PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Francesco BOZZANO
TITLE: STABLE - STructural stABiLity risk assEssment 
FUNDING AGENCY: European Commission, H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018

START DATE: novembre 2019
END DATE: luglio 2023
ABSTRACT: 
Europe’s Cultural Heritage (CH) is at risk, endangered by environmental processes enhanced by climate changes and anthropogenic pressure. Specifically the slow (landslides, subsidence) and seismic (earthquake) movements of the ground have a strong impact on the structural stability of the CH. To have an idea of the dimension of the phenomena, the damage on the CH asset declared by the Italian Ministry of CH, caused by the recent earthquakes in Centre Italy, has been assessed in 2 Billion Eur. In this scenario, authorities in charge to CH preservation have a strong requirement for systematic, effective, usable and affordable tools and services to forecast and monitor the degradation process to enable preventive maintenance and to reduce the cost of the restoration.
STABLE addresses the design and development of a Thematic Platform, combining structural stability models, damage assessment simulation tools, advanced remote sensing, in-situ monitoring technologies, geotechnics and cadastral data sets with WebGIS application for mapping and long term monitoring of CH. This will enable effective monitoring and management of the CH to prevent, or at least reduce, catastrophic damages. 
STABLE will coordinate the existing expertise and research efforts of the participant beneficiaries into a synergetic plan of collaborations and exchanges of personnel to offer a comprehensive transfer of knowledge and training environment for the researchers in the specific area. The development of Platform will constitute for scientist the way to share and improve CH safeguard methods, and to professionals to apply the most advanced technologies in the related fields. 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Marco PETITTA
TITLE: KARMA - Karst Aquifer Resources availability and quality in the Mediterranean Area 
FUNDING AGENCY: European Commission, PRIMA-2018 (Art.185 initiative supported and funded under Horizon 2020)

START DATE: settembre 2019
END DATE: agosto 2022
ABSTRACT: 
The overarching objective of the KARMA project is to achieve substantial progress in the hydrogeological understanding and sustainable management of karst groundwater resources in the Mediterranean area in terms of water availability and quality.

At the scale of the entire region, the main objective is to accomplish the first consistent and detailed Mediterranean Karst Aquifer Map and database (MEDKAM) by building on our existing WOKAM map and database (Figure 1). MEDKAM will include more detailed information related to aquifer type, recharge, vulnerability to contamination and groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDE), and will allow to perform more advanced analyses with respect to floodwater storage and water stress under conditions of global change (climate change, land-use change, population increase).

At the catchment or aquifer scale, the objective is to advance and compare transferable modeling tools for improved predictions of climate-change impacts and better-informed water management decisions, and to prepare vulnerability maps as tools for groundwater quality protection. These tools will be tested at five test sites (i.e. karst aquifers or karst spring catchments) distributed over the entire Mediterranean region (Figure 1). Hydrological monitoring, isotope studies and tracer tests will be carried out to achieve better hydrogeological understanding and to obtain data for the calibration and validation of models and vulnerability maps.

At the scale of individual springs, the objective is to develop and implement monitoring and early-warning systems (EWS) for groundwater contamination, focusing on short-term contamination events, but also addressing long-term trends. Karst springs are often characterized by long periods of sufficient water quality, interrupted by short but severe contamination events. It is a major challenge to identify these events in time and respond accordingly (Pronk et al. 2007). Under conditions of climate and land-use change, long-term trends in karst water quality are also a concern for many water suppliers, e.g. with respect to nitrate, organic carbon or dissolved oxygen.

KARMA will contribute to the development and adoption of innovative and sustainable solutions for water management and, consequently, to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Possible socio-economic benefits include creation of new jobs (in the field of water resources management), increased competitiveness of companies (e.g. in the sensor development and data processing for monitoring and early-warning systems), as well as social and environmental impacts (improved water availability and quality for human consumption and ecosystems).