
Tibor Yvan StigterIHE Delft Institute for Water Education | UNESCO-IHE · Water Resources and Ecosystems
Tibor Yvan Stigter
PhD
Associate Professor of Hydrogeology and Groundwater Resources
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Publications (87)
Attention on the use of transboundary aquifers (TBAs) and their cross-border impacts is growing as countries become increasingly concerned about their long-term water security. Cross-border impacts, in groundwater quality and quantity, tend to concentrate in specific parts of TBAs, as they largely depend on the transboundary flow dynamics where ant...
Study Region: The study region is the coastal Tra Vinh province located in Mekong Delta, Vietnam Study Focus: The objective of the study is to design preliminary monitoring networks for groundwater level and salinity monitoring in the three heavily abstracted aquifers in the Tra Vinh province. Since data from the existing monitoring were insufficie...
Many of the world's deltas are highly productive areas for agriculture as well as important places of socioeconomic development but are currently under stress. This study assesses the impacts of stresses on groundwater pumping, changing cropping patterns, and saltwater intrusion on groundwater resources in the Cauvery Delta in Tamil Nadu, India. A...
Three-dimensional transient groundwater flow and saltwater transport models were constructed to assess the impacts of groundwater abstraction and climate change on the coastal aquifer of Tra Vinh province (Vietnam). The groundwater flow model was calibrated with groundwater levels (2007–2016) measured in 13 observation wells. The saltwater transpor...
The important role of groundwater in adaptation to climate change is explored, and the competing threats and opportunities that climate change pose to groundwater systems are evaluated. This has been achieved through a review of current thinking on the complex interactions between human activities, climate and the hydrological cycle affecting groun...
Uncertainties in the contamination and salinization mechanisms of the freshwater lens (FWL) in the semi-arid coral-limestone aquifer of Delft Island, Sri Lanka threatens its water security. The processes governing the quality and distribution of the FWL were therefore investigated through recharge assessment and hydrochemical analysis. Potential gr...
This study designed and assessed preliminary monitoring networks to fulfill the urgent need for essential information to formulate plans for sustainable groundwater resources development and management in the coastal Tra Vinh province of Vietnam. Groundwater overexploitation has resulted in aquifer depletion and saltwater intrusion, predominantly o...
In hydrological studies, the use of stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) of water has proven to be a powerful tool to study groundwater recharge and mixing dynamics, which are critical to the long-term management of groundwater resources. In this study, we analyzed the stable isotopes of rain (event basis), groundwater (boreholes and hand-dug wells) and...
Climate change strongly influences freshwater supply and demand globally. Warming of
~1°C over the last half century globally has directly impacted the supply of freshwater through the amplification of precipitation extremes, more frequent and pronounced floods
and droughts, increasing evapotranspiration rates, rising sea levels, and changing prec...
Drought and water scarcity constrain the socioeconomic development of many (semi-)arid regions of Southern Africa. Moreover, due to the increase of water withdrawals upstream, the Limpopo River is no longer perennial in Mozambique. Fortunately, its river bed can store significant amounts of freshwater, because of the occurrence of thick and often c...
The dynamics related to evolution of nitrate-contaminated groundwater are analyzed with focus on the impact of intrinsic aquifer properties, agricultural activities and restoration measures at Campina de Faro aquifer (M12), southern Portugal. Agricultural practices in the region developed in the 1970s and resulted in high abstraction rates, nitrate...
Alluvial corridors of ephemeral river systems provide viable opportunities for natural water storage in dry lands. Whilst alluvial corridors are widely recognized as water buffers, particularly for areas experiencing constant water scarcity, little research has been undertaken in Sub-Saharan Africa to explore their hydrological variability and wate...
Alluvial aquifers in seasonal rivers are a yet underutilised resource in many (semi-)arid regions of Africa. These so-called sand river aquifers provide nature-based water storage within easy reach because they are shallow. They form a significant potential renewable source of water for irrigation development. Innovative approaches and solutions ar...
Regional three-dimensional groundwater-flow and saltwater transport models were built to analyse saltwater intrusion in the Great Maputo area, southern Mozambique. Increased water demand has led to many private groundwater abstractions, as the local public water supply network has already reached maximum capacity. Pushing for new strategies to tack...
Quaternary sand dunes and underlying Pliocene-Oligocene materials host the key groundwater resources that provide the only source of drinking water for a large proportion of Maputo district (Mozambique). This resource is at risk due to potential over exploitation, pollution and salinization. Few hydrogeochemical studies have been conducted in the r...
Difficulties in the management of water have made clear that "technical fixes", not taking into account social, political and cultural contexts, fail to address the root of problems and lead to unsustainability of the resource. This paper examines whether Portuguese water research is constructing interdisciplinary knowledge and how it integrates so...
In this study hydrochemical, isotopic and multivariate statistical tools are combined with a recharge analysis and existing geophysical data to improve understanding of major factors controlling freshwater occurrence and the origins of high salinities in the multi-layered coastal aquifer system of the Great Maputo area in Mozambique. Access to fres...
Scientific outreach, international networking, collaboration and adequate courses are needed in both developed and developing countries to enable early-career hydrogeologists to promote long-term multidisciplinary approaches to cope with climate-change issues and emphasize the importance of groundwater in a global strategy for adaptation. One such...
A numerical flow and transport model is developed to assess groundwater discharge and nutrient transport to the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon in southern Portugal. A total N load of 350 ton/year is estimated for the considered area, of which agriculture accounts for 73% of total N load, and domestic effluent and atmospheric deposition for the remainin...
In this study, the characteristics of δ²H and δ¹⁸O in rainwater, groundwater and spring water have been used to understand the groundwater recharge dynamics in the Amedzofe area (one of the highest human habitation in Ghana). The local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) using all the rainfall events gave an equation with the best fit line of δ²H = 7.32 δ¹⁸...
Maputo and its surrounding area experienced a significant increase in population since the 1990’s which has intensified groundwater exploitation of the coastal aquifer system. Groundwater presents locally high salinity and seawater intrusion is recognized as one of the contributing factors. Regional groundwater samples were collected, analysed and...
Predicted changes in climate will lead to seawater intrusion in the Querença-Silves (QS) coastal aquifer (south Portugal) during the coming century if the current water-resource-management strategy is maintained. As for much of the Mediterranean, average rainfall is predicted to decrease along with increasing seasonal and inter-annual variability a...
The seasonal and annual nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and carbon (C) budgets of the mesotidal Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal, were estimated to reveal the main inputs and outputs, the seasonal patterns, and how they may influence the ecological functioning of the system. The effects of extreme weather events such as long-lasting strong winds...
We examined the variation of stygofauna composition collected in wells, along a gradient in groundwater salinity/conductivity in a coastal aquifer from southern Portugal. The studied coastal aquifer is considered vulnerable to salinization due to seawater intrusion, caused by overexploitation of the aquifer. Knowing the response of the stygofauna s...
roundwater supplies about 70% of the fresh water needs in Portugal with most of the aquifers occurring at the coastline, where more than 60% of the whole population dwells. The overexploitation of groundwater resources during the final decades of the 20th century, lead to a gradual decrease in water quality in many coastal aquifers of the Algarve,...
The present study has analyzed the origin of recharge
and groundwater salinity in the Haouz alluvial plain, located in Central Morocco. Stable isotopic data (18O, 2H) indicate that the recharge of the alluvial aquifer is dominated by high-altitude meteoric water originating from the High-Atlas Mountains that border the plain to the south. Tritium...
A combined assessment of the potential impacts from climate change (CC) and socio-economic development (SED) on water resources is presented for the most important aquifer in the south of Portugal. The goal is to understand how CC and SED affect the currently large pressures from water consuming and contaminating activities, predominantly agricultu...
Resumo: Na região Algarvia (S de Portugal) ocorrem diversos sistemas aquíferos costeiros cuja geometria e estrutura das formações aquíferas, circulação subterrânea e balanço hídrico, são favoráveis à existência de descargas submarinas na plataforma (DAS). No sistema aquífero de Albufeira-Ribeira de Quarteira, um destes sistemas costeiros, identific...
In the Algarve region (S of Portugal) occur several coastal aquifer systems which geometry and structure of the water bearing formations, groundwater flow, and water balance, are favorable to the existence of submarine groundwater discharges (SGD) on the shelf. In the aquifer system of Albufeira-Ribeira de Quarteira, one of these coastal systems, s...
The European Waterframework Directive requires the assessment of ecological status of all water bodies, including rivers, estuaries, coastal areas, emphasizing that the status of surface aquatic ecosystems might depend on groundwater status. The assessment of the ecological status of coastal lagoons dependent on groundwater is particularly complex...
The study of groundwater dependent ecosystems opened the opportunity to involve specialists of different areas of knowledge in order to obtain answers for complex interrelations between groundwater and the associated ecosystems. The actual study, carried out in two coastal lagoons of the Portuguese SW coast, showed the high dependency of the marine...
This paper intends to show how the radio frequency-electromagnetic (RF-EM) method can be successfully used in coastal wetlands, onshore and in shallow water. It characterizes and reveals geological and hydrogeological singularities that are often hidden by recent sediments and allows target sampling and consequent detection of ecological particular...
The following paper presents a discussion of spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater discharge estimates at a regional scale for two coastal aquifer systems in the Algarve region. A finite element distributed parameter groundwater flow model is applied to analyze the effect of uncertainties regarding definition of model boundary conditions...
The role of nitrate-contaminated groundwater discharge in the appearance of algal blooms in the Ria Formosa lagoon, south Portugal, is assessed by setting up a regional water balance for its drainage basin and determining annual N loads on groundwater. Of the estimated 80.8 million m 3 (hm 3) of natural recharge, 34% is consumed for irrigation, mai...
Aquifer sustainable yields are often defined as a single value based on long-term averages or annual values of recharge. However, these time scales can be too coarse for the systems to which they are being applied and can lead to over- or underexploitation of groundwater. A numerical model of the Querença-Silves aquifer in Portugal is used to devel...
The susceptibility of wetlands to continental pollution is closely related to the vulnerability of their surface and sub-surface watersheds. Therefore, to help manage wetlands, especially those fed by groundwater, it can be useful to assess the vulnerability of their aquifers. This approach is illustrated by the case study of the wetland of Oualidi...
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In this study multivariate and geostatistical methods are jointly applied to model the spatial and temporal distribution of arsenic (As) concentrations in shallow groundwater as a function of physicochemical, hydrogeological and land use parameters, as well as to assess the related uncertainty. The study site is located in the Mondego River alluvia...
The susceptibility of wetlands to continental pollution is closely related to the vulnerability of their surface and sub-surface watersheds. Therefore, to help manage wetlands, especially those fed by groundwater, it can be useful to assess the vulnerability of their aquifers. This approach is illustrated by the case study of the wetland of Oualidi...
Groundwater resources are facing increasing pressure from consuming and contaminating activities. There is a growing awareness that the quantitative and qualitative preservation of groundwater resources is a global need, not only to safeguard their future use for public supply and irrigation, but also to protect those ecosystems that depend partial...
The water balance of the mesocenozoic aquifers of the Algarve, in the
south of Portugal has traditionally been estimated considering only
direct ("autogenic") recharge from rainfall occurring in the area of the
aquifers. Little importance has been attributed to so-called allogenic
recharge, originating from streambed infiltration from runoff genera...
The Water Framework Directive establishes that the river basin management plans must have a summary of the pressures and impacts of human activities, such as agriculture, on the chemical and quantitative status of groundwater bodies. In order to identify those areas where a potential impact from agricultural activities on groundwater bodies exists,...
This paper aims to contribute to understanding the importance of four factors on the determination of sustainable yields: (i) aquifer properties; (ii) temporal distribution of recharge; (iii) temporal distribution of groundwater pumping; and (iv) spatial distribution of pumping wells. It is important to comprehend how the present‐day and future vul...
A comparative study on climate change and its impacts on coastal aquifers is performed for three Mediterranean areas. Common climate scenarios are developed for these areas using the ENSEMBLES projections that consider the A1b scenario. Temperature and precipitation data of three climate models are bias corrected with two different methods for a hi...
To better understand the process of groundwater salinization around Sad Al Majnoon and Zima sabkhas, hydrochemical and isotopic analysis were performed. The two studied areas belong to the large basin of Bahira, with a semi-arid climate. From a topographical point of view, they are considered as low areas compared with the reliefs of Jbilet in the...
Groundwater was the main source for public supply in the Algarve, in the south of Portugal, until the end of the 20th century, after which it was replaced by surface water supplied by large reservoirs. The large drought that hit the region in 2004 and 2005 revealed the problems related to a water supply strategy based on a single source and stresse...
There is a growing awareness that global groundwater resource conservation is not only necessary for its economic use, but also fundamental for the preservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems. The role of groundwater within the ecohydrology concept, founded on the holistic, science-based approach to the integrated management of coastal zones...
Environmental impacts of airports are similar to those of many industries, though their operations expand over a very large area. Most international impact assessment studies and environmental management programmes have been giving less focus on the impacts to soil and groundwater than desirable. This may be the result of the large attention given...
A definição de estratégias de mitigação e de adaptação às alterações climáticas exige o conhecimento de cenários de temperatura e precipitação e a consequente simulação dos seus possíveis impactes. O trabalho apresentado neste estudo teve por objetivo a avaliação dos impactes das alterações climáticas nos recursos hídricos subterrâneos costeiros e...
A hydrogeochemical study employing graphical, multivariate statistical, and modeling tools was conducted in an area of alluvial
deposits in the Mondego river basin, to determine the factors and processes controlling the shallow groundwater chemistry.
Groundwater was collected from 29 observation wells in six sampling campaigns, between March 2001 a...
program, assessing the impact of climate change on coastal groundwater
resources and dependent ecosystems. These resources are often
intensively exploited, potentially leading to saltwater intrusion and
the degradation of groundwater and dependent wetlands. Climate change
may increase this problem in Mediterranean regions, due to the combined
effec...