Projects / Programmes
Water Science and Technology, and Geotechnical Engineering: Tools and Methods for Process Analyses and Simulations, and Development of Technologies
January 1, 2022
- December 31, 2027
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 2.20.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Hydrology |
|
| 2.01.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Civil engineering |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 2.07 |
Engineering and Technology |
Environmental engineering
|
| 2.01 |
Engineering and Technology |
Civil engineering |
dam engineering, environmental engineering, environmental geology, field experiments, geotechnics, hydraulic engineering, hydraulics, hydrology, laboratory experiments, mathematical modeling, numerical modeling, risk management, sanitary engineering, simulations, water science, water technology
Data for the last 5 years (citations for the last 10 years) on
April 25, 2024;
A3 for period
2018-2022
| Database |
Linked records |
Citations |
Pure citations |
Average pure citations |
| WoS |
472 |
26,945 |
25,699 |
54.45 |
| Scopus |
589 |
29,515 |
27,915 |
47.39 |
Researchers (44)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
The proposed Research Programme (RP) will be undertaken by a programme group (PG) of researchers from 2 institutions: Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana and IHR; they are closely related, being partners in this RP since 2004, as well as in bilateral and multilateral research projects. The 2 partners are compatible in terms of laboratory and field equipment and fields of expertise, which allows fo efficient implementation of the RP. The proposed RP is divided into nine well-defined and interrelated tools and/or methods in synergistic research groups, each headed by a renowned senior researcher. In each research group, several researchers will cooperate with a clear final goal: development of a new tool, method,or technology that can be applied in water science, water technology, and geotechnical engineering. The proposed RP will be supported by additional resources, such as young researchers, national, and international research, and development projects. The proposed RP will focus on the development, validation, and testing in real environments of selected tools/methods/technologies in water science and technology, and geotechnical engineering with a clear aim to raise our understanding of natural and man-made environments and technological/infrastructural systems for their better management and governance. The proposed research groups will deal with: o Analyses and modelling of hydro-meteorological events and identification of their changes due to climate variability. o Innovative technologies and methods for water-related disaster risk reduction. o Development of concepts, technologies, infrastructure and tools for circular water management and water resources protection. o Analysis and modelling of interactions between hydrological processes, sediment transport mechanisms and biogeochemical cycles. o Application of advanced measuring methods for assessing complex multi-phase flow properties and accompanying processes. o Sustainable water management solutions (in surface waters including hydro energy) based on hydraulic modelling. o Advanced models for assessing complex water and multi-phase flows, transport dispersion and weathering of pollutants. o Development of novel methodologies for structural health monitoring of dams and other hydraulic structures. o Providing quality, traceable and accessible ground data in geotechnical engineering applications. The goals of RP are in line with international documents and initiatives: The EU Green Deal, New Urban Agenda, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, several UN Sustainable Development Goals (6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 17) and the Circular Economy Action plan. The motto of this RP is to improve the interpretation of the processes governing the water cycle by focusing on their changing dynamics in connection with rapidly changing human systems - in line with the ongoing IAHS Scientific Decade "Panta Rhei-Everything Flows".
Significance for science
Over the last decades, changed climate variability patterns (i.e. longer drought periods, shorter periods of intense rainfall episodes) can be noticed through the various weather events around the world, including in Europe. Human activities have disrupted the natural hydrological regimes and ecological processes. In fact, the societal and environmental challenges linked to water-related issues are staggering in many cases, which is also highlighted by the UN SDGs. More specifically, the number of fatalities as well as the economic damages caused by water-related disasters, such as floods and droughts, and landslides is dramatically increasing worldwide, mainly as a result of increased population living in areas vulnerable to water-related disasters, as well as due to the changed climate. One of the most important global drivers that will significantly increase water-related risks in the near future is population growth and its spatial and temporal dynamics. Other drivers, such as land-use changes, urbanization, migration patterns, energy issues, food production, are derived from population changes and economic development. Many of these patterns can be also noticed in Europe where we are confronted with an increasing frequency of more intense flood and drought events, drinking water shortages, water quality issues, and intensified geomorphological processes of different origin and duration, causing increasing economic damages. The climate variability and human population trends demand adaption and modification of the current approaches in water resources management and geotechnical engineering. These changes will require comprehensive understanding of the changing environment, which can be achieved solely through systematic research work which covers field measurements and field studies, supported by laboratory measurements and laboratory studies and, finally, modelling and simulations based on acquired field and laboratory data. The Research Programme (RP) aims to improve the interpretation of the processes governing the water cycle by focusing on their changing dynamics in connection with rapidly changing human systems, which is in line with the currently ongoing Scientific Decade 2013-2022 of International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), entitled "Panta Rhei - Everything Flows". Additionally, the aims of the PG are also addressing several unsolved problems in hydrology such as: "Is the hydrological cycle regionally accelerating/decelerating under climate and environmental change, and are there any tipping points (irreversible changes)?" or "How can the (un)certainty in hydrological predictions be communicated to decision makers and the general public?" The great challenge for the hydrological, hydraulic, water quality and geotechnical scientific community is to identify appropriate and timely adaptation measures in a continuously changing environment. To this end, the main scientific gaps are: i) incomplete understanding of natural processes and links with atmosphere/biosphere/human society; ii) appropriate techniques for data integration and/or assimilation, iii) scaling and heterogeneity issues; iv) capabilities to predict natural processes and their interactions and feedbacks with socio-ecological systems; v) energy efficient (waste)water treatment technologies with resources (water, nutrients) recovery and improved water purification capability (e.g. emerging pollutants removal); vi) uncertainty estimation, communication and incorporation into adaptive resource management decision-making. The practical aim of the proposed RP is to improve our capability to make predictions concerning water resources dynamics and to contribute to the development of advanced water treatment technologies with recovery of resources (water, nutrients, and energy) and improved water purification, to support sustainable societal development in a changing environment. The concept focuses on hydrological systems as a changing interface between the environment and society, whose dynamics is essential to determine water and food security, human safety and development, by setting priorities for sustainable environmental management. The proposed RP is addressing, and is fully in line with, the priorities of the European Innovation Partnerships - EIP Water: 1) water reuse and recycling; 2) recovery of resources; 3) water and energy integration and the priorities of Council Directive concerning enforcement of advanced, modern, integrated treatment technologies. Interdisciplinarity will be sought by increased efforts to bridge the gap between socioeconomic sciences and environmental sciences and by stressing the importance of monitoring, data analysis techniques, laboratory work, and the use of modelling tools. The originality of the results will be confirmed by applying for patents in the domain of advanced monitoring techniques, by improving the existing tools, methods and technologies in order to raise their cost-effectiveness, user-friendliness as well as usability in practice by different stakeholders (water users, policy makers, local and state authorities, etc.), by transferring innovative solutions to tough problems in the water sector and in geotechnical engineering to the real engineering daily practice, by top journal publications, and by disseminating the research results to doctoral and master's students.
Significance for the country
The 21st century is dedicated to water. Many conflicts in this century are predicted to be about water rather than oil. Some countries have written the right to water into their constitutions. The emerging climate change related issues are to be answered in water science and technology, and geotechnical engineering. Many problems in geotechnical engineering are related to water (ground water, seepage, water content, water pressure, etc.) and joint efforts to solve them are needed for better environmentally friendly solutions. Many new problems will arise due to climate-related changes and we need a much better understanding of the whole water cycle (both on the Earth's surface and beneath) - merely protecting water resources and securing drinking water is no longer enough. An improved usage of natural resources is needed, including water and soils, as underlined in the orientation towards green cities, circular economies, but also for a safer geoenviroment for mankind with joint efforts for water and geo-related disaster risk reduction, in efforts to build more resilient societies and economies. The UNESCO Chair (https://www.unesco-floods.eu/) at University of Ljubljana on Water-Related Disaster Risk Reduction will help, together with our cooperation under the International Research Society INTERPRAEVENT and the International Consortium on Landslides, to disseminate and verify our research results worldwide. Damages from water-related disasters continue to increase all over the world (e.g. floods, landslides), while available water resources are becoming increasingly scarce (e.g. droughts) also as a result of increased water pollution due to population growth and urbanization. Along with water, the increasing demand for food calls for e.g. phosphate fertilisers. However, due to the emerging global challenge of phosphorus scarcity with serious implications for future food security, phosphorus needs to be recovered for productive re-use as a fertilizer in food production to replace the increasingly scarce and expensive phosphate rock. The research in experimental basins is a constituent part of the studies carried out by the AMHY regional group of UNESCO's FRIEND project and by the ERB association (Experimental River Basins). We will operate experimental basins for observations and research together with researchers from other countries under the HELP UNESCO Programme and ERB. The research projects concerning aquatic environment issues and their management are among EU's priority tasks. The proposed RP paves the way to high level water and energy efficiency in WWT by creating innovative solutions ready to be replicated by municipal plant operators and a wide range of water intensive industries. It will significantly change municipal and industrial WWT by overcoming the stigma of cost- and energy-intensive, CO2- and sludge-producing operations. The RP will contribute to process industries becoming less water dependent while ensuring efficient management of other resources (e.g. raw materials and energy). The social objective of the proposed RP is also to obtain freshwater and make it suitable for human activities in order to allow sustainable development of human activities without irreversible impacts on natural resources. Moreover, the RP will also contribute to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals such as SDG6 Clean water and sanitation, SDG7 Affordable and clean energy, SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities, SDG13 Climate action, SDG14 Life below water, SDG15 Life on land, SDG17 Partnership for the goals. These goals are important both from the global perspective as well from Slovenian perspective (i.e. locally), where Slovenia recognized the importance of sustainable development. Some of the above listed SDGs are also Slovenia's priorities in the transition to a low-carbon and circular economy (SDGs 8, 9, 12, 13) for its SDG actions (Government of Slovenia, 2017; 2020). Moreover, Slovenia`s priority areas in SDGs with an environmental dimension are SDGs 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Thus, the PG will, with a good connection with the industry sector, public service institutes, national and public institutes, education of practical engineers, etc., help to achieve these goals.
