Research on Hydrogeology and Hydrochemistry: Challenges and Prospects

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrogeology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 778

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Croatain Geological Survey, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: karst hydrogeology; hydrochemistry; salt/freshwater relations; groundwater dy-namics; groundwater protection; climate change
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E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Croatian Geological Survey, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: hydrothermal systems; island and coastal aquifers; geophysical research; numerical modeling; groundwater management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Groundwater serves as a critical resource for a substantial portion of the global population, providing drinking water, irrigation, and other technical applications, as well as geothermal energy for heating/cooling systems (heat pumps) and direct applications like heating and power generation. However, these vital resources are limited and face escalating pressures from climate change, population growth, economic development, and contamination by established and emerging pollutants.

Consequently, safeguarding groundwater quality and quantity (hydrochemical and hydrogeological aspects, respectively) is paramount and will become crucial if present global trends persist. Notably, groundwater also holds significant potential within the green energy transition, offering low-carbon solutions like heat pump systems and thermal energy for heating, cooling, and electricity generation. This dual role in water and energy provision could lead to future conflicts between user groups, particularly in densely populated regions, as competition for this vital resource intensifies.

Special Issue Scope:

This Special Issue welcomes research papers addressing the multifaceted challenges and opportunities surrounding groundwater. We encourage submissions encompassing hydrogeological, hydrological, hydrochemical, and geophysical investigations, as well as research on groundwater management practices, including, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Hydrochemistry (major ion chemistry, trace elements, stable and radioactive isotopes, established and emerging pollutants, time series and big data analyses);
  • Geochemistry influencing groundwater chemistry and/or vice versa;
  • Groundwater legislation and protection (e.g., drinking water protection zones and vulnerability assessments);
  • Current challenges in groundwater management: climate change (decreasing quantities, seawater penetration into aquifers), population increase (technical applications in agriculture and energy sectors; pollutants);
  • Porous, fractured, and karstified aquifer research including monitoring, data analyses, mapping, conceptualization, modeling and simulations;
  • Early warning system development;
  • Enhanced and/or artificial recharge strategies;
  • Utilization of shallow and deep aquifers for geothermal energy applications.

If you are not certain whether your research fits the scope of this Special Issue, please feel free to contact the Guest Editors for further clarification.

Dr. Josip Terzić
Dr. Staša Borović
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hydrogeology
  • hydrochemistry
  • geochemistry
  • groundwater
  • aquifer
  • hydrothermal systems
  • energy applications
  • groundwater legislation and management

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

25 pages, 23083 KiB  
Article
Conceptual Model Based on Groundwater Dynamics in the Northern Croatian Dinaric Region at the Transition from the Deep Karst and Fluviokarst
by Ivana Boljat, Josip Terzić, Željko Duić, Jasmina Lukač Reberski and Ana Selak
Water 2024, 16(11), 1630; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16111630 - 6 Jun 2024
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Abstract
The Dinaric karst in the north differs from the rest of the karst in Croatia in terms of karstification depth. The infiltrating precipitation drains in cascades from deeply karstified mountainous areas to the shallow or fluviokarst, forming the tributaries of the Kupa River. [...] Read more.
The Dinaric karst in the north differs from the rest of the karst in Croatia in terms of karstification depth. The infiltrating precipitation drains in cascades from deeply karstified mountainous areas to the shallow or fluviokarst, forming the tributaries of the Kupa River. Time series analyses were conducted on a 5-year dataset to elucidate the hydrogeological conceptual model of the area and clarify disparate findings from tracer tests under varying hydrological conditions. The flow duration curve, autocorrelation functions, and recession curves were used to evaluate the spring discharge variability, the karstification degree, and the karst aquifer’s size. The crosscorrelation function and temperature dynamics were employed to assess the spring’s response to recharge and the hydrogeological system behavior. Comparative analysis with previous studies was conducted to contextualize the obtained results. The research outcomes delineated several key findings: (i) the deep karst zone is less developed than the shallow karst zone; (ii) groundwater exchange is significantly faster in shallow karst; (iii) groundwater divides in the Kapela Mountain are zonal; (iv) the homogenization of groundwater occurs during periods of high water levels; (v) fast water exchange transpires without concurrent groundwater temperature homogenization; and (vi) a definition of the boundary between deep and fluviokarst in Croatia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Hydrogeology and Hydrochemistry: Challenges and Prospects)
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