IAH Stories

• Aquifer breathing: how a rising water table controls nitrogen transport

  by Fabian Willert, Maria Scaccia, Susana Bernal, Susan Welch, Rachel Gabor, Jesús Carrera, Albert Folch, Benjamin Piña, Audrey H. Sawyer

  Shallow aquifers experience water table fluctuations, which we term “aquifer breathing” as they push and pull air through the vadose zone, affecting redox state site (full study: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-026-03068-5). We investigated the fate of nitrogen at a meter-long column with soil and aquifer materials from a forested mountain stream We used... read the story...

• Can an Observation Well Increase Salinity in a Coastal Aquifer?

  by Zakaria Helles, John Molson, Jean-Michel Lemieux, Nathan Young and François Anctil

  On small islands such as the Magdalen Islands (Québec, Canada), freshwater is scarce—and vulnerable to saltwater intrusion. Observation wells are installed to monitor these fragile aquifers, but could they unintentionally make the problem worse? A study published in Hydrogeology Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-026-03053-y investigates how deep, long-screen observation wells can affect nearby... read the story...

• Evaluation of Springs in the Republic of Azerbaijan

  by Rashail Ismayilov and David K. Kreamer

  International collaborators investigated springs in the Republic of Azerbaijan in a study published in Hydrogeology Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-026-03044-z. Data from 2020-2023 field evaluations of 1,985 springs in 61 of the Republic’s 67 Administrative Districts were analyzed using requirements of “Drinking Water Hygienic Requirements and Quality Control” AZS 929:2023 standard. Many springs exhibit... read the story...

• Modelling seawater intrusion under uncertainties

  by Marwan Fahs, Bashayer Z. Alshammari, Rashad Abbasov, Anis Younes, Husam Baalousha, Renaud Toussaint and Jean-Christophe Comte

  A new approach has been developed to model seawater intrusion while accounting for multiple sources of uncertainty. The proposed framework enables the development of effective groundwater management strategies for mitigating seawater intrusion in coastal areas, particularly when observational data are unavailable or limited. This approach is especially relevant to developing... read the story...

• Integrated Assessment of Groundwater Salinity Sources and Inter-Aquifer Mixing Dynamics in Siwa Oasis, Egypt

  by Dr. Mohamed Hamdy Eid and Professor Péter Szűcs

  A study published in Hydrogeology Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-026-03078-3 provides new insights into the sources of groundwater salinization and inter-aquifer mixing dynamics in Siwa Oasis, Egypt, an arid environment where groundwater is essential for agriculture and local water resources. Groundwater resources in Siwa Oasis, Egypt, are increasingly threatened by salinization and intensive... read the story...

• The role of clay membranes in protecting deep groundwater from salinization

  by Prof. Xianmeng Meng and Maosheng Yin

  A solute transport model incorporating clay membrane effects was developed for leaky aquifer systems, addressing the long-standing discrepancy between predicted and observed saltwater intrusion in the North China Plain. This work was conducted by a research group (led by Xianmeng Meng) at the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and published... read the story...

• Advancing Hydrogeological Characterization of Host Rocks for Deep Geological Repositories in Mudstones

  by Jean Croisé, Gerhard Mayer and Rémi de La Vaissière

  Croisé, Mayer and de La Vaissière recently presented in Hydrogeology Journal a transformative approach to characterizing the hydraulic properties of the Callovian–Oxfordian mudstone at ANDRA’s Centre de Meuse / Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (France) at 500 meters below ground level (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-026-03043-0). By integrating long- and short-term in situ pressure measurements and... read the story...

• Australia’s first recorded groundwater well: 1629

  by Paul Whincup

  The Batavia shipwreck is an important event in Australia’s early colonial history. It has been the subject of many articles, books and films and is prominently displayed in both the Fremantle and Geraldton maritime museums in Western Australia. The journal of Pelsaert, the master of the Batavia, was first published... read the story...

• Understanding nitrate trends through groundwater age

  by Kevin Kuehner

  A study published in Hydrogeology Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-024-02871-2 reveals new information about groundwater age (residence time) in the distinctive karst landscape within Minnesota’s Driftless Area, USA. Researchers examined current concentrations of a discontinued row-crop herbicide, popular in the 1970s and 1980s, in springs and wells, then compared these data against its... read the story...

• Effects of water table smoothing on simulated regional groundwater flow

  by Dr. Ronan Abhervé, Marc Laurencelle, Daniel Paradis, Olivier Bour, René Lefebvre

  Regional groundwater models often use smoothed topography to reduce computational burden—but what does this shortcut actually cost? Here, the team examines how “water table smoothing” propagates into simulated flow patterns and groundwater–river exchanges. Using a 95-km 2D cross-section based on the hydrogeology of Québec’s St. Lawrence south shore (Canada), they... read the story...