Use of the European Geological Data Infrastructure for safeguarding
Europe's groundwater resources and dependent ecosystems
Abstract
Changes in the quantity and quality of groundwater and water in the
hydrological cycle in general have important implications for the
evolution of water resources, the built environment, and terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems, globally. Exploitation of groundwater and other
subsurface resources may lead to e.g. land subsidence, salt water
intrusion, loss of important terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and
hence biodiversity. Together with biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and
phosphorus and changes in the land-system and climate, these are
currently considered the main environmental problems of the planet,
which are breaching or close to breaching planetary boundaries. Changes
in the hydrological cycle including groundwater is closely related to
and affecting these changes. It is the ambition of the four GeoERA
groundwater projects studying aspects of groundwater quantity and
quality issues related to natural processes and human activities to
further develop the European Geological Data Infrastructure as a leading
information platform for groundwater data in Europe and one of the
leading platforms, globally. Here we briefly present the contents and
objectives of the four groundwater projects: HOVER - Hydrogeological
processes and geological settings over Europe controlling dissolved
geogenic and anthropogenic elements in groundwater of relevance to human
health and the status of dependent ecosystems; RESOURCE - Resources of
groundwater, harmonized at cross-border and Pan-European Scale; TACTIC
– Tools for assessment of climate change impact on groundwater and
adaptation strategies and VoGERA - Vulnerability of shallow groundwater
resources to deep sub-surface energy-related activities. The four
projects will deliver “FAIR” (Findable, Accesssible, Interoperable and
Reusable) data and information via the European Geological Data
Infrastructure easily accessible for all relevant endusers. This will
improve our understanding of the subsurface and support common efforts
for developing geoethical uses of the subsurface.