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High concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) in water (e.g., As, Cr, and Cd) are harmful to human health, especially to children. HMs' (As, Cd, Mn, Fe, Cu, Hg, Zn, Cr, and Se) values have been determined from the water of the Guenniche plain (Tunisia); then the carcinogenic risk (CR) and non-carcinogenic Risk (N-CR) were estimated through ingestion and dermal contact for adults and children. The analysis results show that the Hg, As, and Cd in 50% of the ephemeral streams (ESs) exceeded one of the WHO and NT guidelines for safe water, as is the case with Hg and Cd in 25% of the shallow groundwater wells (SGW). In all samples, the N-CR of all HMs, and the CR due to the dermal contact controlled by As, for both age brackets, are deemed to fall far short of the threshold set by USEPA. The CR due to the ingestion pathway caused by As, Cr, and Cd contamination indicates a "high" to "very high" risk on its users in roughly 50% of all the samples (ESs and SGW) for both age brackets by exceeding 10

Environmental flows are unanimously considered to be one of the most comprehensive indicators of the rivers health and their capacities to provide ecosystem goods and services. In this study, the objective was to predict the response of environmental flow components in a typical North African rivers network to future climate change. The study watershed is Bouregreg watershed (BW) in Morocco. To achieve this objective, a hybrid approach was build based on the semi-distributed model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration program (IHA). Data of two emissions scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) from a downscaled Global Circulation Model were used to force the hybrid SWAT-IHA to calculate modifications of BW's environmental flow components in 2085-2100 period. Results showed that BW will experience climatic changes under both scenarios. Most of the environmental flow attributes will be modified within the study period: loss of natural flow variability due to shift in exceedance probability of low flows (up to 40%), decrease of monthly low flows, forward shift in high flow timing (up to 50%), and alteration of both the duration and the rise rates of floods. BW's streams responded unequally to the simulated changes in terms of the altered attributes as well as the degree of the alteration. This study confirmed the ability of the developed modeling approach to monitor environmental flow parameters for the first time in Morocco, and contributed in highlighting the necessity of proactive long term strategies to protect riverine ecosystems in North Africa watersheds.

The last decade increasing attention to litter accumulation in the marine environment revealed the issue of the terrestrial fluxes of plastic pollution into the oceans. However, limited studies investigate the macro-litter abundance and composition particularly in freshwater ecosystems and the adjusted coastal environment. In this study, we conducted an empirical analysis of anthropogenic litter (AL) in two freshwater streams and their estuaries of Lesvos island (Greece), strongly affected by the waste mismanagement in the Moria refugee camp. A total of 1,622 litter items were collected from five sites during the field campaign between the 3rd and 6th of June 2019. Among these, artificial polymer items (mainly drink bottles, single-use plastic bags, cutlery, and trays) irrespective of the site location constituted the major part ranging from 46 to 91% of total AL by mass. Drink bottles and plastic cutlery are found in higher percentage at Moria camp river and its estuary, while packaging and bag litter are more abundant at upstream sites. The operation of the camp has increased the AL abundance 13 times more than the reference site, causing severe threat to human health and to freshwater and marine environment. It is therefore important to improve the waste management system at (inter)national (change in production and packaging policy) and local scale (introducing sustainable solutions to refugee camp design) by promoting recycling and circular economy projects to diminish AL pollution.

A research conducted in order to investigate the environmental impact of an e-waste recycling plant to the soil and water resources of the surrounding area. Therefore trace elements in both water and soil samples were determined with Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Heavy metals in water comply with drinking water criteria, except Pb. Pb, Concentrations of Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mn, Zn were higher in the rainwater collection tank (43.50, 10.90, 18.87, 81.17, 177.99, 330.17 μg/L) than the surficial water inside (8.93, 1.27, 4.97, 17.0, 91.87, 72.97 μg/L) and outside the plant (4.18, 1.28, 1.60, 10.35, 26.21, 12.10 μg/L). Ecological risk of soil samples was assessed with Enrichment Factors. Enrichment factor, for soils showed low to moderate enrichment. The more enriched soil samples in Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and Hg were two collected west of the company S19 and S20 and two samples collected east S9 and S10.

Flow data visualizations describe runoff, flooding or drought, showing the interconnectivity and complexity of water data issues or water management problems. Intermittent Flow Rivers constitute more than half of the length of the global river network and their presence is expanding in response to climate change. A new approach is developed to visualize the flow of the Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams (IRES) based on the creation of time-lapse videos. Two statistical methods, the Natural Breaks and Equal Interval one, are used and evaluated for the creation of the mapping content. The flow dataset of IRES for the island of Crete (in Greece) is used as a case study for a six-year period. The results of both methods are used as an input to create the time-lapse videos of IRES. The videos show the flow fluctuation and cessation during a six-year period and the differences between the two methods.

Frequency of flash floods and droughts in the Mediterranean climate zone is expected to rise in the coming years due to change of its climate. The assessment of the climate change impact at a basin scale is essential for developing mitigation and adaptation plans. This study analyses the variation of the hydrologic regime of a small Mediterranean river (the Kalloni river in Lesvos Island, Greece) by the examination of possible future climate change scenarios. The hydrologic response of the basin was simulated based on Hydrologic Modeling System developed by the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC-HMS). Weather Generator version 6 from the Long Ashton Research Station (LARS-WG 6.0) was utilized to forecast climate data from 2021 to 2080. These forecasted climate data were then assigned as weather inputs to HEC-HMS to downscale the climate predictions of five large-scale general circulation models (GCMs) for three possible emission scenarios (such as RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5). The alteration of the Kalloni hydrologic regime is evaluated by comparing GCMs based estimates of future streamflow and evapotranspiration with business as usual (BaU) scenario. Variation was noted in seasonal and in annual scale forecasting of long-term average discharges, which show increasing trend in autumn and decreasing in summer and there is observed a general upward trend of actual evapotranspiration losses.

Este artículo contiene 17 páginas, 7 figuras, 1 tabla., Surface-groundwater interactions in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), waterways which do not flow year-round, are spatially and temporally dynamic because of alternations between flowing, non-flowing and dry hydrological states. Interactions between surface and groundwater often create mixing zones with distinct redox gradients, potentially driving high rates of carbon and nutrient cycling. Yet a complete understanding of how underlying biogeochemical processes across surface-groundwater flowpaths in IRES differ among various hydrological states remains elusive. Here, we present a conceptual framework relating spatial and temporal hydrological variability in surface water-groundwater interactions to biogeochemical processing hotspots in IRES. We combine a review of theIRES biogeochemistry literature with concepts of IRES hydrogeomorphology to: (i) outline common distinctions among hydrological states in IRES; (ii) use these distinctions, together with considerations of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles within IRES, to predict the relative potential for biogeochemical processing across different reach-scale processing zones (flowing water, fragmented pools, hyporheic zones, groundwater, and emerged sediments); and (iii) explore the potential spatial and temporal variability of carbon and nutrient biogeochemical processing across entire IRES networks. Our approach estimates the greatest reach-scale potential for biogeochemical processing when IRES reaches are fragmented into isolated surface water pools, and highlights the potential of relatively understudied processing zones, such as emerged sediments. Furthermore, biogeochemical processing in fluvial networks dominated by IRES is likely more temporally than spatially variable. We conclude that biogeochemical research in IRES would benefit from focusing on interactions between different nutrient cycles, surface-groundwater interactions in non-flowing states, and consideration of fluvial network architecture. Our conceptual framework outlines opportunities to advance studies and expand understanding of biogeochemistry in IRES., This study is based upon work from COST Action CA15113 (SMIRES, Science and Management of Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, www.smires.eu), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). A.S. was supported by the InterNet Project (Eawag Discretionary Funds, Ernst Gohner ¨ Foundation and Gelbert Foundation), S.A. was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant 682/17). G. W. was supported by Klima- and Energiefonds within the ACRP program (PURIFY - KR17AC0K13643). S.B. was supported by the Spanish Government through “Ramon ´ y Cajal” fellow (RYC-2017-22643). HP.G. was supported by the Leibniz Foundation via the IGB household. O.S. was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG grant SU 405/10- 1). A.W. was additionally supported by Klima- and Energiefonds within the ACRP program (PURIFY - KR17AC0K13643). V.P. is partially funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) (EPA). U.R. was supported by a grant from the German Research Foundation (RI 2093/2- 1). S.O. was partially supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG grant SU 405/10-1). O.T. was partially supported by the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF). D.vS. was supported by a “Serra Húnter” Fellow. M.I.A. was supported by the “Juan de Cierva” postdoctoral program funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Ref: IJC2018-036969-I).

Fluviogeomorphologic processes such as bank erosion and deposition affect and change the shape and condition of river and stream channels. Erosion and deposition rates are dependent on many natural (e.g. climate, geology, vegetation, topography) and anthropogenic (e.g. dams, bridges, gabions, straightening, wildfires etc.) factors. Alterations to these factors disrupt the rivers/streams dynamic equilibrium and they respond by altering their shape, formation or even location. These changes might be slow or rapid but can cause serious problems to infrastructures and lead to loss of human lives. For the more effective and sustainable management of rivers or stream and in general watersheds, new innovative methods are needed to monitor and understand these fluviogeomorphologic processes. Remote sensing tools can be utilized to monitor, predict and measure such changes in rivers and streams. Free satellite images and ortho-maps generated by airplanes have been used worldwide to map geomorphologic changes through time. Ortho-images captured by drone flights are more effective because their higher spatial resolution they provide compared to satellite or airplane images can provide more details on the river or stream. The use of drone images can be low cost, thus provide an effiecint way to map riverbank changes in targeted reaches that face erosional or depositional problems. This study used remote sensing tools to identify river banks changes by combining free satellite, aerial and low flight drone images. The study areas were reaches along Aggitis River in northern Greece. Firstly, free satellite and Google Earth images were utilized to map the entire watershed and find at a large scale the potential riverbank reaches that have had changes (erosion and/or deposition). Secondly, drone flights were executed to acquire high resolution images at a specific location (having erosion). Through these images, it was determined more accurately if accelerated bank erosion or deposition were occurring. Overall, these remote sensing tools proved to be a quick and low-cost methodology that allows identifying and measuring stream bank changes over many years but also over short periods of time (e.g. after a flood event). In addition, the methodology enables us to locate the areas with the greatest potential of erosion and deposition where nature-based solution should be implemented to stabilize stream banks, reduce erosion or deposition rates and mitigate nonpoint source pollutants. This paper was presented at the MONITOX International Symposium “Deltas and Wetlands”, Tulcea, Romania, 15-17 September, 2019.

The accuracy of photogrammetry for geohazards monitoring has improved within the last years because of the “drone revolution”. This study is an attempt to perform morphometric measurements in a landslide event that took place near the village Nea Zichni in Northern Greece. The DJI Mavic 2 Pro was selected to capture orthoimages of the entire area including the landslide event but also other adjusted disaster phenomena. The images were loaded in the commercial software Pix4D in order to produce orthomosaics and digital surface models of the area. The georeferenced results were further analyzed in ArcGIS in order to digitize and estimate the morphometric parameters of the landslide, such as its area and volume, but also to detect cracks and plot the tensile cracking directions. We conclude that the methodology and produced outputs are crucial for the responsible authorities to detect, monitor and mitigate natural disasters such as landslide events and other mass movements. The best practices to control mass movements are nature-based solutions such as soil bioengineering and proper vegetation cover assisted by engineering measures. Finally, our goal is to frequently monitor the landslide phenomenon in order to determine its evolution.

Simple Summary In recent decades, the riverine ecosystems have been considered to evaluate the aquatic biological diversity, hydrological variations, and ecosystem services. However, climatic change scenarios and anthropogenic interventions are expected to shift from perennial to intermittent rivers with possible repercussion on aquatic biodiversity and human well-being. Our study identified a significant reduction in the Mediterranean intermittent river streamflow with an increase of zero flow days in the last decades. Furthermore, the aquatic invertebrates showed variations during the transition from drying to rewetting with a significantly changing species adapted to the flowing conditions (rheophilic taxa) to non-flowing water. The importance of the disconnected pools as refuges during the dry condition was recognised to protect some endemic species and contribute to the recolonisation after the rewetting events. Include these important aquatic ecosystems in management and conservancy policies is a challenge that will contribute to preserving the freshwater resources and the biological diversity for our future generations. Abstract Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) are increasingly studied because of their often-unique aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, biogeochemical processes and associated ecosystem services. This study is the first to examine the hydrological, physicochemical and taxonomic variability during the dry-wet transition of an intermittent river in the Chilean Mediterranean Zone. Based on 30-years of river monitoring data and the TREHS tool, the hydrology of the river was characterised. Overall, the river shows a significant reduction in streamflow (−0.031 m3/s per year) and a substantial increase of zero flow days (+3.5 days per year). During the transition of hydrological states, variations were observed in the environmental conditions and invertebrate communities. During the drying phase, abundance, richness, and diversity were highest, while species turn-over was highest during base flow conditions. The disconnected pools and the flow resumption phases were characterised by high proportions of lentic taxa and non-insects, such as the endemic species of bivalves, gastropods, and crustaceans, highlighting the relevance of disconnected pools as refuges. Future climatic change scenarios are expected to impact further the hydrology of IRES, which could result in the loss of biodiversity. Biomonitoring and conservation programmes should acknowledge these important ecosystems.

هرساله هزاران پناهنده به امید یافتن یک زندگی بهتر به اروپا می آیند. تخمین زده می شود که تقریبا 3 تا 5 درصد از پناهندگان دارای یک مدرک دانشگاهی هستند و صدها نفر از آنها یک فوق لیسانس یا حتی یک دکترا دارند. برای آنها مهم است که مهارت های خود را به منظور ایجاد یک حرفه علمی در اروپا افزایش دهند . هدف این پروژه کمک به پناهندگان است تا با آکادمی ها و نیز پبش نیازهای تحصیل و کار در اروپا آشنا شوند . به عنوان یک متقاضی برای یک کار یا یک مدرک دانشگاهی، اول از همه، باید خلاصه ای از مهارت ها یا تحصیلات خود را بنویسید ) CV ( و سپس برای یک کار یا یک مدرک تحصیلی جستجو کنید. بنابراین لازم است با اصول نوشتن یک CV خوب آشنا شوید . این کتاب الکترونیکی به 3 فصل تقسیم شده است. در فصل 1 ، آماده سازی CV با جزئیات توضیح داده خواهد شد . در فصل دوم، متقاضیان می توانند اطلاعات مفیدی در مورد دانشگاه های اروپایی و بورس تحصیلی خود پیدا کنند و فصل 3 اطلاعات مربوط به شغل و کار در اتحادیه اروپا را شامل می شود

Intermittent rivers are prevalent in many countries across Europe, but little is known about the temporal evolution of intermittence and its relationship with climate variability. Trend analysis of the annual and seasonal number of zero-flow days, the maximum duration of dry spells and the mean date of the zero-flow events is performed on a database of 452 rivers with varying degrees of intermittence between 1970 and 2010. The relationships between flow intermittence and climate are investigated using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and climate indices describing large-scale atmospheric circulation. The results indicate a strong spatial variability of the seasonal patterns of intermittence and the annual and seasonal number of zero-flow days, highlighting the controls exerted by local catchment properties. Most of the detected trends indicate an increasing number of zero-flow days, which also tend to occur earlier in the year, particularly in southern Europe. The SPEI is found to be strongly related to the annual and seasonal zero-flow day occurrence in more than half of the stations for different accumulation times between 12 and 24 months. Conversely, there is a weaker dependence of river intermittence with large-scale circulation indices. Overall, these results suggest increased water stress in intermittent rivers that may affect their biota and biochemistry and also reduce available water resources., This research is part of the COST action CA15113 SMIRES, Science and Management of Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams https://www.smires.eu/, a short-term scientific mission that has been funded for Agnieszka Rutkowska. Agnieszka Rutkowska was also supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland (grant DS 3371). The different data providers are gratefully acknowledged. Some of the station data were retrieved from the Global Runoff Data Centre (56068 Koblenz, Germany) and from the HyMeX programme database. The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers, Kendra Kaiser and the Associate Editor, Stephanie Kampf, for their constructive comments.

Contamination of groundwater by trace elements causes unacceptable human health problems both in short- and long-term. In order to examine the concentration of nine trace elements (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Hg, As, Cr, Cd, and Se), shallow groundwater samples were collected from twenty wells along Guenniche plain, which is one of the most important regions of farming at Bizerte governorate (Northern Tunisia). The analysis’ results show that the Mercury and Cadmium concentrations ranging between 0.04 and 1.91 µg L−1 and 0.06 and 5.43 µg L−1, respectively, exceed the national and/or international standards in some wells. All the Mercury samples’ results respect the international standard (WHO) set at 6 µg L−1, and seven samples exceed the national standard (NT) set at 1 µg L−1. For the Cadmium, two samples exceed the NT standard (5 µg L−1), and five samples exceed the WHO standard (3 µg L−1). The intense chemical pesticides used in agriculture and the uncontrolled disposal of domestic wastes are probably the cause behind the pollution in some wells. This region’s inhabitants are the most vulnerable population to carcinogenic risk because the results are higher than the acceptable risk level (between 10–6 and 10–4 set by the USEPA). The Arsenic, Chromium, and Cadmium risk level ranges from 2.5 × 10–6 to 4.3 × 10–4, 1.7 × 10–8 to 1.10 × 10–4, and 3.1 × 10–5 to 2.7 × 10–3, respectively. The findings in this research will inspire the decision makers to be more vigilant about the human health risk and to move forward with taking urgent and effective solutions to protect the Guenniche plain humans from trace elements contamination.

Capturing and recording fluvio-geomorphological events is essential since these events can be very sudden and hazardous. Climate change is expected to increase flash floods intensity and frequency in the Mediterranean region, thus enhancing such events will also impact the adjacent riparian vegetation. The aim of this study was to capture and record the fluvial-geomorphological changes of the torrent bed and banks and flood debris events with the use of UAV images along a reach of Kallifytos torrent in northern Greece. In addition, a novel approach to detecting changes and assessing the conditions of the riparian vegetation was conducted by using UAV images that were validated with field data based on a visual protocol. Three flights were conducted using the DJI Spark UAV. Based on the images collected from these flights, orthomosaics were developed. The orthomosaics clearly identified changes in the torrent bed and detected debris flow events after major flood events. In addition, the results on the assessment of riparian vegetation conditions were satisfactory. Utilizing UAV images shows great potential to capture, record, and monitor fluvio-geomorphological events and riparian vegetation. Their utilization would help water managers to develop more sustainable management solutions based on actual field data.

Nowadays there is a higher need of strict and broader legislation in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling industry to reduce environmental effects of WEEE. Environmental challenges include pollution, exhaustion of natural resources, waste management and reduction of landfills. High speed in technological development in many sectors puts many products in great challenge of obsoleting almost immediately after their purchase. In particular, this is the fate for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). They are forever-improving and incorporate state of the art innovations. This provide many benefits; however, at the same time, its expansion results in rapidly growing waste stream of WEEE. WEEE contains a combination of all these situations, including for example, batteries, plastics of quality, precious metals and toxic soldering metals. The reuse and renovation of WEEE are therefore very critical because of its significant ecological environmental impacts. Sustainable development is not a static situation, but a state of dynamic balance between human and environmental system. The current chapter explores sustainability planning and strategies such as eco-design, and design for dismantling and recycling, and what they mean for electronic products. It examines the incentives, methods and tools for sustainable electronic product design, with particular emphasis on reuse, recycling, selection of sustainable materials and processes, and lack of resources.

The study of the influence of climate change on the evolution of floods in areas under the influence of a Mediterranean climate is very important. This work aims to provide new analytical elements to decision-makers in flood management and forecasting in three Mediterranean catchments (Lonquen, Evrotas, and Azzaba), in order to better understand their hydrological behavior and to quantify the flow and its vulnerability to climate change. A semi-distributed conceptual model (HBV-A model) was used to simulate flows with a daily time step. The model results (simulated flows) were used to examine the evolution of high flows using two different approaches (linear regressions and statistical test). The Chilean and the Greece catchments show a decrease in flooding. However, the Moroccan catchment reacts differently, since a positive trend in high flows is observed. The overall results confirm the influence of climate change on the rainfall/runoff relationship.

Monitoring the groundwater quality situation and identifying the various pollution loads’ sources are a prerequisites to finding solutions. In many areas, nitrate and salinity are one of the prime pollutants in the groundwater. This investigation is carried to present the results of a monitoring study focusing on 20 wells samples collected from the shallow groundwater of Guenniche plain (North Tunisia) during the wet season of May 2016, to present its suitability for drinking purposes with emphasis on the assessment of the presence of nitrate and salinity elements. Nitrate levels’ results show that 55% of the samples exceeded the National Tunisian standard limit (NT) and the World Health Organization standard limit (WHO). The salinity results, measured as total dissolved solids (TDS), show that 95% of the samples exceed the international standard, and 25% exceed the national standard. A total of 20% of the wells exceeded the nitrite standards. The total hardness levels indicate that 90% of the samples present very hard water. The Guenniche shallow groundwater average concentrations are categorized as follows: Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ for the cations and Cl− > SO42− > HCO3− > NO3− for the anions. Nitrate and salinity variations during the period 2006–2015 follow the rainfall fluctuation patterns. The assessment of water quality using Water Quality Index revealed that 95% of the wells’ water classes ranged between “poor”, “very poor,” and “unsuitable for drinking purposes”. Therefore, these wells are affected by anthropogenic and/or natural factors and they are inadvisable for drinking purposes, unless the water from these wells undergoes appropriate treatment before use.

This contribution addresses the need for a simple model for managers to employ when planning strategies for the management of touristic beaches under sea level rise. A methodological framework was ...

Today coastal erosion is usually exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change and results in the loss of income and cultural norms, as well as in the loss or degradation of ecosystem services. Public perceptions and participation have an important role – often a legal one – in coastal management and response to coastal hazards. The objective of this study is to assess residents’ perceptions about coastal erosion and the significance of coastal protection and restoration. This paper presents the results of a study conducted in Mytilene, the main city on the island of Lesvos, Greece. Residents recognize the impact of coastal erosion on their daily lives and recognize the anthropogenic causes of coastal erosion problems including climate change impacts. They admit their share in creating pressures and impacts on the beaches and are aware of the common protection works such as sand nourishment, groins and breakwaters construction. However, while they perceive beaches as the public common, residents indicated unwillingness to pay for coastal zone restoration and protection. Results suggest that respondents prefer volunteering activities and public awareness actions to payment or charges for coastal zone protection.

The ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ of the past years has led to the migration of refugee researchers (RRs) to European countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRs often had to work from home and/or to continue their social, cultural and economic integration process under new conditions. An online survey carried out to explore the impact of the pandemic on the refugee researchers showed that RRs found it difficult to adapt their everyday working life to the ‘home’ setting. The majority have had neither a suitable work environment at home nor the appropriate technology. Although they stated that they are rather pleased with the measures taken by the public authorities, they expressed concern about their vulnerability due to their precarious contracts and the bureaucratic asylum procedures, as the pandemic has had a negative impact on these major issues. The majority of RRs working in academia seem not to have been affected at all as far as their income is concerned, while the majority of those employed in other sectors became unemployed during the pandemic (58%). Recommendations are provided to the public authorities and policy makers to assist RRs to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on their life.

The quantification of soil moisture under different soils and crops at regional scale is a challenging task. Hence, such studies are limited by the availability of ground based measurements. The current study evaluates the spatial and temporal patterns of daily soil moisture simulated by the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for the upper 30 cm of the soil profile with indirect soil moisture estimates from Landsat for 2016. The Thermal Vegetation Difference Index ( TVDI ), was calculated based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ( NDVI ) and the brightness temperature ( BT ) using Landsat images, from which regression models were trained by using field measurements from Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) to calculate soil moisture. Two agricultural catchments namely, Gerdau and Wipperau in Germany were satisfactorily calibrated using SWAT for daily streamflow (1975–2000) with NSE (Nash-Sutcliffe-Efficiency) >0.55 and PBIAS (Percent bias) p-factor = 0.57–0.83; r-factor = 0.52 − 1.3). Spatial and temporal patterns of soil moisture from Landsat and SWAT were evaluated by using boxplots and absolute soil moisture difference maps. Results revealed that the overall spatial and temporal patterns of boxplots matched better for the dry period (correlation, r ≥ 0.90) compared to the wet period (r ≥ 0.57). The mean absolute difference between soil moisture from Landsat and SWAT ranged between 0.9–10% for most soils. In addition to it, the soil map was refined to match soil moisture patterns shown in Landsat images for one sandy soil, which further improved the mean absolute difference (1.06–6%). The current study provides an approach to use remotely sensed soil moisture for verifying hydrological modeling results and for optimizing the parameterization of soils, which may bridge the gap between global, regional and field studies in agricultural water management.

Within the SMIRES COST Action (Science and Management of Intermittent Rivers & Ephemeral Streams, www.smires.eu), examples of intermittent rivers across Europe were collected, including gauged catchments with both natural and highly influenced river flow regimes. The examples will be published in a catalogue to give a good overview of the variety of intermittent streams in Europe. Information on the gauged intermittent rivers is summarised in a two-page template: The first page of the template describes the main characteristics of the catchments (land-use, geology, climate, etc.) and the river flow regime. Two panels display hydrographs and flow durations curves and a table gives metrics specific to river flow intermittence relevant for ecology. These hydrological indices have been computed by the SMIRES R package (https://homepage.boku.ac.at/h0540352/smires/framework.html) applied to daily discharge data. The second page of the template is dedicated to the description and reasons for intermittence. A short description about the spatio-temporal pattern of zero-flow events (encompassing seasonal behaviour, observed long-term trends, locations with frequently observed zero-flow events along the river network, etc.). The monitoring network, including gauging stations and other types of observations (e.g. visual inspection of the flow states at different locations along the river) in the catchment, is also described. This presentation gives examples of the pages in the catalogue and a preliminary classification of intermittent rivers at the European scale.

This paper examines the trace elements level in the shallow groundwater of the Guenniche plain (North Tunisia) and its suitability for drinking water use in comparison with national (NT 2013) and international (WHO 2006) standards. Samples collected from twenty (20) wells and ten (10) streams in May 2016 were analyzed for the most common trace elements contents (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, selenium and zinc). Cadmium (1.14–6.11 µg/l) and mercury (0.06–2.89 µg/l) showed higher values in surface water in comparison to the groundwater (0.06–5.43 µg/l for Cd and 0.04–1.91 for Hg µg/l). The severely polluted wells, located in the El Alia region in the border of Wadi El Malah, are considered to impose high human health risk. The irrational use of pesticides, the uncontrolled waste disposal and the untreated industrial wastewater effluents directly into the streams are strongly associated with the deterioration of the water quality of surface and groundwater of Guenniche plain.

The disinfecting properties of sun (heat and UV radiation) are adequate in warm sunny regions to rid beach sand of coronavirus particles, if present. Here we detail the mechanism of natural disinfection offered by the sun on coronaviral particles that may find their way onto beach sand. We conclude that heat and UV radiation generated by the sun destroy the virus infection ability.

The erosion of sandy beaches creates a significant impact on the local society, the economy and the environment. The present study is an attempt to adapt the innovative DESSIN (Demonstrate Ecosystem Services Enabling Innovation in the Water Sector) framework that specializes in freshwater applications, to urban coastal systems. The framework is applied in the case of Kamari beach, Santorini (Greece), to assess the sustainability of all possible anti-erosion measures. To identify the most vulnerable parts of the coastline, the study used two sensitivity indices: the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI), and the Socioeconomic Index (SocCVI). A supply-demand model was applied for the integration of all three aspects that characterize the system: social, economic, and environmental. To project the impact of erosion in the future, the system's state was analyzed in three steps a) the present, b) after the installation of the coastal protection measures and c) a scenario where no protection actions were taken (RCP4.5 scenario). In the current situation the most susceptible part of the coastline due to anthropogenic and environmental pressures is the central one, which does not immediately affect the socio-economic activities of the urban area. In contrast, future changes brought about by climate change will endanger the system's equilibrium and anti-erosion actions are necessary. With the application of the adapted DESSIN framework, the combined installation of submerged breakwaters with sediment replacement is the most sustainable action, promoting socio-economic growth and the protection of essential ecosystem services.

WOS: 000455158800013, In this study, 17 hydrologists with different experience in hydrological modelling applied the same conceptual catchment model (HBV) to a Greek catchment, using identical data and model code. Calibration was performed manually. Subsequently, the modellers were asked for their experience, their calibration strategy, and whether they enjoyed the exercise. The exercise revealed that there is considerable modellers' uncertainty even among the experienced modellers. It seemed to be equally important whether the modellers followed a good calibration strategy, and whether they enjoyed modelling. The exercise confirmed previous studies about the benefit of model ensembles: Different combinations of the simulation results (median, mean) outperformed the individual model simulations, while filtering the simulations even improved the quality of the model ensembles. Modellers' experience, decisions, and attitude, therefore, have an impact on the hydrological model application and should be considered as part of hydrological modelling uncertainty., DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), grant "Floods and Flood Risk Management" as part of the program "Hochschuldialog mit Sudeuropa", This research was funded by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), grant "Floods and Flood Risk Management" as part of the program "Hochschuldialog mit Sudeuropa".

The main aim of this research was to improve risk mapping of heavy metals by taking account of erosion effects. A new spatiotemporal index, namely the G2met index, is introduced, with integration of pre-existing methodologies (Hakanson, EPM, and G2). The G2met index is depicted as a series of risk maps for each heavy metal on a month-time step. The southern part of Cyprus Island was selected as a study area. Concentration of major heavy metals was extracted with soil sampling in a grid of 5350 sites. Rainfall, vegetation, soil, land use, topographic, and hydrologic data were collected from existing European or global databases (WorldClim, BioBar, REDES, ESDAC, CORINE, ASTER GDEM, and USGS). A large number of regional-scale risk maps (with 500-m cell size) were created: one for each heavy metal and totally per month and annually, in addition, choropleth maps in terms of statistics per river basin were produced for every metal. Generally, the G2met maps resulted in different spatial patterns in comparison to those depicted by the Hakanson index alone.

A new approach, the ‘Naturalness Status' (NS), is suggested to classify the hydrologic alteration of temporary rivers from natural conditions based on the Hydrological Status Tool (HS-Tool). The HS-Tool considers two metrics: the degree and the predictability of dry flow conditions for both natural flow and its alterations, at each water body in actual and natural conditions. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is simulating the river flow of Evrotas water bodies, Greece, under natural, actual and climate-impacted conditions. The majority of Evrotas water bodies (72%) experience good (low-impacted) NS for the examined period (1990–2010), despite their intermittent flow regime. Severe flow alteration is predicted for 57% of Evrotas water bodies (high-impacted NS), while selecting the KNMI-RACMO2 future climate projections scenario (2020–2060) as input into the SWAT model. Hydrologic extreme drought phenomena or anthropogenic pressures in water regime can be quantified by the NS. The met...