from 1 to 2‐m width increased passage success (nreleased = 133), and also compared the passage performance between a SDT lane and a dual‐density studded tile (DDT) lane (nreleased = 115) at a sloping weir, using PIT telemetry. No passage was recorded (nattempted = 89) at the 2‐m wide SDT lane, but 61.6% (npassed/attempted = 53/86) passed using DDT/SDT lane combination. However, increased passage efficiency was likely a result of high river flow (Q2.0‐Q30.6) during DDT/SDT comparison versus low (Q8.3‐Q88.5) while the 2‐m wide SDT lane was employed. There was no evidence that passage occurred using solely one stud configuration. It is, therefore, hypothesised that passage of river lamprey at weirs is more dependent on flow regime than the provision of either stud configuration. However, with 46.1% (npassed/released = 53/115) of those released during DDT/SDT comparison passing on the instrumented section (10.5% of weir face), the provision of studded tiles may aid in lamprey passage at high flows, presumably as the tiles generate a low‐velocity boundary layer that can be utilised as lamprey swim above the studs. 689682
publications-2478 Peer reviewed articles 2021 Peter E. Jones; Toby Champneys; Jessica Vevers; Luca Börger; Jon C. Svendsen; Sofia Consuegra; Joshua Jones; Carlos Garcia de Leaniz Selective effects of small barriers on river‐resident fish Jones , P E , Champneys , T , Vevers , J , Börger , L , Svendsen , J C , Consuegra , S , Jones , J A H & Garcia de Leaniz , C 2021 , ' Selective effects of small barriers on river-resident fish ' , Journal of Applied Ecology , vol. 58 , no. 7 , pp. 1487-1498 . https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13875 10.1111/1365-2664.13875 AI & Machine Learning Uncategorized Abstract Habitat fragmentation is a principal threat to biodiversity and artificial river barriers are a leading cause of the global decline in freshwater biota. Although the impact of barriers on diadromous fish is well established, impacts on river‐resident fish communities remain unclear, especially for low‐head barriers. We examined the movement of five contrasting freshwater fish (topmouth gudgeon, European minnow, stone loach, bullhead and brown trout) in an experimental cascade mesocosm with seven pools separated by small vertical barriers. Passage rates differed significantly among species and increased with body size and sustained swimming speed (Usus), ranging from an average of 0.2 passes/hr in topmouth gudgeon to 3.4 passes/hr in brown trout. A random‐walk simulation indicated that barriers can result in net downstream movement and shifts in community composition. Passage rates in brown trout were leptokurtic, that is, most individuals were relatively sedentary while a small proportion showed frequent movements. Upstream passage rates of brown trout increased with body length and boldness while fish with lower aerobic scope tended to move downstream. Passage rates showed significant individual repeatability in brown trout, independent of body size, indicating the potential for in‐stream barriers to exert selective effects on fish populations. Our results show that barrier effects can be more complex than simply blocking fish passage, and that river‐resident fish can be impacted even by very small barriers. We show that fish passage depends on a wide range of morphological, physiological and behavioural drivers, and that barriers can exert selective effects on these traits and cause shifts in community composition. Policy implications. Barrier mitigation measures need to embrace interspecific and intraspecific variation in fish passage to avoid inadvertent artificial selection on fish communities. Given the high abundance of low‐head structures in river systems worldwide, a paradigm shift is needed to recognise the subtle impacts of small barriers on freshwater biodiversity. Removal of small barriers or nature‐like fishways should allow better passage of the wider fish community compared to widely used salmonid‐centric fish passage options. 689682
publications-2479 Peer reviewed articles 2021 JINGRUI SUN; Shams Galib; Martyn C Lucas Rapid response of fish and aquatic habitat to removal of a tidal barrier Aquatic conservation : marine and freshwater ecosystems, 2021, Vol.31(7), pp.1802-1816 [Peer Reviewed Journal] 10.1002/aqc.3576 Data Management & Analytics Irrigation Systems Abstract River barrier removal is used increasingly as a conservation tool to restore lotic habitat and river connectivity, but evidence of its efficacy is incomplete. This study used a before–after methodology to determine the effects of removing a tidal‐limit barrier on the fishes, macroinvertebrates, and habitats of an English coastal stream. Following barrier removal, habitat diversity increased immediately upstream and remained similar downstream. Mobilized silt altered the substrate composition immediately downstream, but this was temporary as silt was flushed out the following winter. Changes to macroinvertebrate communities occurred upstream and downstream of the former barrier but these were transient. A dramatic and sustained increase in fish density occurred immediately upstream of the barrier after its removal, but effects downstream were minor. The fish community upstream changed, largely due to rapid recruitment and dispersal of endangered European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Eel density in the formerly impounded zone increased from 0.5 per 100 m2 before barrier removal to 32.5 per 100 m2 5 months after removal. By 17 months after barrier removal there was no difference in eel density across the six sections sampled. Although resident stream fishes such as bullhead (Cottus gobio species complex, protected under the European Habitats Directive) were abundant in middle and upper‐stream sections, brown trout (Salmo trutta, a listed species for biodiversity conservation in England and Wales) density remained low during the study and recruitment was poor. This suggests that although colonization access for anadromous trout was available, habitat upstream may have been unsuitable for reproduction, indicating that wider catchment management is required to complement the restoration of connectivity. These findings suggest that tidal barrier removal is an effective method of restoring lotic habitats and connectivity, and can be beneficial for resident and migratory fishes including those of conservation importance (e.g. European eel) in coastal streams. 689682
publications-2480 Peer reviewed articles 2021 Peter E. Jones; Jeroen S. Tummers; Jeroen S. Tummers; Shams M. Galib; Shams M. Galib; Darragh J. Woodford; Darragh J. Woodford; John B. Hume; Luiz G. M. Silva; Raul R. Braga; Carlos Garcia de Leaniz; Jean R. S. Vitule; Jelger E. Herder; Martyn C. Lucas The Use of Barriers to Limit the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Animal Species: A Global Review Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 9 (2021) 10.3929/ethz-b-000472824 AI & Machine Learning Precipitation & Ecological Systems No abstract available 689682