INTERNACIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HYDROGEOLOGISTS

PORTUGUESE CHAPTER

ACTIVITY REPORT 2007

1 INTRODUCTION

The year 2007 was extremely busy for the Direction Committee of the AIH-GP and for all the Portuguese
Group. Due to the organization of the XXXV IAH Congress, in the Faculty of Science of the University
of Lisbon, 17 - 21 September 2007, and during the previous period, the activities have been related with
many meetings and travelling, nationally and internationally, in order to better organize the event with
success. The period of direct organization of the Congress was intense and, after the event, the activity of
the direction turned to the final payments of expenses and all the issues related with the final scientific,
organizational and financial balance. In this report the main activities developed by the AIH-GP are
described, in order to give an idea of the main actions involving the direction in the year 2007. It must be
understood that in 2007 it was impossible to have many other activities, once the main one was sufficient
to receive all the attention from the direction.

2 DEVELOPED ACTIVITIES

The activities of AIH-GP during 2007 were based, until September 2007, by the preparation of the
XXXV IAH Congress, in September, by the organization of the Congress itself and, after the event, by
the final organizational, scientific and financial balance.

2.1 XXXV IAH CONGRESS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

The XXXV IAH Congress had the presence of 580 persons, being 545 scientists and students and
35 accompanying persons, coming from 58 countries of all the parts of the world. Countries like Portugal,
Australia, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, France, México and Serbia were represented by
delegations of 20 or more participants.
400 presentations have been made, 12 of them by invitation (keynote speakers), 203 as oral presentations
and 185 posters, distributed by the following topics, previously defined for the Congress:

aih-gp: Departamento de Geociências, Universidade de Aveiro Tel. +351 234 370200 Ext. 23226
Campus Universitário de Santiago Fax +351 234 370605
3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal e-mail: aih-gp@geo.ua.pt
AIH-GP Relatório de actividades 2007

• T-01 – Groundwater/surface-water water interactions and their importance for the sustainability of
river and spring base flow, and associated wetlands (66);

• T-02 – Groundwater quantity, baseline quality and main threatening processes in dependent
ecosystems (51);

• T-03 – Estimating and determining the impact of groundwater natural/ artificial recharge processes
on groundwater dependent ecosystems (33);

• T-04 – Impact of groundwater contamination on ecological systems and processes (25);

• T-05 – Biological assessment of groundwater ecosystems (3);

• T-06 – Subterranean ecosystems: biodiversity and habitat heterogeneity at spatial and temporal
scales (3);

• T-07 – Biodegradation processes in contaminated aquifers and role of subsurface organisms in

purifying groundwater (11);

• T-08 – Different approaches towards mapping groundwater vulnerability and dependent

ecosystems (9);

• T-09 – Karstic ecosystems: biological, hydrological and landscape issues (30);

• T-10 – Groundwater impact on coastal, estuarine and near shore marine ecosystems (12);

• T-11 – Impact of climate and global changes on groundwater dependent ecosystems (12);

• T-12 – EU Water Framework Directive and groundwater daughter directive ecological requirements:
management and economic tools to protect groundwater (16);

• T-13 – Groundwater modelling: deterministic and stochastic approaches (43);

• T-14 – Isotopic methods to assess groundwater dependent ecosystems (24);

• T-15 – GIS and remote sensing analysis for groundwater regional management (26);

• T-16 – Valuing groundwater quality and its importance for the sustainable development of
dependant ecosystems and populations – economic concepts and approaches (6);

• T-17 – Other major groundwater issues (18).

The number of supported scientists was 37, on a total amount of 23,140 €, covering totally or partially the
value of the Congress fees, travel, accommodation and meals. From this global value, 7,550 € were
supported by UNESCO, 2,750 € by the South African Chapter of IAH and 12,840 € by the Organizing
Committee. Between the participants totally supported were the Vice-Presidents of IAH for Asia,
Sub-Saharan Africa and South America.

aih-gp: Departamento de Geociências, Universidade de Aveiro Tel. +351 234 370200 Ext. 23226 2
Campus Universitário de Santiago Fax +351 234 370605
3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal e-mail: aih-gp@geo.ua.pt
AIH-GP Relatório de actividades 2007

At the same time and in the same space of the Congress, other events of great importance for the future of
hydrogeology were organized:

• Meeting about the “History of Hydrogeology” (16 September): 80 participants

• Symposium on Thermal and Mineral Waters in Hard Rock Terrains (21-24 September), organized in
co-operation with the IAH Commission on Hydrogeology of Hard Rocks: 35 participants, with
presentation of 21 papers and 2 posters; it included one 3 days technical visit to the spas of
S. Pedro do Sul and Chaves, in North Portugal

• FEFLOW course (12-16 September): 16 participants

• PHREEQC course (22-26 September): 20 participants

• Course “Hydrogeologic Field Methods & Standards and Guides for the Collection and Analysis of
Hydrogeologic Data in the Field: Sampling of Groundwater” (16 September): 7 participants

• Course “Hydrotectonics and 3D Geological Mapping of Fractured Karstic Aquifer Systems”

(16 September): 5 participants

• Parallel Meeting “WG C Working Group on Groundwater” (co-organized with the DGENV and
INAG, 20 September): 80 participants

• Parallel Meeting “MED-EUWI Working Group on Groundwater” (20 September): 30 participants

• Special session of UNESCO “Coastal Aquifers’ Management and Ecosystems in the Mediterranean:
Coping with Climate Change” (20 September)

• Special session of UNEP, UNESCO and UWC “Towards realizing the African Water Vision: The
Groundwater Initiative in Africa” (18 September)

Three meetings of IAH Commissions have been organized by each responsible for the Commissions and
one by the editors of the Hydrogeology Journal:

• Commission on Hydrogeological Maps (18 September)

• Commission on Groundwater Dependent Eco-systems (18 September)

• Commission on Hydrogeology of Hard Rocks (20 September)

• Meeting of editors of the Hydrogeology Journal (16 September)

Several technical visits were organized:

• Lisbon Aqueduct and Water Supply System in Lisbon in the XVIII Century (19 September)

• Caldas da Rainha spa (19 September)

• Cascais-Guincho (19 September)

aih-gp: Departamento de Geociências, Universidade de Aveiro Tel. +351 234 370200 Ext. 23226 3
Campus Universitário de Santiago Fax +351 234 370605
3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal e-mail: aih-gp@geo.ua.pt
AIH-GP Relatório de actividades 2007

• Arrábida Mountain (19 September)

• Almonda and Alviela karstic springs (19 September)

• Roca Cape (19 September)

• South Portugal (22-25 September)

• Azores Islands (22-29 September)

• Madeira Island (22-25 September)

It was also offered to the participants:

• An Opening Cocktail of the Congress (17 September)

• A Musical Show with the Group “Galandum Galandaina” and the “Pauliteiros de Miranda”
(18 September)

• A Gala Dinner, with a fado songs show (20 September)

From the Congress and associated Symposium, 3 publications had result:

• Ribeiro, L., Chambel, A. & Condesso de Melo, M. T. Eds (2007) – XXXV Congress of the
International Association of Hydrogeologists, Groundwater and Ecosystems – Abstract Book.
AIH-GP, 661 p (ISBN 978-989-95297-2-4).

• Ribeiro, L., Chambel, A. & Condesso de Melo, M. T. Eds (2007) – XXXV Congress of the
International Association of Hydrogeologists, Groundwater and Ecosystems – Proceedings.
AIH-GP (ISBN 978-989-95297-3-1).

• Marques, J. M., Chambel, A. & Ribeiro, L., Eds (2007) – Proceedings of the Symposium on
Thermal and Mineral Waters in Hard Rock Terrains. AIH-GP, 247 p (ISBN 978-989-95297-1-7).

2.2 PREPARATION OF THE CONGRESS

• The President, António Chambel, has been in Pretoria, South Africa, day 21 March 2007, in a
meeting with Shamminder Puri, member of UNESCO-IHP, to discuss the issue of the
presentation of the special UNESCO session in the XXXV IAH Congress in Lisbon; the
discussed topic was the transboundary aquifers, which was latter abandoned.

• The Secretary, Teresa Melo, has been in Berlin, between 2 and 3 May 2007, in the WGC Meeting,
where she meets the IAH President, Stephen Foster, to prepare the organization of the XXXV
IAH Congress, in Lisbon.

• The President, António Chambel, has been in Paris, France, day 31 May 2007, for a meeting with
Alice Aureli and the staff of the UNESCO International Hydrologic Programme (IHP), to discuss

aih-gp: Departamento de Geociências, Universidade de Aveiro Tel. +351 234 370200 Ext. 23226 4
Campus Universitário de Santiago Fax +351 234 370605
3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal e-mail: aih-gp@geo.ua.pt
AIH-GP Relatório de actividades 2007

the issue of the presentation of the special UNESCO session in the XXXV IAH Congress in
Lisbon and to sign the contract nº 4500038808, which defined the financial support of UNESCO
to the organization of the Congress.

• Several meetings with responsibles and members of the Organizing Committee inside the Faculty of
Sciences of the University of Lisbon, in order to prepare the spaces to receive the Congress.

• Many meetings of several members of the Organizing Committee with institutional and commercial
sponsors and supply companies in order to establish all the agreements and commercial contracts
that permitted to organize the Congress, including the meals, coffee breaks, support materials,
merchandizing, printing of the books and all the other necessary services.

• The Scientific Committee dedicated its time to the appreciation of abstracts and papers and
organization of publications, the book of abstracts and the CD with the papers of the Congress
and the book of the Symposium.

2.3 PREPARATION OF OTHER EVENTS

• After the unforeseen cancellation of the Journeys about Water, Agriculture and Environment by the
Organizing Committe of Spain, and where the AIH-GP was co-organizer, the AIH-GP proposes
to organize this event with other entities in terms and in a place that will be opportunely revealed.

• The AIH-GP will organize a forum dedicated to groundwater in the EXPOZARAGOZA2008, an

exposition dedicated to the water and sustainable development that will occur in Saragoça, Spain,
14 June – 14 September 2008. The event will be integrated in the Water Tribune.

• The AIH-GP will contact again the Spanish colleagues, in order to organize the
3rd Portuguese-Spanish Journeys about Groundwater.

• The AIH-GP will prepare a volume with the title GROUNDWATER AND ECOSYSTEMS, which
will be edited by IAH in the series Selected Papers and will contain some of the most relevant
papers presented in the Congress of Lisbon.

• It is also previewed a special edition of the Hydrogeology Journal and Journal of Environmental
Geology dedicated to the same topic, also with papers presented in the Congress of Lisbon.

aih-gp: Departamento de Geociências, Universidade de Aveiro Tel. +351 234 370200 Ext. 23226 5
Campus Universitário de Santiago Fax +351 234 370605
3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal e-mail: aih-gp@geo.ua.pt
AIH-GP Relatório de actividades 2007

2.4 OTHER ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED

Apart these events, the AIH-GP was still involved in the following actions:

• Azores Regional Council of Water

The Vice-President of AIH-GP, Luís Ribeiro, has been present in a meeting of the Azores Regional
Council of Water, in 29 January 2007, substituting the member of AIH-GP designated to this Council,
António Chambel, which was in sabbatical licence in South Africa at the moment. In this Council, several
issues related with planning and management of water resources in these Islands were analysed. The
representative of the AIH-GP had the opportunity to discuss, between others, aspects related with the
challenge that the implementation of the new Water Law will have in this insular system and also the
impact that the Groundwater Daughter Directive can have in the entire region. Special emphasis must be
given to the groundwater monitoring nets.

• Preparation of a Tribute Book to Fernando Peixinho de Cristo

The Commission in charge of producing a Tribute Book to Fernando Peixinho de Cristo continued to
work in the task of organization of its edition. The book has been prepared in order to be presented and
distributed in a tribute session that will be organized in 2008.

• Organization of the annual AIH-GP report

The annual report of 2006 was organized, in Portuguese and English languages, in order to present to the
general Assembly of the Portuguese Chapter and to IAH direction.

• Meetings of the AIH-GP Directive Council

The Directive Council of the AIH-GP has met 4 times in 2007: 22 May, 12 July, 4 September and 30
October.

Évora, Portugal, 17 January 2008.

The President of the Directive Council

of the Portuguese Chapter of the
International Association of Hydrogeologists (AIH-GP)

António Chambel

aih-gp: Departamento de Geociências, Universidade de Aveiro Tel. +351 234 370200 Ext. 23226 6
Campus Universitário de Santiago Fax +351 234 370605
3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal e-mail: aih-gp@geo.ua.pt