Session: Planet in blue? Groundwater: a hidden multiple resource and climate buffer for a sustainable future Judit Mádl-Szőnyi Eötvös Loránd University Email:
[email protected] HOPE Sustainability Challenges Networking Day University of Pannonia Veszprém 18 July 2024
The hidden water resource for the world and Europe •Groundwater accounts for 99% of the liquid freshwater. •Social, economic and environmental benefits •50% domestic use, 25% irrigation (UN 2022) •65% drinking water, 25% agricultural irrigation in the 27 EU Member states (EEA 2022) •95% of drinking water (35% bank filtration) from groundwater in Hungary (OVF) •Widespread pressure from pollution, abstraction and climate change A comprehensive framework for sustainable adaptation to the changing blue planet 2.5%
Outline - Questions ELTE research topics in sustainability and EU strategies for groundwater 1. Contribution to the „big picture” of the topic 2. Research related to blue planet issues (on the EU level) - What problems and possible solutions do we see? - What are needed to implement the solutions?
The modern water cycle vs aquifer-based thinking (Christopher J Duffy 2017) The problem: Practice and regulation cannot handle physically-based complex groundwater flow systems. The unit of interpretation is the aquifer/aquifer system/water body (WFD). Less attention is paid to flow and transport processes in groundwater and their complex connection with surface water bodies and groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs). (modified from Puri and Arnold, 2002) Example: Transboundary Aquifer System - flow does not follow the aquifer boundaries!
Consider the „still missing” system approach ELTE Hydrogeology Research Group Regional Groundwater Flow Commission of International Association of Hydrogeologists Recommendations: •More attention should be paid to reveal flow and transport processes. •This can provide sound background information on sustainability issues, climate change, and anthropogenic intervention.
Outline - Questions ELTE research topics in sustainability and EU strategies for groundwater 1. Contribution to the „big picture” of the topic 2. Research related to blue planet issues (on the EU level) 2.1. Groundwater as multiple resources (ENeRAG H2020 project) 2.1. Groundwater as a climate buffer for extreme events (Hungarian National Laboratory Project, ClimEx-PE Water4All 2022 Project)
2.1. Groundwater as multiple resources, the ENeRAG H2020 project Groundwater is the most abundant geofluid in the Earth’s crust, down to 10-15 km. Revealed problem: Besides domestic, agricultural, and industrial use, groundwater serves as: -Heat source (geothermal energy) to reduce greenhouse emissions and adopt renewable energy systems -Hydrothermal mineral resources (Li and critical raw minerals) for the rapidly developing green technologies, etc. European and Hungarian legislations do not provide an aligned framework for managing and using different geofluids in the Earth’s crust. The increasing production of geofluids can influence their utilisation for different purposes, cause interactions and unforeseeable conflicts, and have complex environmental effects in underground space. Example: In Hungary, the Mining Law (modified in 2023) regulates geothermal energy production, although groundwater transfers heat to the surface. The Water Management Law regulates thermal water use in SPAs and agriculture. Reinjection is a crucial practice to ensure the sustainable utilisation of thermal water, so the WFD requires reinjection from 2027 Dec. Problems: 500 thermal water wells use geothermal energy, but only 50 reinjection wells are operating. There is strong social and economic resistance from agricultural users against reinjection. There are scientific and technical problems with reinjection etc.
Groundwater as multiple resources, possible solutions Recommendation and implementation : •We proposed a new scientific-based ’Dynamic System Approach for Geofluids and their Resources’ for handling fluids and their resources in the Earth’s crust. •Workflow: displays key concepts and summarizes the related methodology •Guideline: demonstrates practical application and provides knowledge transfer to public © ENeRAG Available at https://zenodo.org/communities/enerag/ ? Mineral systems Geothermal systems Groundwater flow systems Petroleum systems
2.2. Groundwater as a climate buffer, Hungarian National Laboratory Project, ClimEx-PE Water4All 2022 Project Groundwater can serve as a natural climate buffer: - Transit time from days to million years - Huge storage capacity from the surface to some km (not only in the soil!) - The amount of naturally stored water can decrease or increase due to natural or anthropogenic effects Effect of climate change and water abstraction: Recharge areas are sensitive to drought, and discharge areas for flood. Short-local systems are more sensitive than longer regional ones. water divide recharge water table Local system Intermediate system Regional system (USGS 1998) Water flows away from elevated recharge areas groundwater flow In deep lying discharge areas, water flow up to the surface from groundwater lake river spring
