Water security challenges towards environmental changes: interdisciplinary approaches and comparative studies between the Guarani Aquifer System and other hydrological hotspots in Brazil

• Grant number: 23/18011-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2030
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Principal Investigator: Edson Cezar Wendland
• Grantee: Edson Cezar Wendland
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Juliano José Corbi ; Valéria Guimarães Silvestre Rodrigues
• Associated researchers: Alexandre Cunha Costa ; Alice Kimie Martins Morita ; Aline Gomes Zaffani ; Amélia João Fernandes ; Ana Rita de Araujo Nogueira ; Andre Almagro ; André Torre Neto ; Antonio Alves Meira Neto ; Camila Marcon de Carvalho Leite ; Carlos Alberto Kamienski ; Carlos Manoel Pedro Vaz ; Claudia Luciana Varnier ; Cláudia Marisse dos Santos Rotta ; Cristina de Hollanda Cavalcanti Tsuha ; Davi de Carvalho Diniz Melo ; Davi Gasparini Fernandes Cunha ; David Holl ; Dennis C Flanagan ; Derly Estefanny Gómez García ; Didier Gastmans ; Eny Maria Vieira ; Fabio de Oliveira Roque ; Francisco Ignacio Suárez Poch ; Gabriela Chiquito Gesualdo ; Giovanni Chaves Penner ; Heber Lombardi de Carvalho ; Hella van Asperen ; Iran Eduardo Lima Neto ; Isabella Clerici de Maria ; Jamil Alexandre Ayach Anache ; João Marcos Villela ; Juliana Dorn Nóbrega ; Julieta Bramorski ; Jullian Souza Sone ; Lívia Malacarne Pinheiro Rosalem ; Magna Soelma Beserra de Moura ; Manoel Camilo Moleiro Cabrera ; Maria Mercedes Gamboa Medina ; Mariana Consiglio Kasemodel ; Mariangela Spadoto ; Murilo Cesar Lucas ; Natália de Souza Pelinson ; Paulo Tarso Sanches de Oliveira ; Reginaldo Antonio Bertolo ; Ricardo César Aoki Hirata ; Richard Alberto Rodriguez Padron ; Rodrigo Lilla Manzione ; Roy Brouwer ; Ryan Patrick McGehee ; Sandra Garcia Gabas ; Silvio Crestana ; Tiago Souza Mattos ; Veridiana Teixeira de Souza Martins

Abstract

This project aims to advance the current knowledge of Brazilian water security, paving the way for a better understanding of climate and human impacts on water availability in the country. The project encompasses both local and country-wise studies of different environmental scientific subjects on the intertwined connection between hydrological processes, society, climate and land use. The local studies will be held in the Guarani Aquifer System (GAS) zone and other relevant areas for hydrological sciences in Brazil, allowing comparisons to advance in research gaps and promote a network of collaborations. The proposal will be divided into six subprojects: (i) Physical hydrology and natural tracers: empirical studies in representative watersheds; (ii) Advances towards multiple strategies to better understand fluxes of water vapor and greenhouse gasses in contrasting land covers in rural tropical areas; (iii) Soil erosion and overland flow processes: scale factors, tracers, and land use and land cover dynamics; (iv) Alternatives for investigating and mitigating sites potentially contaminated by Municipal Solid Waste disposal in Brazil; (v) Assessment of nitrate contamination for water security and quality of public water supply service; and (vi) Water security and public policies: development of scientific-based solutions. The subprojects (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v) have the empirical science as the basis of their purposes and methods, as they will acquire information from different hydrological hotspots to provide new interpretations and relationships to leverage our comprehension of the water security dimensions and strategies aimed at enhancing water supply reliability. The subproject (vi) will integrate the datasets and discoveries to be achieved by the other projects to inform policy-making and improve decision-making. Additionally, it will foster collaboration between the realms of scientific, socioeconomic, and political domains through the development of accessible tools and the comprehensive dissemination of data to engage decisionmakers, policymakers, and society at large. (AU)