Project title

THE VULNERABILITY OF UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES FROM MOLDAVIAN PLATEAU TO CLIMATE CHANGES (CHUWAT)

Project number 149/2020; Project code PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-0286

VULNERABILITATEA RESURSELOR DE APĂ DIN SUBTERAN DIN PODIȘUL MOLDOVEI LA SCHIMBĂRILE CLIMATICE

Project Leader: Associate Professor Ph.D Ionuț MINEA

Implementation period: 1.11.2020-31.10.2020

Project summary

The strategic meaning and the level of social and economic security requires a close attention on the management of underground water resources, especially since they are the main reservoir of fresh water at continental scale. Anthropogenic pressure, coupled with the current and future climate change, shows substantial changes of the groundwater – climate system. Lack of infrastructures to allow the local population, predominantly rural, a constant access to water resource, requires the use of underground water mostly with many implications on the quality and operating conditions of these. The main objectives of this project aim to: (1) identifying of the specific types of hydro-geological conditions in the Moldavian Plateau and the vulnerable areas to changes in the groundwater level; (2) application of regional climate models in the Moldavian Plateau to assess climate changes impacts on underground water resources; (3) modeling of underground water resources response to current and future climate change scenarios. The project will be implemented by a research team composed by the director of the project, four postdoctoral researchers and one PhD students.

Objectives

The main objectives of this project are:

  1. Identifying the specific types of hydrogeological conditions in the Moldavian Plateau;
  2. Application of regional climate models in the Moldavian Plateau to assess climate changes impacts on underground water resources;
  3. Modelling of underground water resources response to current and future climate change scenarios;
  4. Expanding groundwater level measurements in rural part of Moldavian Plateau to identify areas vulnerable to various scenarios of climate changes. These measurements will replace the lack of data from national monitoring systems managed by the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management on the groundwater level variations;
  5. Elaboration of underground vulnerability index (UVI index) based on meteorological (precipitation and temperatures), hydrological (river flow), hydrogeological (underground water level, soil texture, infiltration capacity), geological (type of geological structures, tectonics) and social (density of population, type of water supply system for population) parameters;
  6. Assessing human impact on the underground water resources given that in this region the demand of water increased, both for public water supply and for its use in agriculture. This will have a major role in reducing the over-exploitation of underground water resources.

Project team

Project Leader: Associate Professor PhD Ionuț MINEA

Post-doctoral researchers:

  1. Associate Professor PhD Lucian SFÎCĂ
  2. Researcher III PhD. Florin Constantin MIHAI
  3. Research Assistant PhD. Marina IOSUB
  4. Research Assistant PhD. Oana-Elena CHELARIU

PhD Student: Daniel BOICU

Results

Final research reports

International scientific conferences:

2021

  • Ionuț Minea, Daniel Boicu, Marina Iosub, Chelariu Oana-Elena: Groundwater level trends in the last decades in North-Eastern part of Romania, 7th International Scientific Conference, GEOBALCANICA 2021, Ohrid, Macedonia, 15-16 iunie 2021 (on-line);
  • Daniel Boicu, Ionuț Minea: A method of correlating piezometric levels with precipitation, 7th International Scientific Conference, GEOBALCANICA 2021, Ohrid, Macedonia, 15-16 iunie 2021 (on-line);
  • Ionuț Minea, Daniel Boiuc, Marina Iosub: Hydrogeological drought between natural phenomenon and social vulnerability, XXIth International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying, Geology and Mining, Ecology and Management – SGEM 2021, Albena, Bulgaria, 18-22 august 2021;
  • Daniel Boicu, Ionuț Minea, Marina Iosub: The variation of groundwater in northeastern Romania in the last 3 decades - Case study: Moldova plain, XXIth International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying, Geology and Mining, Ecology and Management – SGEM 2021, Albena, Bulgaria, 18-22 august 2021;

2022

  • Ionuț Minea, Marina Iosub, Daniel Boicu:: Multi-scale Analysis for Different Type of Drought in Temperate Climatic Conditions Granada, Spania, 39th IAHR World Congress "From Snow to Sea", Granada, Spania, 19-24 iunie 2022;

National Scientific Conferences:

2020

  • Ionut Minea, Lucian Sfîcă, Mihai Florin Constantin, Marina Iosub, Oana-Elena Chelariu, Daniel Boicu: The vulnerability of underground water resources from Moldavian Plateau to climate changes – project starting point, International Symposium Present Environment and Sustainable Development, 15th edition, Iași, 21 noiembrie 2020 (on-line);
  • Daniel Boicu, Ionut Minea, Constantin Rusu: Noi metode de analiză a reîncărcării acviferelor în nord-estul României, Workshop-ul tinerilor cercetători, Ediția a XX-a, Cercetarea integrată a mediului și dezvoltarea durabilă în antropocen, Institutul de Geografie al Academiei Române, București, 4 decembrie 2020 (on-line);

2021

  • Ionuț Minea, Daniel Boicu, Marina Iosub: Human impact on groundwater resources in Eastern Romania, The International Conference Air and Water - components of the environment, 13th Edition, Cluj-Napoca, 23 martie 2021 (on-line);
  • Ionuț Minea, Marina Iosub, Daniel Boicu: Groundwater drought evolution in Eastern Romania in the last decades, International Symposium "Present Environment and Sustainable Development", 16th edition, 18 iunie 2021 (on-line);
  • Ionuț Minea, Daniel Boicu, Marina Iosub: Multi-scale approach for hydrogeological drought in Moldavian Plateau, Lucrările Seminarului Geografic Internațional ”Dimitrie Cantemir”Ediția a XLI-a, Iași, 3-5 septembrie 2021;
  • Ionuț Minea, Daniel Boicu, Marina Iosub, Andrei Enea: Water deficit in north-eastern part of Romania, Conferinţa Internaţională Water resources and wetlands, Ediția a V-a, Tulcea, 8-11 septembrie 2021;
  • Daniel Boicu, Ionuț Minea, Constantin Rusu: Dinamica apelor subterane din partea nordică a Podișului Central Moldovenesc, Conferința Factori și procese pedogenetice din zona temperată, Ediția a XXX-a, Iași-Piatra Neamț, 16-19 septembrie 2021;
  • Ionuț Minea, Marina Iosub, Daniel Boicu: The impact of climate changes on the variation of the groundwater level in the Moldavian Plateau, CARPATHIAN-BALKAN PALEOSCIENCE WORKSHOP (CBPW), Cârlibaba (județul Suceava), 6-8 octombrie 2021 (on-line);
  • Lucian Sfîcă, Ionuț Minea, Vlad-Alexandru Amihăesei, Robert Hrițac, Daniel Boicu: Ground water levels under climate change pressure in north-eastern Moldova, 2nd International Conference Geographical Sciences and future of the world, București, 12 noiembrie 2021 (on-line);

2022

  • Ionuț Minea, Daniel Boicu, Marina Iosub: Evaluation of The Groundwater Level Trends Using Different Statistical Methods, The International Conference Air and Water - components of the environment, 14th Edition, Cluj-Napoca, 18 martie 2022 (on-line);
  • Oana-Elena Chelariu, Ionuț Minea, Daniel Boicu, Marina Iosub: An approach for assessing social vulnerability related to groundwater resources at local level in North Eastern part of Romania, 17th edition of the International Symposium "Present Environment and Sustainable Development", Iași, 3-4 iunie 2022;
  • Ionuț Minea, Lucian Sfîcă, Mihai Florin Constantin, Marina Iosub, Oana-Elena Chelariu, Daniel Boicu: The vulnerability of underground water resources from Moldavian Plateau to climate changes – final evaluation of the project, Lucrările Seminarului Geografic Internațional ”Dimitrie Cantemir”, Ediția a XLII-a, Iași, 14-16 octombrie 2022;

Papers published:

ISI

  1. Ionuț Minea, Marina Iosub, Daniel Boicu 2020. Groundwater Resources from Eastern Romania under Human and Climatic Pressure. Sustainability, 12(24), https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410341.
  2. Minea Ionuț, Iosub Marina, Boicu Daniel 2021. Multi-scale approach for different type of drought in temperate climatic conditions. Nat Hazards. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04985-2.
  3. Mihai Florin Constantin, Minea Ionuț 2021. Sustainable alternatives routes versus linear economy and resources degradation in Eastern Romania, Sustainability 13 (19), https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910574.
  4. Minea Ionuț, Boicu Daniel, Chelariu Oana-Elena, Iosub Marina, Enea Andrei 2022. Assessment of recharge capacity potential of groundwater using comparative Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis approaches, J. Geogr. Sci. 2022, 32(4): 735-756, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-022-1970-0.
  5. Sfîcă Lucian, Minea Ionuț, Hriţac Robert, Amihăesei Vlad, Boicu Daniel 2022. Projected changes of groundwater levels in northeastern Romania according to climate scenarios for 2020–2100,Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2022.101108.
  6. Minea Ionuț, Boicu Daniel, Amihăiesei Vlad, Iosub Marina 2022. Identification of Seasonal and Annual Groundwater Level Trends in Temperate Climatic Conditions, Front. Environ. Sci. 10:852695, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.852695.
  7. Minea Ionuț, Oana-Elena Chelariu, Daniel Boicu, Marina Iosub 2022. Assessing the social vulnerability associated to groundwater resources in temperate climatic conditions, Applied Water (in review process).

Papers in Conferences Proceedings

  1. Minea Ionuț, Boicu Daniel, Iosub Marina 2021. Hydrogeological drought between natural phenomenon and social vulnerability, International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying, Geology and Mining, Ecology and Management, Volume I, Hydrology and Water Resources, SGEM 2021, vol. 21 (in press).
  2. Boicu Daniel, Minea Ionuț, Iosub Marina 2021. The variation of groundwater in northeastern Romania in the last 3 decades - Case study: Moldova plain, International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying, Geology and Mining, Ecology and Management, Conference Proceedings, Volume I, Hydrology and Water Resources, SGEM 2021, vol. 21 (in press).
  3. Minea Ionuț, Boicu Daniel, Iosub Marina, Chelariu Oana Elena 2021. Groundwater level trend in the last decades in north-eastern - part of Romania, International Scientific Conference Geobalcanica 2021, 75-83, https://doi.org/10.18509/GBP210075i.
  4. Boicu Daniel, Minea Ionuț 2021. A method of correlating groundwater levels with precipitation, International Scientific Conference Geobalcanica 2021, 29-35, https://doi.org/10.18509/GBP210029d.
  5. Minea Ionut, Iosub Marina, Boicu Daniel 2022. Multi-scale analysis for different type of drought in temperate climatic conditions, Proceedings of the 39th IAHR World Congress 19–24 June 2022, Granada, Spain, https://doi.org/10.3850/IAHR-39WC2521716X20221187.

Media appearances to popularize project results:

8 iulie 2022, Digi 24: https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/sci-tech/natura-si-mediu/de-ce-e-diferita-seceta-din-2022-in-romania-ultimii-20-de-ani-au-fost-o-continua-perioada-de-seceta-intrerupta-de-ani-mai-normali-2005917

5 septembrie 2022, Ziarul de Iași: https://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/stiri/un-expert-iesean-explica-de-ce-au-scazut-raurile-si-lacurile-din-judet-la-niveluri-istorice-de-ce-ploaia-de-acum-nu-este-suficienta--332463.html

Contact

Project Leader: Associate Professor PhD. Ionut MINEA

e-mail: ionutminea1979@yahoo.com

Phone: +40 232 201477