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Project

Quantifying and modelling the impact of small-scale water retention measures

My PhD work will be a part of the Project TURQUOISE, which aims to investigate the different aspects of implementation of blue-green measures (BGM). These BGMs are emerging techniques in climate adaptation that help improve water security by increasing water availability in the context of climate change. TURQUOISE is a joint project requiring efforts of different specialists from different universities and research institutes. My PhD work focuses on assessing the performances of BGMs using local groundwater-surface water modelling. I will conduct experimental and empirical research on multiple small to intermediate-scale BGMs such as depressional wetlands (DWs), infiltration ponds (IPs), controlled drainage systems (CDs), and infiltration reservoirs (IRs). For my PhD, engagement and monitoring strategies for selected pilot sites will be developed. For depressional wetlands (DWs), both well- (under agricultural management) and poorly drained (under nature management) will be considered. For IPs, the impacts of different vegetation (i.e., grass, woody plants, no vegetation) and the dominant substrate in the subsoil (i.e., organic material, inorganic material, no substrate) will be investigated. Thus, soil properties such as infiltration capacity and soil compactness will be estimated in the field. For CDs, small and upstream drainage networks connecting DWs will be considered, and groundwater levels will be measured. For IRs, the stream level, groundwater flow along with the pumping activity will be monitored. For each pilot site, finite-difference groundwater flow models will then be built using MODFLOW or HYDRUS 2D/3D. They will be coupled with hydrological/surface water models to account for groundwater-surface water interactions. These models will then simulate water availability (i.e., detailed water balance) under current and future climate scenarios. Based on findings from the models and other realizations in the fieldworks, design guidelines will be formulated to optimize hydro-ecological impacts of BGMs. Multiple hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic indicators that will help assess the robustness of pilot sites will be proposed. The appropriate decision-support framework will then be developed and then applied. Lastly, guidelines related to this decision-support framework will be formulated.

Date:23 Dec 2022 →  Today
Keywords:nature-based solutions, soil compaction, ditches, weir, groundwater modeling, soil water flow modeling
Disciplines:Hydrogeology, Agricultural hydrology, Soil physics
Project type:PhD project