Ricardo Hirata is a Certified Geologist (UNESP, Brazil), with MSc (USP, Brazil), DSc (USP, Brazil) and Post Doctorate (University of Waterloo, Canada) in hydrogeology. He is currently a Full Professor at University of São Paulo (USP), Director of CEPAS|USP (Groundwater Research Center), and IWA-Groundwater SG Steering Committee and former member of the Groundwater Management Advisory Team of World Bank (GW-MATE), an adviser for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), PAHO/WHO and UNESCO, Visiting Professor at the University of Calgary and also a 1B-Level Brazilian CNPq Research Fellow. Dr. Hirata has 40-year experience working intensively in many aspects of groundwater and water resources for private and government companies in more than 30 countries in areas that include, among others, groundwater contamination, groundwater resource development, water resource management and governance, and groundwater protection policy. He was also a Chief Hydrogeologist for São Paulo Geological Institute (Environmental Secretariat of Sao Paulo State) and Water and Energy Department (DAEE, Water Resource Secretariat) and a research associate at the Earth Science Department of the University of Waterloo (Canada), where he did his post-doctoral fellow. He also served as a hydrogeologist for World/Pan American Health Organization and a professor for University of Costa Rica (CARAS Program: a Canadian Graduate Program for Central and South America) and Visiting Professor at University of Calgary (Canada). Dr. Hirata has been a coordinator in a large number of research project involving many national and international institutions, which have resulted in a significant number of trained high-level students (MSc and DSc) and publications, including some technical manuals for WHO/PAHO, World Bank, and UNESCO. He also has registered a patent to remediate contaminated groundwater. Since 2011, he has been Associate Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Geosciences, Bulletin of Water Resources and Development and Groundwater Resources and Management and Chief Editor of the EMS Environmental Sciences Journal. Hirata was nominated as Honorary Citizenship of Sucre (Bolívia) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and also a Latin America Distinguish Hydrogeology by Latin America Hydrogeologist Association (ALSHUD). (Source: Lattes Curriculum)
| News published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the researcher |
| TITULO |
| Articles published in other media outlets (0 total): |
| More itemsLess items |
| VEICULO: TITULO (DATA) |
| VEICULO: TITULO (DATA) |
The characterization and remediation of aquifers extensively contaminated by nitrate in rural areas is still an unsolved problem. Traditionally, monitoring wells are used to aquifer contamination plumes definition, but they are constrained to delimit the impact from dispersed sources, such as agriculture. Remediation is even narrower, and managers usually abandon contaminated wells or rem…
Between 2013 and 2017, periods of drought generated a water supply crisis that affected 48% of Brazilian municipalities, causing severe public health and economic problems at a national scale. Traditional solutions, based on centralized single-source water systems, have been ineffective in Brazil and developing countries. The main objective of this project is to create new hydro-economic …
Nitrate is one of the most common contaminants in aquifers. Its origin is usually related to agricultural practices and on situ sanitation. In São Paulo, several studies have pointed to this problem, which also has occurred in many cities, even if they have sewerage mains for decades. The remediation of aquifers contaminated by nitrate is a major challenge in management, because, although…
Due to an increasing demographic pressure, the Metropolitan Region of Recife (RMR, the fifth largest metropolitan area in Brazil), went through remarkable water and land use changes over the last decades. These evolutions gave rise to numerous environmental consequences, such as a dramatic decline of the piezometric levels, groundwater salinization and contamination, This degradation of n…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
In urban environments, groundwater quality is threatened by nonpoint contamination sources, such as sewer leakages. Due to their great areal extent, in situ, remediation is a challenge, but some alternatives exist, such as permeable reactive barriers. The selection of a remediation alternative must consider several factors to ensure its sustainability and, in the context of climate change…
The occurrence of extreme events and periods of drought in Brazil has jeopardized the water supply of adequate quality and quantity to multiple users. Such pressures require an Integrated Water Resources Management that answers to socioeconomic and environmental changes in a specific area and considers the diverse stakeholders, making water and territory management compatible. Water probl…
The Guarani Aquifer System (GAS), formed by the Botucatu and Piramboia Formations, is the primary source of water supply in the city of Bauru (SP). As it is a non-renewable and finite (fossil) resource, its exploitation requires knowledge of the total volumes stored to estimate its longevity in the face of pumping regimes. Bauru has 54 wells in the SAG, which exploit 460Mm3/a, and which h…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
Classic solutions, such as the in situ remediations of extensive nitrate contamination in urban aquifers, are inefficient, expensive and with reduced applicability. Nature-based solutions (NbS) are in situ and/or water extraction management technologies that use environmentally sound principles to induce aquifer treatment, reducing costs, and generating less environmental impact. These or…
Environmental problems associated with large urban centers are a global issue. In Brazilian northeastern is located the Metropolitan Region of Recife (RMR, in Portuguese), the fourth biggest in the country, comprising 15 cities, totaling 3.7 million habitants in an area of 2.766 km² and therefore 1.334 habitants/km². This region has a water supply based on capitation of surface and ground…
The City of Sete Lagoas (MG) has faced a strong and rapid population and economic growth, exacerbating the problems arising from increased demand for water that is extracted from a karst aquifer system, such as those associated with restraint in the public supply, contamination soil and aquifer, and cuts the flow of surface water courses. The aim of this PhD project is to develop a manage…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
Management of groundwater is at an incipient stage in Brazil. Limitations are still greater in urban areas, where the location of many wells is not known and the problems, when detected, are related to several activities and users. Legislation on existent water resources does not comprehend the characteristics of groundwater. Thus, as in other metropolitan areas, Recife is inserted in a c…
The city of Sete Lagoas (Minas Gerais, Brazil) has experienced a strong and rapid socio-economic growth, aggravating resource problems, resulting in high population densities with increased groundwater exploitation from a karst aquifer system. In this context, the doctoral thesis aims to evaluate the groundwater resources, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to develop a water manageme…
| 2 / 2 | Ongoing research grants |
| 12 / 4 | Completed research grants |
| 8 / 8 | Ongoing scholarships in Brazil |
| 26 / 6 | Completed scholarships in Brazil |
| 2 / 2 | Completed scholarships abroad |
| 50 / 22 | All research grants and scholarships |
| Associated processes | |
CV Lattes
ORCID