Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦

𝗨𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁
Water pressure under a dam can reduce the effective weight and compromise stability. In karst regions, the network of cavities and fractures can create local high-pressure zones.

𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀
Karst systems are vulnerable to sudden sinkhole collapse, which can weaken the foundations of a dam.

𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮:

𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Groundwater can seep through or beneath a dam, eroding the soil and rock. In karst systems, this process is accelerated due to sinkholes, caves and underground rivers, creating unpredictable pathways.

𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗮𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

When we consider dam safety, we often think about structural integrity or flood risks. But what about groundwater? Especially in karst regions groundwater can be a great risk to the stability of dams.

karst-aware Tower karst, China. Photo: Bärbel Vogel KARST-AWARE Management and Protection

Karst Alert for the next karst-aware event taking place tomorrow, Wednesday 11th of March: "Why the UN is talking about karst and why cavers should care".

Organised by the German Speleology Federation (VdHK)
2pm CET / 8 am EST / 8pm WIB
Online session - Live on Youtube

www.karst-aware.org

How to read water... 🌊💧

It must be dye tracing, right?

I bet it's dye tracing.

Tristan Gooley, I'll be very disappointed if dye tracing isn't mentioned 😅.

Find out more about dye tracing 👉https://www.traqua.be/en/expertise

Black puddles by a gate

Now imagine people’s lungs.

Black rain has fallen over Tehran after strikes on oil facilities, coating streets and rooftops in dark, oily water. “The rain is actually apparently saturated with oil,” CNN reports.

A special issue of IUGS Episodes dedicated to women in geology is now online:
www.episodes.org/journal/view...

💔 Having to leave the house to access water or maintain personal hygiene exposes women to a 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁.

Providing safe access to drinking water would be a small step towards closing the gender gap.

💔 Without safe infrastructure, it is 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝘆𝗴𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗲, especially during menstruation, childbirth or child rearing.

💔 Women are mainly 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, which takes away precious time from education, paid work, or other forms of personal care and development.

Water and Gender | UN-Water The global water an

Women and Water 🩵 👧👩👩‍🦳👵

Water is vital for life.

Unfortunately, women are disproportionately affected in areas where safe and accessible water is lacking.

Strong International Women's Day to al my fellow woman Aquaholics, and all women in general 💃🧕👩‍🚀👷‍♀️👩‍🎓👸🦸‍♀️👩‍🍼.

Need a reminder on how we need to do better for women* as a society?

🩷 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 book 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?

*𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 🙏.

I’m quoted in this excellent Scientific American article on the incredible Zagros mountains, the focus of much of my PhD and postdoc research. The Zagros’s unique tectonic history explains the Gulf’s rich oil and gas reserves and ultimately the Gulf itself, including the narrow Strait of Hormuz.

a man with a mustache says but why in yellow letters ALT: a man with a mustache says but why in yellow letters

Me on a Friday afternoon, preparing LinkedIn stories for the following week.

Also me, unable to write short, quick posts, and always ending up with long-format texts, working until 9pm.

George Carlin - Saving the Planet YouTube video by Dadniel

In the case you're suffering a bit from eco anxiety, here's some George Carlin.

Enjoy the weekend!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W33...

Firefighters issue warning after first moorland wildfire of year West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue is urging people to take care and report wildfires immediately.

It’s only early March.

And our moors are burning.

Think about that.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Turning gravel and groundwater into a battery | Spectra by MHI What is aquifer thermal energy storage, and how could it help balance power supply and demand as more renewables are integrated into grids? Here’s what to know.

This article provides a nice overview of the function of #ATES systems for the novice.

Not only in gravel aquifers as our expert partner in geothermal projects AGT (www.agt.be) can demonstrate.

spectra.mhi.com/energy-trans...

Google pledges roughly three hours of its annual profit to fight climate change Google and others are committing $100 million to combat climate change.

The perfect headline doesn’t exi…

FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?

Are there any Playmobil fanatics out there who know if there are any figures related to #flood risk assessment, #mining / #quarrying or #geothermal energy? 😆

All ideas are welcome!

At TRAQUA, we track water.

Have a look at our case studies 👉 www.traqua.be/en/projets

We already have a diver for #karst systems, a #water distribution manager and a #construction site, where we can demonstrate #groundwater management*.

*some imagination might be required.

We are collecting PLAYMOBIL figures related to our activity domains just for fun, to display at our next exhibition stand (Eurokarst Neuchâtel and IAH - International Association of Hydrogeologists Budapest). 👷‍♂️👷‍♀️💧

I'm sure they occur, but maybe they're not recognised as such or not communicated about in the same way?

Thank you for the service @jowilliams.bsky.social ! I always forget about this alt text 🥲

Once the groundwater level has stabilised, an in-depth risk assessment will be required to determine the risk of subsidence, sinkhole formation or landslides.

𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗸𝗮𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗮𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲.

The discharge process was accompanied by underground knocks and small vibrations. The karst is releasing some of the pressure, and the water has flushed away some of the debris and sediment that were clogging up the conduits.

Although the water is retreating and the karst is discharging excess groundwater, this does not mean that the inhabitants of Grazamela can safely return to their homes yet.

𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:

⚠️ 𝗨𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀, even in areas that are not usually prone to flooding.
⚠️ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 to buildings and infrastructure.
⚠️ 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 due to new sinkhole formations, activated fractures or underground collapses.

Karst bursts are relatively rare, but they are likely to become more frequent because of climate change and intense localised rainfall.

The karst became so saturated, with groundwater levels rising 200m above normal, that water began to spout from the ground, the streets and even the electrical outlets. For safety reasons, the town was completely evacuated.

Water is forced through natural fractures, or artificial infrastructures such as drains, wells or toilets. Sinkholes that usually swallow rainwater suddenly become springs.
The 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗮, built on top of a karst aquifer, is a prime example. Storm Leonard dumped over 500mm of rain in 24h.