Expert Meeting on Groundwater Salinisation
In June 2018, the project SALTSA organised the first expert workshop on groundwater salinisation in Oldenburg. The consortium invited all experts that have been interviewed since the project started in 2017.
The purpose of this workshop was to kickstart an interactive discussion where the project team and 14 experts discussed the main drivers of groundwater salinisation and possible actions to deal with related problems in the coastal area of north western Germany.
The SALTSA project team from the University of Oldenburg, i.e. the PhD student Leena Karrasch, the research scientists Wencke Schubert and Janek Greskowiak, as well as the Principal Investigators Gudrun Massmann and Bernd Siebenhüner, presented and explained the intermediate SALTSA project results and basic information from both strands, density dependent groundwater flow modelling and semi-structured interviews.
Throughout the workshop, participants were asked to think critically about the challenges facing groundwater salinisation in the project area. They had the opportunity to identify and evaluate drivers of groundwater salinisation within the project area, such as sea level rise, river dredging, water extraction rates or salt domes.
Additionally, physical framing conditions for the development of future scenarios have been co-designed with the participants. The scenarios will consider sea level rise, shifts in brackish-water zones of Ems and Weser estuaries, groundwater recharge and extraction rates as well as different groundwater levels.
In the end, the participants explored measures to deal with and increase the resilience to groundwater salinisation. Possible solutions are for example designation of water retention areas, adjustment of water extraction rates and sensible groundwater management.