Project Structure

PI-M. Doveri

This WP coordinates participants by project meetings and stimulating discussion for favouring a real comprehensive approach. WP0 also promotes results dissemination through scientific publications, project web site, scientific meetings, workshops and data sharing on existing platform (e.g. IADC-CNR, SIOS), within the Open Data Policy.

PI – I. Baneschi

This WP is structured by the following tasks:
Task 1.1. Discharge and hydrodynamic behaviour of water network. Flowrate is measured at several sections in the Bayelva catchment and continuous water level (WL), temperature (T) and electrical conductivity (EC) monitoring are done at the BRF (final section near the fjord river section), as well as in 4 piezometers within the upper water-active layer. Total snow accumulation is measured at selected glacier sites and rain collected and quantified after each rainfall event.
Task 1.2. Integrated geophysical methods. During the middle-late melting season, geophysical
measurements are performed along transects. The measurements are repeated over the field period to verify the possible variation of the underground resistivity configuration during the melting processes and to recognize possible groundwater arrangements.
Task 1.3. Chemical, physical-chemical and isotopic analyses. The following parameters are measured in all freshwater and seawater samples: pH, T, EC, TDIC, NO 3 , Ca, Mg, K, Na, Cl, HCO 3 , SO 4 , SiO 2 , 18 O/ 16 O, 2 H/ 1 H. On selected samples: DOC, Sr, trace elements, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, 13 C/ 12 C-DIC are determined. Water stable isotopes will be also analysed in snow and rainfall. Suspended solids (SS) are quantified and characterized for their inorganic and organic carbon content and trace elements. These analyses are mainly finalized to recognize
sources and evolution in space and time of freshwater (e.g. evolution for “water-rock”  interaction, or quantitative mixing among components at the scale of days, seasons and years).

PI – A. Lo Giudice

This WP is structured by the following tasks:
Task 2.1. Microbial communities study. The occurrence of microbial assemblages are investigated by quantifying the microbial biomass in about 30 sampling sites and evaluating changes in prokaryotic diversity and microbial activities in selected samples. This activity benefits of the analytical support from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro- Instituto de Biologia.
Task 2.2. Distribution of organic tracers and pollutants. This task quantifies and distinguishes the emerging and legacy pollutants due to present and past contamination, and primary and secondary emissions. Local inputs are evaluated considering specific tracers, such as retene, characterizing the coal deposits in the catchment. The sampling sites overlap those of the task 2.1.

PI – M. Menichini

This WP is structured by the following tasks:
Task 3.1. Quantitative conceptual model. Information and data from all WPs are integrated and elaborated by a comprehensive approach. The main goals are to define the conceptual model of the system by: 1) recognizing/quantifying main freshwater inputs to the proglacial drainage network; 2) evaluating the hydrologic dynamics effects on the loads of chemical compounds, pollutants and SS in water; 3) defining the existence of a developed or developing groundwater system; 4) estimating the total fluxes of water, solutes, microbial biomass and solids toward the fjord; 5) describing the effects of the “Bayelva plume” in the facing sector of the fjord.
Task 3.2. Numerical modelling on hydro-quantity/quality parameters. One goal is to characterize and model the relationships between meteorological variables and quantity/quality parameters of Bayelva water, as well as among these latter parameters their self. The activity mainly regards the river section BRF, given its representativeness of total streamwater flux, and the availability of monitored multiparameters data (since 1993), which will be shared by NVE. A second activity concerns the modelling of freshwater dispersion into the fjord, by considering data acquired by vertical logs and analyses of SS and chemical compounds. The third type of modelling is address the development of process-based groundwater flow model concerning the upper water-active layer using finite-difference method such as MODFLOW code and related programs.