37364 - Environmental Hydrology

Learning outcomes

Provide the basic elements to understand the interactions between hydrosphere and environment, fluvial hydrodynamics, groundwater flow, contaminant transport, geochemistry, isotopic geochemistry, and water management under current legislation at the European level (Water Framework Directive). Training will be achieved through lectures, the use of analytical and numerical models, and exercises in the classroom.

Course contents

Module 1: Water framework directive. The water cycle. Processes in the hydrologic cycle. River hydrology. Types of aquifers. Aquifer properties. Darcy law. Flow equations in a porous medium. Mass transport. Dispersion, diffusion. Numerical methods for the solution of flow and transport problems in aquifers. Eulerian and lagrangian approach to transport. PARTICLE FLOW and TOPODRIVE. Pre-requisites to the course is a basic knowledge of the solution of differential equations and of vectorial calculus.

Module 2: hydrochemistry, geochemistry; water classification, behavior of chemical elements, geochemical barriers, speciation and chemical activity, water sampling and monitoring, groundwater salinization. Pre-requisites to the course is a basic knowledge of inorganic chemistry and geochemistry.

Readings/Bibliography

Notes from instructor

Fetter C. W. Applied hydrogeology. Prentice Hall

Fetter C. W. Contaminant hydrogeology. Prentice Hall

Appelo C.A.J., Postma, D. Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution. CRC Press

Civita, M. Idrogeologia applicate e ambientale. Casa Editrice Ambrosiana

Teaching methods

Lectures and computer labs.

Eventual field activities.

In order to attend this course, it is necessary to have taken the general course on safety and the specific module on field safety.

Assessment methods

Written exam integrated by a mandatory oral examination.

The written exam is composed by two parts corresponding to the two modules of the course. The two parts are evaluated independently.

Prerequisite for the oral examination is to obtain a minimum grade of 18/30 in the written exam.

Teaching tools

Laptop computers for numerical simulations and exercises.

Links to further information

https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/m.antonellini

Office hours

See the website of Marco Antonellini

See the website of Beatrice Maria Sole Giambastiani