New Tools and Methods for Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrogeology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2026 | Viewed by 1203
Special Issue Editors
Interests: seawater intrusion; groundwater vulnerability; vulnerability validation; groundwater age; natural background level; climate change impacts on groundwater; nature-based solutions
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Groundwater is the main source of freshwater in many arid and semi-arid regions worldwide. Ensuring both the qualitative and quantitative protection of groundwater resources is critical for maintaining long-term sustainability and water security. The level of protection required is not only by the intrinsic vulnerability of aquifers but also by the risk of degradation due to anthropogenic activities such as agricultural practices, industrial operations, urban development, groundwater abstraction, and natural hazards, including floods or droughts.
For several decades, index-based methods have been widely used to assess groundwater vulnerability to surface-derived pollution. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on integrating machine learning techniques into groundwater vulnerability assessments. Additionally, emerging frameworks now consider groundwater vulnerability in the context of pumping, droughts, and floods, offering innovative perspectives for groundwater protection.
This Special Issue seeks to highlight recent scientific advancements in this field. We invite contributions that address all aspects of groundwater contamination, aquifer characterization, validation methodologies, the impact of climate change on groundwater vulnerability, and novel approaches for assessing groundwater vulnerability to pollution and droughts. The specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Groundwater vulnerability to pollution;
- Groundwater vulnerability to droughts and floods;
- Groundwater vulnerability in coastal aquifers;
- Aquifer characterization for intrinsic vulnerability assessment;
- Validation methods of groundwater vulnerability (e.g., natural background levels, denitrification, and others);
- Risk mitigation strategies;
- Impact of climate change on groundwater vulnerability;
- Pollution prevention measures;
- Remediation technologies;
- Assessment techniques for groundwater vulnerability, including artificial intelligence, GIS-based models, index-based methods, and statistical methods.
Dr. Leticia Baena-Ruiz
Dr. Samrit Luoma
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- groundwater contamination
- groundwater vulnerability
- climate change
- groundwater vulnerability validation
- artificial intelligence
- GIS models
- aquifer characterization
- risk mitigation
- pollution prevention
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
