Groundwater Hydrology Group

Inicio
España
Barcelona, Cataluña/Catalunya
Groundwater Hydrology Group

Llamar Página web Contactar con la universidad

The overall scientific objective of the Hydrogeology Group (GHS) (“mission”) is to contribute to the

14/10/2026

📢 NEW WEBINAR

🗣 Bella Almillategui

Title: Hydrogeochemical characterization of mixing processes and biogeochemical
reactions in a coastal aquifer using the AMAR method (Water Mixing and
Reaction Analysis).

Abstract:
Coastal aquifers are dynamic mixing zones where fresh groundwater and seawater interact while undergoing hydro-biogeochemical transformations that modify groundwater composition before discharge to the coastal ocean. This study investigates how freshwater–seawater mixing and reactive processes jointly shape groundwater chemistry in the multilayer alluvial aquifer of the Argentona stream, northeastern Spain. The aquifer is characterized by permeable sandy and gravelly units separated by finer-grained layers that restrict vertical connectivity and create contrasting hydro-biogeochemical environments with depth.

Groundwater was sampled during winter and summer across a multilevel monitoring network, and 21 hydrochemical and isotopic variables were integrated to characterize mixing, redox conditions, nutrient cycling, cation exchange, mineral interactions, and organic-matter transformations. We applied the AMAR/rEMMA-MIX framework to identify freshwater and seawater end-members, estimate mixing proportions using reaction-invariant components, and quantify apparent reaction amounts under both global and domain-specific reaction networks.

By linking groundwater mixing with independently constrained hydro-biogeochemical domains, this study explores how aquifer heterogeneity influences the spatial organization and apparent magnitude of reactions that modify groundwater before discharge to the coastal ocean.

16/09/2026

📢 NEW WEBINAR

🗣 Jordi Petchamé Guerrero

Title: Decoupling transport and reactions in reactive transport problems.

Abstract:

Simulating reactive transport in groundwater is computationally expensive because solute transport and chemical reactions are coupled and must be solved simultaneously. The Water Mixing Approach (WMA) offers an alternative that decouples these two processes. Rather than solving everything together, WMA represents transport as a sequence of mixing operations involving neighbouring waters. Concentrations at each point are calculated as a weighted mixture of nearby waters plus the contribution from reactions. Transport and reactions are thus separated, reducing computational cost and allowing reactions to be solved independently at each node or cell.

The aim of this work is to evaluate and improve the implicit WMA so that transport and reactions remain decoupled in reactive transport simulations. The original version of WMA was explicit in time, making it unstable for large time steps. Here, it is extended to an implicit formulation, which is unconditionally stable. However, making the formulation implicit couples transport and reactions again. To keep them separate, two variants are proposed: the “lumped” variant, which aggregates reaction contributions from neighbouring waters at the computation point, and the “consistent” variant, which approximates these contributions using reaction rates already computed upstream and estimates of those downstream.

Both variants are compared with the Direct Substitution Approach (DSA) and analytical solutions for two problems: a single mineral at equilibrium, and two adjacent mineral zones at equilibrium as well. For problems with smooth solutions, all methods converge well. However, when chemical conditions change abruptly, as in the two-mineral-zone problem, all methods fail, including DSA.

08/07/2026

📢 NEW WEBINAR

🗣 Daniel Fernàndez

Title: Random walk particles with electrostatic coupling.

Abstract

The accurate description of transport of charged chemical species through porous media needs to include electrostatic interactions. While solute transport models have pursued the incorporation of electrostatic coupling effects, efforts have been primarily focused on Eulerian formulations of transport. Particle-based models provide an alternative approach with known advantages for simulating solute transport in porous media.

However, electrostatic coupling effects are generally not considered, hence limiting the applicability of particle-based formulations to problems of multispecies ionic solute transport. This work presents a Random Walk Particle Tracking (RWPT) formulation that incorporates electrostatic coupling effects while calculating the displacement of solute particles.

The formulation is based on an equivalent Fokker–Planck form of the Nernst–Planck-based transport equation that allows to determine the nonlinear transport coefficients that effectively incorporate electrostatic coupling in the particles’ displacements. The simulation approach is generalized, enabling the use of the RWPT method for simulating problems of multispecies ionic solute transport through homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media.

Numerical simulations making use of the proposed formulation are benchmarked at different scales with experimental data and with known Eulerian solutions to problems of transport with electrostatic coupling, with results supporting the validity of the particle-based simulation approach.

08/06/2026

📢 NEW WEBINAR

🗣 Clara Ruiz González (Institut de Ciències del Mar - CSIC)

Title: Preferential transport of ultra-small prokaryotes to the sea via submarine groundwater discharge

Abstract:

Submarine groundwater discharge is increasingly recognised as a major hydrologic pathway transporting water and solutes to the coastal ocean. However, its role as a vector for microorganisms remains largely unexplored.

In this seminar, Clara Ruiz-González will present a study focused on how groundwater seeping through sea bottom sediments can transport microbial communities to the sea, with special attention to ultra-small prokaryotes such as bacteria and archaea.

Using seepage meters installed at a Mediterranean sandy beach, together with microscopy, flow cytometry and DNA sequencing, the study shows that submarine groundwater discharge can transport significant numbers of cells to coastal waters, and that this process is size-dependent.

The talk will also discuss the potential implications of this microbial dispersal pathway for coastal systems.

ℹ️ https://www.h2ogeo.upc.edu/

02/06/2026

📢 NEW WEBINAR

🗣 Veronica L. Morales (University of California, Davis)

Title: Living Porous Media: Biological Drivers of Subsurface Mass Transport and Reactions.

Abstract

Soils and rocks host vast microbial communities that actively reshape hydrologic processes occurring below the Earth’s surface. Through motility, growth, and biofilm formation, microbes locally clog pores, reorganize pore-network connectivity, and dynamically redistribute fluid flow and solute transport in natural porous media. Beyond these physical effects, microbes and their biofilm matrix modify pore-surface reactivity and generate steep chemical gradients whose system-scale consequences remain poorly quantified. This knowledge gap limits our ability to predict microbially mediated processes central to timely environmental applications like contaminant remediation, nutrient cycling, and greenhouse gas emissions. In this talk, I present three examples of living porous media in which pore-scale microbial processes exert first-order control on macroscopic behavior. We combine soil-on-a-chip microfluidic experiments of microbial growth with pore-scale direct numerical simulations to resolve flow fields, solute residence times, and mixing dynamics inaccessible to experiments alone.

First, we examine coupled biotic-abiotic controls on manganese precipitation relevant to contaminant remediation efforts. Second, we show how biofilm accumulation deforms solute mixing interfaces and alters product formation in fast, mixing-limited reactions as a standard toy case. Finally, we investigate the physical and biological controls governing redox heterogeneity in riverine sediments linked to greenhouse gas production. Together, these insights reveal how microbial life reshapes the physical and chemical fabric of the subsurface.

13/05/2026

📢 NEW WEBINAR

🗣 Jesus D. Gomez-Velez (University of Iowa)

Title: The Global Conveyor: How River Corridor Connectivity Shapes Water Quality.

Abstract

Transport, storage, and reactions along the river corridor influence mass and energy balances from local to continental scales. This network regulates both natural and human-induced disturbances, playing a crucial role in the sustainable management of water resources amid ongoing social, economic, and climatic changes. Our understanding of how channels connect with their surroundings has significantly improved over the past 40 years, emphasizing the importance of viewing the river corridor as a complex three-dimensional system rather than just a linear feature. This presentation highlights recent advances that combine mechanistic insights with data-driven methods to address three major environmental challenges involving the river corridor. First, we look at hyporheic exchange as a key connectivity pathway and a natural biogeochemical reactor, underscoring the need for better constraints to refine estimates of whole-stream metabolism. Second, we explore how connectivity within the river corridor affects nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas emissions. Third, we consider the river corridor’s role in the global environmental plastics budget. For each issue, we stress the value of simple modeling approaches that support the creation, implementation, and evaluation of sustainable practices for managing water quantity and quality at a continental scale.

ℹ️ https://www.h2ogeo.upc.edu/

07/05/2026

📢 Albert Folch, member of our group, invited speaker at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in Vienna.

🗣️ Albert participated in the session:

“Integrated Water Resources Management in Coastal Aquifers: Seawater Intrusion in a Changing Climate and under Human-Impacted World”

👏 A valuable contribution to the discussion on coastal aquifers, seawater intrusion, climate change and human impact on groundwater resources, congratulations, Albert

04/05/2026

📢 Avancen els treballs de recàrrega gestionada a la llera del riu Besòs

Després de la perforació dels quatre piezòmetres a la llera del riu Besòs, aquesta setmana s’han dut a terme les tasques d’excavació de les futures basses de recàrrega. Aquests nous espais experimentals permetran estudiar diferents processos de degradació i comportament de l’aigua en el subsòl, en el marc dels projectes WaterSOS, RECLAM, AquiCIRC i OptiMAR. 💧

♻️ Les basses serviran com a infraestructura pilot per analitzar el potencial de la recàrrega gestionada d’aqüífers i avançar en solucions innovadores per a la millora de la qualitat de l’aigua, la reutilització i la gestió sostenible dels recursos hídrics en entorns fluvials mediterranis.

✔️Amb aquesta actuació, el Besòs es consolida com un espai clau de recerca aplicada per afrontar els reptes actuals de sequera, regeneració d’aigua i adaptació al canvi climàtic.

ℹ️ https://besoswaterhub.h2ogeo.upc.edu/

21/04/2026

¡El Groundwater Hydrology Group en el Top 10 de Grupos de Investigación de la UPC! 🏆💧

Nos enorgullece compartir los resultados del último Informe de Indicadores de la UPC School (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) (UPC) correspondiente al ejercicio 2024.

Los datos confirman la posición de liderazgo del Grupo de Investigación en Hidrología Subterránea (GHS) como uno de los motores de conocimiento y transferencia de nuestra universidad:

🔹 #4 en Excelencia Científica: Nos situamos en la 4ª posición de entre los 204 Grupos de Investigación de toda la UPC. Este indicador valora nuestra producción de artículos en revistas internacionales de alto impacto, la lectura de tesis doctorales y nuestra presencia en congresos científicos. (Equivalente a 64,2 puntos por investigador).

🔹 #8 en Productividad Global: Un reconocimiento a nuestra capacidad para equilibrar la investigación académica de vanguardia con la resolución de problemas técnicos complejos en el mundo real (Posición 8 de 204).

🔹 #2 en el DECA: Somos el segundo grupo con mayor eficiencia del Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Ambiental, destacando especialmente en la transferencia de tecnología a través de convenios con empresas y administraciones públicas.

Estos indicadores no son solo números; reflejan nuestro compromiso diario por entender mejor los recursos hídricos y ofrecer soluciones sostenibles a los retos climáticos actuales.

Queremos felicitar a todo nuestro equipo de investigadores, doctorandos y personal de apoyo. ¡Vuestro talento es el que impulsa estos resultados! 👏✨

¿Quieres saber más sobre nuestros proyectos? Visita nuestra web 👇 https://www.h2ogeo.upc.edu/

UPC Hidrología AguaSubterránea Ciencia IngenieríaCivil Sostenibilidad ImpactoReal

Dirección

Calle Jordi Girona 18
Barcelona
08034

Teléfono

+34934011860

Página web

http://www.h2ogeo.upc.edu/

Notificaciones

Sea el primero en enterarse: le enviaremos un correo electrónico cuando Groundwater Hydrology Group publique novedades y promociones. Su dirección de correo electrónico no se utilizará para ningún otro fin y puede darse de baja en cualquier momento.