Related EU Projects

The project was commissioned to achieve the following objectives:

Broaden baseline data by investigating the causes of high water consumption in the residential sector.

Determine the potential for water saving opportunities in such homes.

Promote positive behavioral change and help Abu Dhabi residents appreciate the real value of water resources, reduce wastage and increase end use efficiency.

The project targeted residents of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain living in villas and Shaabbias whose consumption was in the red band (greater than 7000L/day).

The project consisted of the following stages:

Phase 1: involved recruiting 45 participating homes from a pre-selected list of high water consuming properties in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Phase 2: involved conducting detailed surveys and water use audits for the 45 participating homes. The surveying and auditing exercised comprised the following activities:

- Irrigation and landscape audit
- Consumer behavioral survey
- Plumbing audit

Phase 3: involved analysing the gathered information and generating statistics on household water usage estimates and patterns.

Phase 4: the data analysis phase provided better understanding on water usage in the studied homes and determined the potential for water saving opportunities. Summary reports on current water use breakdown in the studied homes, together with water saving recommendations were provided to the residents to encourage the adoption of Waterwise measures in their homes.

Results can be obtained from the following link:

http://www.waterwise.gov.ae/en/research/research-studies/in-home-water-use-audit-project.html

Salt water intrusion is the migration of saltwater into freshwater aquifers under the influence of groundwater development (Freeze and Cherry, 1979). The most detrimental effect of ground water depletion is the lowering of the water table. Saltwater intrusion also has an adverse impact on thee saltwater-freshwater interface. Methods for controlling intrusion vary widely depending on the source of the saline water, the extent of intrusion, local geology, water use and economic factors.

The proposed methodology of this study was to control saltwater intrusion through (ADR) Abstraction, Desalination and Recharge. The proposed methodology takes into account the interactions between the major parameters of an ADR system to control saltwater intrusion. These parameters include: soil/aquifer properties, well locations, well depths, and abstraction and recharge rates. An additional major parameter is the relation between abstraction and recharge rates.  However, this depends on the recovery rate (the rate at which freshwater is rising in a bore) and salinity (the concentration of dissolved salts in seawater) of the abstracted water.

An ADR system is capable of completely preventing saltwater intrusion because it increases the volume of fresh groundwater and decreases the volume of saltwater, while considering economical aspects, environmental impact and sustainable development of water resources.

Payal, Z. (2014). Innovative Method for Saltwater Intrusion Control. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY, [online] 3(2). Available at:

http://www.ijesrt.com/issues%20pdf%20file/Archives-2014/February-2014/65.pdf [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].

The project’s aim was to demonstrate how a school of 16 classrooms (7,500 m³) can be heated from solar energy which is stored in an aquifer (aquifer des sables de Fontainebleu) during summer and is extracted by an intermediary heat pump in winter. Apart from showing that the energy collected in summer can be used in winter, the optimum system management was investigated. The process could have been reproduced using an industrial waste heat source, if successful. It was expected that about 200 MWh could be extracted from the aquifer giving a payback of 18 years.
Bearing in mind the intermittent use of the classrooms, the most appropriate form of heating appeared to be pulsed air. Since a certain level of ventilation is necessary, a static recuperator was used to recover heat from the exhausted air. Total heat requirements were 260 MWh per year of which 55 were furnished by the recuperator. The remaining, were extracted from the hot water store in the Fontainebleau sands, which is found beneath the school. This storage was charged during summer. Solar panels, functioning as a cold source for a heat pump, supplied heat to the underground "nappe"; water was extracted by way of a "cold" well and its temperature increased from 12°C (first year) to 50°C by passing through the heatpump’s condensor before being re-injected into the nappe through the hot well. The heat pump allowed the reinjection temperature to be maintained at a constant level thereby guaranteeing higher efficiency. In winter, the warm water was pumped out and heat was transferred to air. The storage was dimensioned to cover all the needs of an average year, however if the temperature of the nappe is too low the water can be used as the cold source of the heat exchanger.

The innovative IMAGINES project has developed activities to support the operations of the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS), and prepared the use of the Sentinels missions’ data in an operational context.

The main objectives of IMAGINES were to:

(i) improve the retrieval of basic biophysical variables (Terrestrial Essential Climate Variables), mainly Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) and surface albedo, by merging the information coming from different sensors (PROBA-V and Landsat-8) in view to prepare the use of Sentinel missions’ data;

(ii) develop qualified software able to process multi-sensor data at the global scale on a fully automatic basis;

(iii) complement and contribute to existing or future agricultural services by providing new data streams relying upon an original method to assess the above-ground biomass, based on the assimilation of satellite products in a Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) in order to monitor the crop/fodder biomass production together with the carbon and water fluxes;

(iv) demonstrate the added value of this contribution for a community of users acting at global, European, national, and regional scales.

Moreover, IMAGINES has favoured the emergence of new downstream activities dedicated to the monitoring of crop and fodder production that are key for the implementation of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, the food security policy, and could contribute to the Global Agricultural Geo-Monitoring Initiative (GEOGLAM) coordinated by the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO).

IMAGINES has delivered the following deliverables:

(i) operational processing lines interoperable with the existing CGLS infrastructure and able to run automatically at the global scale to generate global biophysical products disseminated by the CGLS

(ii) regional high resolution biophysical variables derived from multi-sensor satellite data

(iii) agricultural indicators, including the above-ground biomass, carbon and water fluxes, and drought indices resulting in the assimilation of the biophysical variables in the LDAS

(iv) maps of crop group and crop types updated along the season

(v) in situ measurements collected during 64 field campaigns over 23 different sites from 2013 to June 2016, resulting in 40 high resolution ground-based maps of LAI, FAPAR and FCover (http://www.fp7-imagines.eu/pages/services-and-products/ground-data.php) used, in the CGLS, for the validation of moderate resolution biophysical products.

Better satellite technology helps read the ground more effectively - http://cordis.europa.eu/result/rcn/198785_en.html

Objectives:

Coordination Action INNOVA-MED aims to coordinate the research activities of ongoing EU and national projects dealing with development of innovative technologies for wastewater treatment and treatment and disposal of sludges and with application of innovative practices for re-use of reclaimed water and to facilitate the transfer and use of knowledge and technology in the MPC.

The main objective is to explore the synergies of the research carried out within different programmes and countries (eg. EU, WBC, DEV, NIS, MCP) and to facilitate the communication with researchers and national and regional institutions from the MPC and allow a broad dissemination and transfer of the knowledge/technology/practice to the Mediterranean area.

The specific objectives of INNOVA-MED are:

- to exploit complementarities in research objectives, methodologies and data analysis of ongoing as well recently completed EU and national projects on wastewater treatment and re-use in the EU and MPC in line with the Integrated Water Resources and Allocation Management (IWRAM) priorities indicated in the recommendations of the recent Critical Review of EU-INCO water research projects from FP4 to FP6 (Brussels, EUR 22017, Brussels, 2006)

- to facilitate efficient dissemination/exploitation of information and to improve the effectiveness in the transfer and sharing of an integrated and comprehensive knowledge on wastewater treatment and re-use technologies between EU and MPC

- to allow access to easy to use information on wastewater treatment and re-use in the Mediterranean region based on effectively share and transfer of the rational extraction of knowledge built and organized during the project

- to counteract fragmentation of the research and to improve dissemination of the RTD results, as well as public awareness on the sustainability of water by connecting research with local knowledge, policy institutions and implementing bodies in the Mediterranean region

http://www.idaea.csic.es/innova-med/reports.htm

As well as being detrimental to life in an aquatic ecosystem, increases in hypoxia also affect the wider environment. Under hypoxic conditions, substantial losses in biodiversity, ecosystem function, and services such as fisheries, aquaculture and tourism can occur and additional greenhouse gases may be released from the ocean seafloor. The EU-funded HYPOX project took the first steps towards implementation of a global observation system for better understanding oxygen changes in aquatic systems. Researchers monitored oxygen depletion and associated processes in target areas, which differed in oxygen status and sensitivity to change. They included the deep Arctic Ocean, the semi-enclosed waters of the Black and Baltic Seas, fjords, and lagoons and land-locked lakes.

In order to maximise the knowledge generated by HYPOX, partners deployed a variety of reliable long-term sensors on different platforms for in situ monitoring of oxygen depletion and associated parameters. Targeted field campaigns were conducted to investigate the environmental impacts of hypoxia. These impacts included the effect of hypoxia on the distribution of seafloor organisms as well as on biological and chemical processes involved in the large-scale cycling of elements. The consortium also adopted and refined numerical tools for predicting hypoxia and for separating natural variability from man-made changes. Existing long-term monitoring data was also analysed to better understand the history of a water body's oxygenation status. Core samples were taken from the seabed of the Black Sea, as well as lagoons and lakes. These enabled scientists to examine the past, since a record of earlier biological and chemical conditions are preserved in the sediment. Project results and modelling expertise will serve as a basis for accurate forecasts of oxygen depletion. This in turn will contribute to the planning of appropriately tailored climate change adaptation methods. Studies of previously eutrophied systems, such as the Swiss lakes, show how a reduction in nutrients from human activities can help alleviate the problem of oxygen depletion. HYPOX has provided European policy and decision makers with the necessary knowledge of oxygen depletion in aquatic systems. This enables them to develop effective sustainable development strategies and negotiate internationally binding treaties.

Final report:

http://cordis.europa.eu/docs/results/226/226213/final1-hypox-m19-36-final-report-120803-200dpi.pdf

Data portal:

http://hypox.pangaea.de/front_content.php?idcat=414

EDA-EMERGE aims to train a new generation of young scientists in the interdisciplinary techniques required to meet the major challenges in the monitoring, assessment and management of toxic pollution in European river basins considering the enormous complexity of contamination, effects and cause-effect relationships. By integrating innovative mode-of-action based biodiagnostic tools including in vitro tests, transgenic organisms and “omics” techniques with powerful fractionation and cutting edge analytical and computational structure elucidation tools, a new generation of effect directed analysis (EDA) approaches will be developed for the identification of toxicants in European surface and drinking waters. Innovative method development by young researchers at major universities, research centres and private companies will be closely interlinked with a joint European demonstration program and higher tier EDA and extensive training courses. EDA-EMERGE ESRs will learn to organise and run international and interdisciplinary sampling and monitoring campaigns and benefit from the expertise of one of the most experienced private companies in this field. Strong networking between academia, the private sector and leading regulators in the field of river basin management and pollution management ensures the relevance of the research for practice and excellent employment opportunities for EDA-EMERGE ESRs. The combination of cutting edge science with training in multiple complementary (soft) skills offered with a strong emphasis on commercial exploitation and media competence will further enhance employability of well-trained ESRs not only in research and academia but far beyond. An internationally composed advisory board will introduce new perspectives of monitoring, assessment and management of emerging pollutants within and outside of Europe.

Result in Brief – New solutions for water pollution - http://cordis.europa.eu/result/rcn/151550_en.html

EDA-EMERGE Report Summary - http://cordis.europa.eu/result/rcn/184180_en.html

Open access publications –

http://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/673445

http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00347/45846/45498.pdf