The iNUX project at the University of Barcelona (UPC)
The Hydrogeology Research Group (GHS) conducts research, teaching, and transfer of knowledge to society in the field of hydrogeology and geochemistry. It consists of two units that complement each other, interacting and forming synergies: The Department of Civil and Engineering from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC). The team consists of more than 10 professional experts (professors and researchers) and about 30 Ph.D. students. About 3-4 Ph.D. Theses and 6-8 Master Theses are presented yearly. The students are enrolled in one of the Ph.D. programs that have obtained the qualification of excellent in the most recent evaluation (Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or Geotechnical Engineering). The group has signed more than 1000 publications, including over 650 in international journals included in Science Citation Index. We have contributed to the organization of national and international conferences in the field of groundwater.
The research of the GHS concentrates on the characterization of permeable media and human impact by means of hydraulic, hydrogeochemical, biological, and environmental isotope data. Applications include groundwater resources evaluation, aquifer management, groundwater pollution control, soil and aquifer remediation, groundwater modeling, reactive transport, and multiphase flow, among others. The methods used range from field characterization and laboratory experiments to flow and transport modeling and the development of numerical methods.
In the last five years, GHS has participated in seven competitive international projects (six financed by the EU and one from the UK), with total funding of around 3 million euros. The projects cover a wide spectrum of hydrogeological topics: Managed Aquifer Recharge, aquifer vulnerability, radioactive waste storage, poverty alleviation, CO2 storage, Fracking, GIS, mining of fluids, etc. GHS has been recently granted a MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE INNOVATIVE TRAINING NETWORK in the global topic of Managed Aquifer Recharge. Regarding the national competitive funding in the last five years, GHS has participated in seven projects with a total of 2.1 Million Euros. GHS has also participated in several projects with private companies and administrations, always on very sensitive topics.
GHS has strong relations with international research organizations. It is worth noting that GHS has participated in several international consortia (e.g., all international conferences). Specific research projects have been developed in Kenia, UK, Chile, Italy, and Peru. We collaborate with several international research groups. The collaboration includes common publications on a number of topics.
We encourage all of our students to spend several months in one or more international institutions. During 2018 two of our students were staying over 3 months, one at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana), hosted by Prof. Bolster, and a secondvone in the Salinity Lab (California), hosted by Prof. Simunek. In early 2019, another student spent 3 months in Milano, hosted by Prof. Guadagnini. More information about the GHS can be found at: http://h2ogeo.upc.edu/en/
The teaching activities cover a wide range of groundwater applications. We provide a list of common courses that we teach every year.
- Aquifer mechanics
- Hydrogeology
- Modeling of flow and transport in porous media
- Aquifer recharge and management
- Groundwater & isotopic methods
- Reactive transport
- Geostatistics
- Interaction between civil works and groundwater
- Soil and groundwater pollution and remediation
Information about these courses can be found: https://portal.camins.upc.edu/ocw/home?execution=e1s3
The research and teaching of the key person involved in this project, Daniel Fernández-Garcia, is a full professor of the UPC, specialized in the area of hydrogeology. He is a civil engineer with a Ph.D.