Karst Aquifers – Globally and in the Mediterranean: An Overview of Novel Water Resources Management Tools
Date: April 26, 2022
ABSTRACT
About 15.2% of the global land surface and 15.7% of the global coastline consist of karstified carbonate rocks, 1.18 billion people live on karst, and 678 million people depend on groundwater from karst aquifers as their main source of freshwater. Karst aquifers also harbor high biodiversity and provide various other natural resources and ecosystem services. Karst areas are particularly widespread in the Mediterranean region, and the Dinaric karst is the world type locality of karst landscapes and aquifers, including numerous major karst springs and caves.
The first part of this webinar presents an overview of karst areas, globally and in the Mediterranean area, and introduces some novel tools for the management of karst groundwater resources in terms of water availability and quality; the second part presents hydrogeological research from the Dinaric karst region, including geological and speleological surveys, the application of artificial and natural tracers, and numerical modelling approaches that provide the basis for better water sources protection, for identifying flood-prone areas and maintaining healthy habitats for karst-dependent wildlife species.
SPEAKERS
Nico Goldscheider, Professor, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. Nico Goldscheider is a professor of hydrogeology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany’s largest research and education institution, created by the merger of the Technical University of Karlsruhe and a national research center. He studied geology and geoecology in Karlsruhe and completed his PhD in hydrogeology in 2002. Subsequently, he was lecturer and researcher at the Centre of Hydrogeology in Switzerland (2002-2010), and professor for hydrogeology and geothermics at Technical University Munich (2010-2011), until he was appointed at KIT in 2011. His research includes karst and alpine hydrogeology, tracing techniques, groundwater quality, protection and management, and microbiological and ecological aspects. From 2009 to 2017, he served as chairperson of the IAH Karst Commission. In 2017, he has accomplished the World Karst Aquifer Mapping project and is currently
leading the KARMA project on Mediterranean karst water resources. He has served as Associate Editor or Editor-in-Chief of several journals, has published an international textbook on karst hydrogeology, several book chapters and 120 scientific papers. Recently, he was elected chair of the German Hydrogeology Association (FH-DGGV).
Nataša Ravbar, Associate professor, Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Slovenia
Natasa Ravbar is a Senior Research Fellow at the Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Chair of the Scientific Council of the Institute and Head of the Slovenian National Research Programme “Karst Research”. Since 2012, she has been co-editor of Acta Carsologica, a Slovenian SCI Journal. Between 2008 and 2016, she was vice president of the Karst Commission of the International Geographical Union. She is a member of the Karst Commission of the
International Association of Hydrogeologists. She is also a member of the scientific committee for the organization of the annual congress International Karstological School “Classical Karst”, a member of the scientific committees of several international conferences and symposia, and a member of the editorial boards of several international journals.
Link to recording (Password to open the recording: bKnbUq$6 )
