Département Ressources aquatiques et eau potable

Charakterisierung der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Kryosphäre und Grundwasser in alpinen Gebieten

Die Charakterisierung des Kryosphären-Grundwassersystems in alpinen Regionen ist nach wie vor unzureichend, obwohl bis zu 80 % des Trinkwassers in der Schweiz aus Grundwasser gewonnen werden. Das Oberengadin, eines der beiden inneralpinen Trockentäler der Schweiz, gehört zu den Gebieten, die am stärksten vom Klimawandel betroffen sind. Neben seiner Anfälligkeit für den Klimawandel zeichnet sich das Engadin durch einzigartige hydrogeologische Gegebenheiten aus, darunter zahlreiche aus Schneeschmelze gespeiste Süßwasserquellen, schnell schmelzende Gletscher, CO2-reiches thermisches Grundwasser, arsenhaltige Seen und ein für eine Hochalpenregion ungewöhnlich ausgedehntes quartäres Grundwasserreservoir. Im Rahmen dieses Projekts werden ein Multi-Tracer-Framework und ein integriertes hydrogeologisches Oberflächen-Untergrund-Modell erstellt, um die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Kryosphäre und Grundwasser und deren Reaktion auf klimatische Einflüsse zu quantifizieren. Die Arbeit unterstützt die Initiative «Wassermanagement Region Maloja 2024+», eine regionale Initiative zur Verbesserung der langfristigen Wasserwirtschaft für die Schweizer Übergemeinde Region Maloja. Die Tracer-Analysen umfassen Hauptionen, Spurenelemente, O- und H-Isotope, mikrobielle Indikatoren und kontinuierliche Online-Echtzeitmessungen von gelöstem Gas in Kombination mit bürgerwissenschaftlichen hydrologischen Probenahmen. Diese Datensätze werden in ein integriertes dreidimensionales hydrogeologisches Modell integriert, um die Herkunft des Wassers, die Dynamik der Grundwasserneubildung, die Vermischungsprozesse und die Fließwege zwischen Schneeschmelze, Gletscherschmelze, Regenwasser und Grundwasser in einem räumlich-zeitlichen Kontext zu ermitteln.

Projektteam

Supervisor:

  • Prof. Dr. Oliver Schilling (Eawag, W+T, Head Tracer Hydrogeology Group; University of Basel, DUW, Head Hydrogeology Research Group)

PhD Student:

  • Angela Welham (Eawag, W+T, Tracer Hydrogeology; University of Basel, DUW, Hydrogeology)

Co-Supervisors:

  • Prof. Rolf Kipfer (Eawag, W+T, Head Environmental Isotopes Group; ETHZ)
  • Dr. Andreas Voegelin (Eawag, W+T, Head of Department W+T)
  • Dr. Stefanie von Fumetti (University of Basel, Spring and River Ecology Group Head)

Techniker:

  • Reto Britt (Eawag, W+T)

Mitwirkende:  

  • Dr Jared van Rooyen (Eawag, W+T, Tracer Hydrogeology; Senior Postdoc)
  • Dr. Yama Tomonaga (Eawag, W+T; University of Basel, DUW, Hydrogeology)
  • Ms Friederike Currle (University of Basel, DUW, Hydrogeology; PhD student)
  • Dr Stephanie Musy (University of Basel, DUW, Hydrogeology; Postdoc)

Funding

  • Eawag, W+T Dept., Tracer Hydrogeology Group
  • University of Basel,  Environmental Sciences Dept., Hydrogeology Research Group

News

Publikationen

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   0 => Snowflake\Publications\Domain\Model\Publicationprototypepersistent entity (uid=33532, pid=124)
      originalId => protected33532 (integer)
      authors => protected'van Tiel, M.; Aubry-Wake, C.; Somers, L.; Andermann, C.;
          Avanzi, F.; Baraer, M.; Chiogna, G.; Daigre, C.; Das,&n
         bsp;S.; Drenkhan, F.; Farinotti, D.; Fyffe, C. L.; de Gr
         aaf, I.; Hanus, S.; Immerzeel, W.; Koch, F.; McKenzie,&n
         bsp;J. M.; Müller, T.; Popp, A. L.; Saidaliyeva, Z
         .; Schaefli, B.; Schilling, O. S.; Teagai, K.; Thornton,
          J. M.; Yapiyev, V.
' (490 chars) title => protected'Cryosphere–groundwater connectivity is a missing link in the mountain wate
         r cycle
' (83 chars) journal => protected'Nature Water' (12 chars) year => protected2024 (integer) volume => protected2 (integer) issue => protected'7' (1 chars) startpage => protected'624' (3 chars) otherpage => protected'637' (3 chars) categories => protected'' (0 chars) description => protected'The mountain cryosphere and groundwater play pivotal roles in shaping the hy
         drological cycle, yet their connectivity remains incompletely understood. Cu
         rrent knowledge on meltwater recharge and consequent groundwater discharge p
         rocesses is better developed for snow–groundwater connectivity than for gl
         acier–groundwater connectivity. Estimates of meltwater recharge vary consi
         derably, which is probably a function of not only inherent catchment charact
         eristics but also of the different spatio-temporal scales involved and the u
         ncertainties in the methods used. This hinders a comprehensive understanding
          of the mountain water cycle. As glaciers retreat, permafrost thaws and snow
         pack diminishes, the relative importance of mountain groundwater is expected
          to increase. However, shifting and declining recharge from the cryosphere m
         ay decrease absolute groundwater amounts and fluxes with as-yet unknown effe
         cts on catchment-scale hydrological processes. We therefore stress the need
         to better quantify mountain cryosphere–groundwater connectivity to predict
          climate change impacts on mountain water supply and to support sustainable
         water resource management of downstream socio-ecological systems.
' (1205 chars) serialnumber => protected'' (0 chars) doi => protected'10.1038/s44221-024-00277-8' (26 chars) uid => protected33532 (integer) _localizedUid => protected33532 (integer)modified _languageUid => protectedNULL _versionedUid => protected33532 (integer)modified pid => protected124 (integer)
1 => Snowflake\Publications\Domain\Model\Publicationprototypepersistent entity (uid=34784, pid=124) originalId => protected34784 (integer) authors => protected'Giroud, S.; Deng, L.; Lever, M. A.; Schilling, O.&n
         bsp;S.; Kipfer, R.
' (99 chars) title => protected'Resilience of deep aquifer microbial communities to seasonal hydrological fl
         uctuations
' (86 chars) journal => protected'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of Amer
         ica PNAS
' (84 chars) year => protected2025 (integer) volume => protected122 (integer) issue => protected'23' (2 chars) startpage => protected'e2422608122 (9 pp.)' (19 chars) otherpage => protected'' (0 chars) categories => protected'thermal aquifer; deep microbial communities; noble gases; geomicrobiological' (76 chars) description => protected'The influence of seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation on sub
         surface biogeochemical processes remains poorly understood. In the Lavey-les
         -Bains thermal system in the Swiss Alps, annual variations in electrical con
         ductivity are observed to depths of 500 m, suggesting a potential link to su
         rface environmental changes. Here we show, through year-round analyses of st
         able water isotopes, noble gases, and conductivity, that seasonally varying
         contributions of shallow groundwater from the Rhône alluvial aquifer mix wi
         th deep groundwater. Despite vertically similar fluid geochemical compositio
         ns suggesting high hydrological connectivity, microbial communities exhibit
         significant depth-dependent variation with minimal seasonal change. This dec
         oupling of dynamic water source partitioning and stable microbial community
         structure has not been previously observed and fills a critical gap in our u
         nderstanding of geothermal systems and microbial life in the deep subsurface
         . At 200 m, the communities are dominated by sulfur-disproportionating Bacte
         ria (<em>Dissulfurispira</em>) and Micrarchaeota, while at 500 m the major g
         roups include sulfate- and iron-reducers and/or hydrogen-oxidizers (Thermale
         s, Thermodesulfobacteriota, and Bathyarchaeota). Our study highlights the re
         silience of terrestrial subsurface microbial communities to temporal variati
         ons in water sources and fluid composition. We propose that intrinsic enviro
         nmental properties - such as temperature - are more critical drivers of micr
         obial community structure in hydrologically connected deep aquifers than sea
         sonal hydrological changes.
' (1623 chars) serialnumber => protected'0027-8424' (9 chars) doi => protected'10.1073/pnas.2422608122' (23 chars) uid => protected34784 (integer) _localizedUid => protected34784 (integer)modified _languageUid => protectedNULL _versionedUid => protected34784 (integer)modified pid => protected124 (integer)
van Tiel, M.; Aubry-Wake, C.; Somers, L.; Andermann, C.; Avanzi, F.; Baraer, M.; Chiogna, G.; Daigre, C.; Das, S.; Drenkhan, F.; Farinotti, D.; Fyffe, C. L.; de Graaf, I.; Hanus, S.; Immerzeel, W.; Koch, F.; McKenzie, J. M.; Müller, T.; Popp, A. L.; Saidaliyeva, Z.; Schaefli, B.; Schilling, O. S.; Teagai, K.; Thornton, J. M.; Yapiyev, V. (2024) Cryosphere–groundwater connectivity is a missing link in the mountain water cycle, Nature Water, 2(7), 624-637, doi:10.1038/s44221-024-00277-8, Institutional Repository
Giroud, S.; Deng, L.; Lever, M. A.; Schilling, O. S.; Kipfer, R. (2025) Resilience of deep aquifer microbial communities to seasonal hydrological fluctuations, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 122(23), e2422608122 (9 pp.), doi:10.1073/pnas.2422608122, Institutional Repository
  • Musy, S. L., Dresmann, H., Tawara, Y., Tomonaga, Y., Sano, Y., & Schilling, O. S. (2025). Mt. Fuji’s Watershed Under the Lens: Advancing 3D Hydrogeological Models for Climate Resilience Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2025, 25-30 May, Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan.
  • Van Tiel, M. et al. (2024) 'Cryosphere-groundwater connectivity in the mountain water cycle - where does meltwater go?', in EGU General Assembly 2024. Vienna, Austria (EGU General Assembly 2024), pp. EGU24–4092. Available at: doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-4092.

Kontakt

Prof. Dr. Oliver Schilling Group Leader Tracer Hydrogeology +41 58 765 5931 Envoyez un message
Angela Welham Tracer Hydrogeology • Doctoral Student +41 58 765 5987 Envoyez un message