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Dr. Miguel Angel Marazuela
Environmental Geosciences (EDGE), University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

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0 Geochemistry
0 Groundwater Contamination
0 Karst
0 Water Quality
0 inverse problem

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geothermal energy
Density-driven flow
Salt flats (salars)

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Erratum
Published: 03 May 2021 in Science of The Total Environment
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ACS Style

M.A. Marazuela; E. Vázquez-Suñé; C. Ayora; A. García-Gil. Corrigendum to “Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama” [Sci. Total Environ. 703 (2020) 135605]. Science of The Total Environment 2021, 778, 147346 .

AMA Style

M.A. Marazuela, E. Vázquez-Suñé, C. Ayora, A. García-Gil. Corrigendum to “Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama” [Sci. Total Environ. 703 (2020) 135605]. Science of The Total Environment. 2021; 778 ():147346.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M.A. Marazuela; E. Vázquez-Suñé; C. Ayora; A. García-Gil. 2021. "Corrigendum to “Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama” [Sci. Total Environ. 703 (2020) 135605]." Science of The Total Environment 778, no. : 147346.

Preprint content
Published: 03 March 2021
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Many drinking water systems worldwide are based on river bank filtration. From a quantitative point of view river bank filtration systems are highly reliable because of the high permeability of alluvial aquifers linked to high production rates. However, there might be an increased risk of contamination because of the short residence time between the river and the production well, especially during flood events.

Flood events change the river-aquifer hydraulic interactions and may increase infiltration rates (e.g., due to an increased hydraulic head, larger river infiltration widths, or erosion of a siltation layer). This leads to changes in groundwater flow paths and production wells might abstract water with a shorter residence time and lower quality. Groundwater quality may degrade during flood events due to the presence of undesirable chemicals (e.g., wastes water treatment plant overflow) and the occurrence of faecal indicator bacteria such as E.Coli.

Groundwater modelling can assist in developing strategies to protect river bank filtration from such undesired contamination by predicting optimal operation conditions. The key impediment of this approach is significant uncertainties in subsurface properties and the associated uncertainties of the groundwater flow paths. To reduce uncertainties in model predictions, anthropogenic tracers including the MRI contrast agent gadolinium and artificial sweeteners were used in this study. They revealed sources and flow patterns, and have been used to derive mixing ratios representing different temporal and spatial scales. Including anthropogenic tracers into the objective function of the calibration process also lead to more accurate estimation of groundwater flow paths. This was critical to predict the best water works operation strategy during flood events.

ACS Style

Miguel Angel Marazuela; Paulo Herrera; Klaus Erlmeier; Robert Brünjes; Philip Brunner; Thilo Hofmann. Reducing the risk for contamination of river bank filtration systems using inverse modelling and anthopogenic traces. 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Miguel Angel Marazuela, Paulo Herrera, Klaus Erlmeier, Robert Brünjes, Philip Brunner, Thilo Hofmann. Reducing the risk for contamination of river bank filtration systems using inverse modelling and anthopogenic traces. . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Miguel Angel Marazuela; Paulo Herrera; Klaus Erlmeier; Robert Brünjes; Philip Brunner; Thilo Hofmann. 2021. "Reducing the risk for contamination of river bank filtration systems using inverse modelling and anthopogenic traces." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 24 June 2020 in Sustainability
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The long-term sustainability of shallow geothermal systems in dense urbanized areas can be potentially compromised by the existence of thermal interfaces. Thermal interferences between systems have to be avoided to prevent the loss of system performance. Nevertheless, in this work we provide evidence of a positive feedback from thermal interferences in certain controlled situations. Two real groundwater heat pump systems were investigated using real exploitation data sets to estimate the thermal energy demand bias and, by extrapolation, to assess the nature of thermal interferences between the systems. To do that, thermal interferences were modelled by means of a calibrated and validated 3D city-scale numerical model reproducing groundwater flow and heat transport. Results obtained showed a 39% (522 MWh·yr-1) energy imbalance towards cooling for one of the systems, which generated a hot thermal plume towards the downgradient and second system investigated. The nested system in the hot thermal plume only used groundwater for heating, thus establishing a positive symbiotic relationship between them. Considering the energy balance of both systems together, a reduced 9% imbalance was found, hence ensuring the long-term sustainability and renewability of the shallow geothermal resource exploited. The nested geothermal systems described illustrate the possibilities of a new management strategy in shallow geothermal energy governance.

ACS Style

Alejandro García-Gil; Miguel Mejías Moreno; Eduardo Garrido Schneider; Miguel Ángel Marazuela; Corinna Abesser; Jesús Mateo Lázaro; José Ángel Sánchez Navarro. Nested Shallow Geothermal Systems. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5152 .

AMA Style

Alejandro García-Gil, Miguel Mejías Moreno, Eduardo Garrido Schneider, Miguel Ángel Marazuela, Corinna Abesser, Jesús Mateo Lázaro, José Ángel Sánchez Navarro. Nested Shallow Geothermal Systems. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (12):5152.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alejandro García-Gil; Miguel Mejías Moreno; Eduardo Garrido Schneider; Miguel Ángel Marazuela; Corinna Abesser; Jesús Mateo Lázaro; José Ángel Sánchez Navarro. 2020. "Nested Shallow Geothermal Systems." Sustainability 12, no. 12: 5152.

Journal article
Published: 07 June 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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The Salar de Atacama (SdA) is the largest Li reserve globally. The origin of Li, together with the rest of solutes, has been object of debate. Thus, rock weathering at low temperature, hydrothermal leaching or magmatic origin together with subsequent evaporation has been hypothesized. However, the extreme Li enrichment (>4000 mg/L) and the location of the Li-Mg-rich brines around the Salar Fault System (SFS) that crosses the nucleus of the SdA in half remain unexplained. The objective of this work is to define the thermohaline groundwater flow in the SdA basin to account for the genesis of its extreme Li enrichment. Thermohaline flow modelling has demonstrated the critical effect of the minimum hydraulic head (MHH) of the regional water table on the groundwater flow of salt flats. The MHH divides the basin into two isolated hydrodynamic systems and constitutes the endpoint towards which the most evaporated brines converge. The spatial mismatch between the locations of the Li-Mg-rich brines in the central-western zone of the nucleus (in the SFS) and the MHH in the easternmost zone of the nucleus discards recent evaporative concentration of the recharge water as the main mechanism of Li enrichment. Moreover, the persistence of a saline interface surrounding the nucleus at depth, regardless of the temperature gradient, also precludes lateral recharge (predominantly from the east) to ascend along the SFS. On the other hand, the computed thermohaline flow is compatible with the remobilization of buried layers of Li-Mg-enriched salts and/or clays by dilute recharge waters coming from the west or southwest of the basin. Here, the role of faults and density-driven flow is key to allow efficient downward and upward flow rates that favour the remobilization of Li and Mg.

ACS Style

M.A. Marazuela; C. Ayora; E. Vázquez-Suñé; S. Olivella; A. García-Gil. Hydrogeological constraints for the genesis of the extreme lithium enrichment in the Salar de Atacama (NE Chile): A thermohaline flow modelling approach. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 739, 139959 .

AMA Style

M.A. Marazuela, C. Ayora, E. Vázquez-Suñé, S. Olivella, A. García-Gil. Hydrogeological constraints for the genesis of the extreme lithium enrichment in the Salar de Atacama (NE Chile): A thermohaline flow modelling approach. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 739 ():139959.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M.A. Marazuela; C. Ayora; E. Vázquez-Suñé; S. Olivella; A. García-Gil. 2020. "Hydrogeological constraints for the genesis of the extreme lithium enrichment in the Salar de Atacama (NE Chile): A thermohaline flow modelling approach." Science of The Total Environment 739, no. : 139959.

Erratum
Published: 15 April 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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ACS Style

M.A. Marazuela; E. Vázquez-Suñé; C. Ayora; A. García-Gil. Corrigendum to “Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama” [Sci. Total Environ. 703 (2020) 135605]. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 725, 138108 .

AMA Style

M.A. Marazuela, E. Vázquez-Suñé, C. Ayora, A. García-Gil. Corrigendum to “Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama” [Sci. Total Environ. 703 (2020) 135605]. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 725 ():138108.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M.A. Marazuela; E. Vázquez-Suñé; C. Ayora; A. García-Gil. 2020. "Corrigendum to “Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama” [Sci. Total Environ. 703 (2020) 135605]." Science of The Total Environment 725, no. : 138108.

Preprint content
Published: 23 March 2020
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Salt flats (salars) are endorheic hydrogeological systems associated with arid to hyperarid climates. The brines of salt flats account the 80 % of the world’s reserves of Li highly demanded by modern industry. About 40 % of the worldwide Li is extracted from the brine that fills the pores and cavities of the Salar de Atacama. However, the origin of the extreme Li-enrichment of these brines is still unknown.

The thick accumulation of salts and brines in salt flats results from the groundwater discharge (phreatic evaporation) near the land surface for thousands to millions of years. The strong evaporation contributes the enrichment in major cations and anions as well as other rare elements (e.g. Li, B, Ba, Sr, Br, I and F) which are very attractive for mining exploitation. However, only evaporation cannot explain by itself the extreme concentrations of some of these elements and the strong decoupling between the most evaporated brines and the most Li-enriched brines in the Salar de Atacama. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the extreme Li-enrichment of the salt flat brines: (a) concentrated brines leaking down from salt flats located in the Andean Plateau, (b) leaching of hypothetical ancient salt flats buried among volcanic rocks, and (c) rising of hydrothermal brines from deep reservoirs through faults. However, none of them has been able probed neither validated by a numerical model till the date.

The objective of this work is to discuss the feasibility of the different hypotheses proposed until now to explain the formation of the world's largest lithium reserve. To achieve this objective, two sets of numerical simulations of a 2D vertical cross-section of the entire Salar de Atacama basin are carried out to define (1) the origin and evolution of a salt flat and how climate cycles can affect the location of the most Li-concentrated brines by evaporation and (2) the establishment of the hydro-thermo-haline circulation of a mature salt flat basin.

ACS Style

Miguel Angel Marazuela; Carlos Ayora; Enric Vázquez Suñé; Sebastià Olivella Pastallé; Alejandro García Gil. A hydro-thermo-haline numerical approach of the groundwater flow to explain the extreme Li-enrichment in the Salar de Atacama (NE Chile). 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Miguel Angel Marazuela, Carlos Ayora, Enric Vázquez Suñé, Sebastià Olivella Pastallé, Alejandro García Gil. A hydro-thermo-haline numerical approach of the groundwater flow to explain the extreme Li-enrichment in the Salar de Atacama (NE Chile). . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Miguel Angel Marazuela; Carlos Ayora; Enric Vázquez Suñé; Sebastià Olivella Pastallé; Alejandro García Gil. 2020. "A hydro-thermo-haline numerical approach of the groundwater flow to explain the extreme Li-enrichment in the Salar de Atacama (NE Chile)." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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Salt flats are hydrogeological systems with highly valuable wetland and lake ecosystems. The brine pumping carried out to extract lithium is modifying the natural evaporation discharge of salt flats. A methodology to evaluate the impacts caused on water table and evaporation discharge by brine exploitation in salt flats is proposed and applied to the Salar de Atacama. The methodology included field measurements of water table and evaporation rate, followed by its spatio-temporal analysis and the application of the results to a numerical model to improve the brine exploitation design. The spatio-temporal analysis of the water table depth and evaporation rates measured in the field concluded that the evaporation discharge decreased from 12.85 to 10.95 m3·s-1 between 1986 and 2018, that is around 15%. This reduction compensated part of the extractions and could contribute to the preservation of the mixing zone ecosystems. At present, this damping capacity is already amortized in the nucleus and the marginal zone is beginning to be affected by the brine pumping. The sensitivity of the phreatic evaporation on the water table depth justified the great uncertainty of the previous evaporation discharge estimations. Thus, an average error lower than 0.5 m was enough to modify the evaporation by >60%. Therefore, considerable effort should invested to faithfully quantify the discharge by evaporation which is critical in water balance of salt flat basins. The numerical model pointed out that the total pumping outflow should be distributed in the largest possible area. This minimizes the water table drawdown and maximizes the capacity of the evaporation decline to compensate the extractions. The results of this work serve as guidelines to improve the efficiency of future salt flat exploitations.

ACS Style

M.A. Marazuela; Enric Vazquez-Suñe; C. Ayora; A. García-Gil. Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 703, 135605 .

AMA Style

M.A. Marazuela, Enric Vazquez-Suñe, C. Ayora, A. García-Gil. Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 703 ():135605.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M.A. Marazuela; Enric Vazquez-Suñe; C. Ayora; A. García-Gil. 2020. "Towards more sustainable brine extraction in salt flats: Learning from the Salar de Atacama." Science of The Total Environment 703, no. : 135605.

Journal article
Published: 14 November 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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The Salar de Atacama is used as a case study to analyse and quantify coupled natural (evaporation and recharge) and anthropogenic processes (pumping of lithium-rich brine) to abstract their patterns to other salt flats using a three-dimensional groundwater flow model. Important changes in the dynamics of the water table between the pre-operational period (1986–1994) and operational period (1994–2015) are observed. The water table exhibited a gradual drawdown during the pre-operational period because the evaporation was greater than the recharge for most of these periods. This negative balance was counteracted by some sharp rises that were produced by direct rainfall events on the salt flat. The deep lateral recharge that arrived from the mountains did not produce abrupt changes in the water table because the rain events in the mountains were damped by the distance of the recharge zone and great thickness of the unsaturated zone. The natural evolution of the water table was modified by the intensive brine pumping that was performed in the south-western Salar de Atacama during the operational period. As evaporation depends on the water table depth, the pumping caused a drawdown of the water table, resulting in an evaporation rate reduction that partially compensated for the pumped brine in the water balance of the basin. This effect is defined as the damping capacity of salt flats. Thus, salt flats have a high capacity for dampening oscillations in their water table in response to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances which is of great importance for the management of lake and wetland ecosystems and brine exploitation. The limit of the dampening capacity of salt flats is defined by the evaporation extinction depth, which is in the range of 0.5–2 m.

ACS Style

M.A. Marazuela; Enric Vazquez-Suñe; Carlos Ayora; A. García-Gil; T. Palma. The effect of brine pumping on the natural hydrodynamics of the Salar de Atacama: The damping capacity of salt flats. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 654, 1118 -1131.

AMA Style

M.A. Marazuela, Enric Vazquez-Suñe, Carlos Ayora, A. García-Gil, T. Palma. The effect of brine pumping on the natural hydrodynamics of the Salar de Atacama: The damping capacity of salt flats. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 654 ():1118-1131.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M.A. Marazuela; Enric Vazquez-Suñe; Carlos Ayora; A. García-Gil; T. Palma. 2018. "The effect of brine pumping on the natural hydrodynamics of the Salar de Atacama: The damping capacity of salt flats." Science of The Total Environment 654, no. : 1118-1131.

Journal article
Published: 06 November 2018 in Renewable Energy
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The steady increase of geothermal systems using groundwater is compromising the renewability of the geothermal resources in shallow urban aquifers. To ensure sustainability, scientifically-based criteria are required to prevent potential thermal interferences between geothermal systems. In this work, a management indicator (balanced sustainability index, BSI) applicable to groundwater heat pump systems is defined to assign a quantitative value of sustainability to each system, based on their intrinsic potential to produce thermal interference. The BSI indicator relies on the net heat balance transferred to the terrain throughout the year and the maximum seasonal thermal load associated. To define this indicator, 75 heating-cooling scenarios based in 23 real systems were established to cover all possible different operational conditions. The scenarios were simulated in a standard numerical model, adopted as a reference framework, and thermal impacts were evaluated. Two polynomial regression models were used for the interpolation of thermal impacts, thus allowing the direct calculation of the sustainability indicator developed as a function of heating-cooling ratios and maximum seasonal thermal loads. The BSI indicator could provide authorities and technicians with scientifically-based criteria to establish geothermal monitoring programs, which are critical to maintain the implementation rates and renewability of these systems in the cities.

ACS Style

Alejandro García-Gil; Sylvia Muela Maya; Eduardo Garrido Schneider; Miguel Mejías Moreno; Enric Vázquez-Suñé; Miguel Ángel Marazuela; Jesús Mateo Lázaro; José Ángel Sánchez-Navarro. Sustainability indicator for the prevention of potential thermal interferences between groundwater heat pump systems in urban aquifers. Renewable Energy 2018, 134, 14 -24.

AMA Style

Alejandro García-Gil, Sylvia Muela Maya, Eduardo Garrido Schneider, Miguel Mejías Moreno, Enric Vázquez-Suñé, Miguel Ángel Marazuela, Jesús Mateo Lázaro, José Ángel Sánchez-Navarro. Sustainability indicator for the prevention of potential thermal interferences between groundwater heat pump systems in urban aquifers. Renewable Energy. 2018; 134 ():14-24.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alejandro García-Gil; Sylvia Muela Maya; Eduardo Garrido Schneider; Miguel Mejías Moreno; Enric Vázquez-Suñé; Miguel Ángel Marazuela; Jesús Mateo Lázaro; José Ángel Sánchez-Navarro. 2018. "Sustainability indicator for the prevention of potential thermal interferences between groundwater heat pump systems in urban aquifers." Renewable Energy 134, no. : 14-24.

Journal article
Published: 17 September 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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The Salar de Atacama is one of the most well-known saline endorheic basins in the world. It accumulates the world main lithium reserves and contains very sensitive ecosystems. The objective of this work is to characterize the hydrodynamics of the Salar de Atacama, and to quantify its complex water balance prior to the intense brine extraction. The methodology and results can be extrapolated to the groundwater flow and recharge of other salt flats. A three-dimensional groundwater flow model using low computational effort was calibrated against hundreds of hydraulic head measurements. The water infiltrated from the mountains ascends as a vertical flux through the saline interface (mixing zone) produced by the density contrast between the recharged freshwater and the evaporated brine of the salt flat nucleus. This water discharges and is largely evaporated from lakes or directly from the shallow water table. On the other hand, the very low hydraulic gradients, coupled with the presence of the mixing zone that operates as barrier, leads the salt flat nucleus to act as a hydrodynamically quasi-isolated area. The computed water table shows the lowest hydraulic head in the salt flat nucleus near the discharge at the mixing zone. The groundwater balance of the Salar de Atacama in its natural regime was quantified resulting in an inflow/outflow of 14.9 m3·s−1. This balance considers the basin as an endorheic system. The very low infiltration values that are generally assumed for hyperarid basins are not consistent with the hydrogeology of the Salar de Atacama. Indeed, very high infiltration rates (up to 85% of rainfall) occur because of the high degree of fracturing of rocks and the scarce vegetation. This high infiltration is consistent with the light isotopic composition of the water from the recharge area (Altiplano). Therefore, the existence of additional inflows outside the basin is unlikely.

ACS Style

M.A. Marazuela; Enric Vazquez-Suñe; Carlos Ayora; A. García-Gil; T. Palma. Hydrodynamics of salt flat basins: The Salar de Atacama example. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 651, 668 -683.

AMA Style

M.A. Marazuela, Enric Vazquez-Suñe, Carlos Ayora, A. García-Gil, T. Palma. Hydrodynamics of salt flat basins: The Salar de Atacama example. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 651 ():668-683.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M.A. Marazuela; Enric Vazquez-Suñe; Carlos Ayora; A. García-Gil; T. Palma. 2018. "Hydrodynamics of salt flat basins: The Salar de Atacama example." Science of The Total Environment 651, no. : 668-683.

Journal article
Published: 01 December 2016 in Science of The Total Environment
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As a result of the increasing use of shallow geothermal resources, hydraulic, thermal and chemical impacts affecting groundwater quality can be observed with ever increasing frequency (Possemiers et al., 2014). To overcome the uncertainty associated with chemical impacts, a city scale study on the effects of intensive geothermal resource use by groundwater heat pump systems on groundwater quality, with special emphasis on heavy metal contents was performed. Statistical analysis of geochemical data obtained from several field campaigns has allowed studying the spatiotemporal relationship between temperature anomalies in the aquifer and trace element composition of groundwater. The relationship between temperature and the concentrations of trace elements resulted in weak correlations, indicating that temperature changes are not the driving factor in enhancing heavy metal contaminations. Regression models established for these correlations showed a very low reactivity or response of heavy metal contents to temperature changes. The change rates of heavy metal contents with respect to temperature changes obtained indicate a low risk of exceeding quality threshold values by means of the exploitation regimes used, neither producing nor enhancing contamination significantly. However, modification of pH, redox potential, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and alkalinity correlated with the concentrations of heavy metals. In this case, the change rates of heavy metal contents are higher, with a greater risk of exceeding threshold values.

ACS Style

Alejandro García-Gil; Jannis Epting; Eduardo Garrido; Enric Vazquez-Suñe; Jesús Mateo Lázaro; José Ángel Sánchez Navarro; P. Huggenberger; Miguel Ángel Marazuela Calvo. A city scale study on the effects of intensive groundwater heat pump systems on heavy metal contents in groundwater. Science of The Total Environment 2016, 572, 1047 -1058.

AMA Style

Alejandro García-Gil, Jannis Epting, Eduardo Garrido, Enric Vazquez-Suñe, Jesús Mateo Lázaro, José Ángel Sánchez Navarro, P. Huggenberger, Miguel Ángel Marazuela Calvo. A city scale study on the effects of intensive groundwater heat pump systems on heavy metal contents in groundwater. Science of The Total Environment. 2016; 572 ():1047-1058.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alejandro García-Gil; Jannis Epting; Eduardo Garrido; Enric Vazquez-Suñe; Jesús Mateo Lázaro; José Ángel Sánchez Navarro; P. Huggenberger; Miguel Ángel Marazuela Calvo. 2016. "A city scale study on the effects of intensive groundwater heat pump systems on heavy metal contents in groundwater." Science of The Total Environment 572, no. : 1047-1058.

Journal article
Published: 16 September 2016 in Solid Earth
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The overdevelopment of cities since the industrial revolution has shown the need to incorporate a sound geological knowledge in the management of required subsurface infrastructures and in the assessment of increasingly needed groundwater resources. Additionally, the scarcity of outcrops and the technical difficulty to conduct underground exploration in urban areas highlights the importance of implementing efficient management plans that deal with the legacy of heterogeneous subsurface information. To deal with these difficulties, a methodology has been proposed to integrate all the available spatio-temporal data into a comprehensive spatial database and a set of tools that facilitates the analysis and processing of the existing and newly added data for the city of Barcelona (NE Spain). Here we present the resulting actual subsurface 3-D geological model that incorporates and articulates all the information stored in the database. The methodology applied to Barcelona benefited from a good collaboration between administrative bodies and researchers that enabled the realization of a comprehensive geological database despite logistic difficulties. Currently, the public administration and also private sectors both benefit from the geological understanding acquired in the city of Barcelona, for example, when preparing the hydrogeological models used in groundwater assessment plans. The methodology further facilitates the continuous incorporation of new data in the implementation and sustainable management of urban groundwater, and also contributes to significantly reducing the costs of new infrastructures.

ACS Style

Enric Vázquez-Suñé; Miguel Ángel Marazuela; Violeta Velasco; Marc Diviu; Andrés Pérez-Estaún; Joaquina Álvarez-Marrón. A geological model for the management of subsurface data in the urban environment of Barcelona and surrounding area. Solid Earth 2016, 7, 1317 -1329.

AMA Style

Enric Vázquez-Suñé, Miguel Ángel Marazuela, Violeta Velasco, Marc Diviu, Andrés Pérez-Estaún, Joaquina Álvarez-Marrón. A geological model for the management of subsurface data in the urban environment of Barcelona and surrounding area. Solid Earth. 2016; 7 (5):1317-1329.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enric Vázquez-Suñé; Miguel Ángel Marazuela; Violeta Velasco; Marc Diviu; Andrés Pérez-Estaún; Joaquina Álvarez-Marrón. 2016. "A geological model for the management of subsurface data in the urban environment of Barcelona and surrounding area." Solid Earth 7, no. 5: 1317-1329.

Preprint content
Published: 15 April 2016
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The overdevelopment of cities since the industrial revolution has shown the need to incorporate a sound geological knowledge in the management of required subsurface infrastructures and in the assessment of increasingly needed groundwater resources. Also, the scarcity of outcrops and the technical difficulty to conduct underground exploration in urban areas highlights the importance of implementing efficient management plans that deal with the legacy of heterogeneous subsurface information. To deal with these difficulties, a methodology has been proposed to integrate all the available spatiotemporal data into a comprehensive spatial database and a set of tools that facilitates the analysis and processing of the existing and newly added data for the city of Barcelona (NE Spain). Here we present the resulting actual subsurface 3D geological model that incorporates and articulates all the information stored in the database. The methodology applied to Barcelona city benefited from a good collaboration between administrative bodies and researchers that enabled the realization of a comprehensive geological database despite logistic difficulties. Currently, the public administration and also private sectors, both benefit from the geological understanding acquired in the Barcelona city. For example, when preparing the hydrogeological models used in groundwater assessment plans. The methodology further facilitates the continuous incorporation of new data for the implementation and sustainable management of urban groundwater and also contributes to significantly reduce the costs of new infrastructures.

ACS Style

Enric Vázquez-Suñé; Miguel Ángel Marazuela; Violeta Velasco; Marc Diviu; Andrés Pérez-Estaún; Joaquina Alvarez-Marrón. A geological model for the management of subsurface data in the urban environment of Barcelona city. 2016, 1 -22.

AMA Style

Enric Vázquez-Suñé, Miguel Ángel Marazuela, Violeta Velasco, Marc Diviu, Andrés Pérez-Estaún, Joaquina Alvarez-Marrón. A geological model for the management of subsurface data in the urban environment of Barcelona city. . 2016; ():1-22.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enric Vázquez-Suñé; Miguel Ángel Marazuela; Violeta Velasco; Marc Diviu; Andrés Pérez-Estaún; Joaquina Alvarez-Marrón. 2016. "A geological model for the management of subsurface data in the urban environment of Barcelona city." , no. : 1-22.