Pilot areas
TOPSOIL adresses water related topics concentrated around five shared challenges.
1. Flooding in towns and agricultural areas due to the rising groundwater table, caused by changing precipitation patterns
2. Saltwater intrusion into freshwater reserves due to rising sea levels and changed irrigation, drainage and drinking water demands.
3. The need for a groundwater buffer to store ater in periods of excess rainfall. The buffer of fresh water can be used for irrigation purposes during dry periods.
4. Better knowledge and management of soil conditions, which will provide better resilience to extreme rainfall events, improve water quality and improve crop yields.
5. The capacity to break down nutrients and other environmentally hazardous pollutants in the uppermost layers of the ground is yet unexplored. By improving our understanding, better management can be implemented.
These challenges will be addressed in 16 pilot areas, to develop and test solutions for managing uppermost 20-30 m of the subsurface.
BE 1: Identifying the salinization of groundwater in the Western Flemish coastal area by collecting airborne electromagnetic data
BE 2: Increasing the availability of freshwater for agriculture by improving local hydrogeological conditions
DK 1: High groundwater table in a Danish town – Challenges and opportunities in a climate adaptation perspective
DK 2A: Targeted regulation of fertilizers to obtain sustainable intensification. Investigating the potential for natural breakdown of pollutants in the subsurface groundwater.
DK 2B: Improvement of traditional geophysical investigations
DK 3: Development and testing of high resolution near surface methods for improved groundwater vulnerability assessment
DK 4: Integrated water management in Odense
GE 1: Investigation of the geophysical, hydrochemical and hydraulic characteristics of the subsurface as a basis for geological and hydrological modeling
GE 2: Development of climate change effected saltwater intrusion in the Elbe-Weser region
GE 3: Bremen Dam: Effects of a dam on the surrounding groundwater
GE 4: AquaModul
GE 5: Enabling farmers to better protect the groundwater from nitrate and veterinary pharmaceuticals
NL 1: Measures to deal with increased water shortage in the Drentsche Aa/Assessing the water quality in the Drentsche Aa and Hunze
NL 2: Creating a sustainable Dwarsdiep catchment
NL 3: GeoTOP: using detailed soil information and models to solve water problems
UK 1: Surface- and groundwater connectivity and implication for water resource protection and management
UK 2: Holistic water- and soil management in East Anglia