Managed Aquifer Recharge is a feasible solution to deal with water shortage. The dissertation focuses on the study of coupled microbial, biogeochemical and physical processes related to surface ponds, involving both quantity and quality aspects in two sites in the Llobregat Basin.
First, we investigated the role of microbial community in the removal of organic compounds in the infiltrating water. From a multivariate statistical analysis including multidisciplinary data, the relevant variables affecting microbial populations, as well as the correlations between some microbial prints were identified.
Second, we map the redox processes below an infiltration pond in four campaigns along a one-year study, related to clogging processes. This allowed the construction of a flow and heat transport model. Two batch-type biogeochemical models were suggested to explain redox processes in winter/summer scenarios and the fate of the different fractions of dissolved organic matter with temperature.
Physical, geochemical and microbial parameters driving the improvement of water quality in Managed Aquifer Recharge
Student: Carme Barba Ferrer
Thesis advisors: Dr. Albert Folch / Dr. Francisco Javier Sánchez