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 March 2026 | Viewed by 298
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
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Keywords
- groundwater contamination
- groundwater vulnerability
- climate change
- groundwater vulnerability validation
- artificial intelligence
- GIS models
- aquifer characterization
- risk mitigation
- pollution prevention
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