Saltwater intrusion (SWI) in coastal aquifers is one of the main challenges for water resources management. Excessive pumping of freshwater to supply the demand of coastal cities can lead to increased intrusion lengths, potentially rendering the supplies unusable if not managed effectively.

A growing percentage of the world’s population live in coastal areas, and with coastal populations becoming increasingly dependent on freshwater extracted from coastal aquifers, SWI has become a global issue that has promoted a worldwide research effort.

Here at QUB, we use the state of the art experimental techniques and numerical modelling to characterise SWI. The experimental measurements use automated image analysis techniques which is based on concentration/light conversion. The QUB team has many national and international collaborations in this research area including TU Delft, and Imperial College London among many others.

Advancing saltwater wedge condition base case: