HYPOR | The role of the HYPOrheic zone on the transporter-transformer functions of River corridors.

Summary
Reactive substances transported in river corridors undergo several transformations having important implications for the fate of toxic chemicals and the health of fluvial ecosystems. Delivery of substances into the slow and geochemically-microbially rich hyporheic zone delays their downstream transport and promotes opportunities for biogeochemical reactions. The resulting delay and reactivity at larger scales are shaped by the ubiquitous heterogeneity of environmental porous media and the temporal fluctuations that typify river corridors which control transport and mixing limitations in the reactive regions of the hyporheic zone. However, the most widespread upscaling pictures neglect these fundamental aspects, assuming either a transient storage in a well-mixed hyporheic zone or pure advective transport along non-interacting hyporheic streamlines. The paradigm of oversimplification leads to severe shortcomings, such as limited transferability of findings and great uncertainty in large-scale predictions.

HYPOR pursues a paradigm-shift: ground the upscaling of reactive-transport in river corridors on the mechanistic knowledge of the hyporheic dynamics. First, we will improve the understanding of heterogeneity and temporal fluctuations controls through comprehensive numerical investigations at small scales. Second, this will allow to quantify, on a physical basis, the stochasticity in the transport and mixing limitations of point-injections (Green functions) as they encounter reactive regions. The stochastic evolutions of Green functions will be the building block of a novel reactive-transport upscaled model to overcome current shortcomings. Yet, the hidden nature of the hyporheic zone leads to uncertainty. Third, HYPOR will exploit the link between small-scale uncertain properties and physics-based upscaling elements in a new uncertainty analysis framework that propagates uncertainty at small scales onto large-scale predictions, quantifying their reliability.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101165321
Start date: 01-01-2025
End date: 31-12-2029
Total budget - Public funding: 1 482 520,00 Euro - 1 482 520,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Reactive substances transported in river corridors undergo several transformations having important implications for the fate of toxic chemicals and the health of fluvial ecosystems. Delivery of substances into the slow and geochemically-microbially rich hyporheic zone delays their downstream transport and promotes opportunities for biogeochemical reactions. The resulting delay and reactivity at larger scales are shaped by the ubiquitous heterogeneity of environmental porous media and the temporal fluctuations that typify river corridors which control transport and mixing limitations in the reactive regions of the hyporheic zone. However, the most widespread upscaling pictures neglect these fundamental aspects, assuming either a transient storage in a well-mixed hyporheic zone or pure advective transport along non-interacting hyporheic streamlines. The paradigm of oversimplification leads to severe shortcomings, such as limited transferability of findings and great uncertainty in large-scale predictions.

HYPOR pursues a paradigm-shift: ground the upscaling of reactive-transport in river corridors on the mechanistic knowledge of the hyporheic dynamics. First, we will improve the understanding of heterogeneity and temporal fluctuations controls through comprehensive numerical investigations at small scales. Second, this will allow to quantify, on a physical basis, the stochasticity in the transport and mixing limitations of point-injections (Green functions) as they encounter reactive regions. The stochastic evolutions of Green functions will be the building block of a novel reactive-transport upscaled model to overcome current shortcomings. Yet, the hidden nature of the hyporheic zone leads to uncertainty. Third, HYPOR will exploit the link between small-scale uncertain properties and physics-based upscaling elements in a new uncertainty analysis framework that propagates uncertainty at small scales onto large-scale predictions, quantifying their reliability.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

ERC-2024-STG

Update Date

21-11-2024
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Horizon Europe
HORIZON.1 Excellent Science
HORIZON.1.1 European Research Council (ERC)
HORIZON.1.1.1 Frontier science
ERC-2024-STG ERC STARTING GRANTS