While visiting the SS Great Britain in Bristol, I walked past the original 𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 used to create the dry dock, which made me reflect on the enormous impact that the development of caissons must have had on engineering. 𝗦𝗼, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. 🧵

As a true European allergic to AC and conscious about my energy consumption, my parents gave me this highly sophisticated, manually driven, air relocation technology 🪭. Works like a charm. I can't type while this tool is in use though 🤔.

𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 : 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗱𝗮, 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 ⛰️ We have already discussed ancient water management systems, such as the qanats in Persia and other Eastern countries. In Europe, there are the acequias of the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia, Spain.

In Ardèche, France, speleologists are characterising groundwater flows using fluorescent dyes and STREAM fluorometers to track this vital resource.

Apparently it's International Rock Day! 🪨🤘 Happy Rock 😃! (no idea about what type) Rialto beach, Olympic National Park, Washington State, USA. October 2019

I attended The Dewatering Institute conference in Amsterdam. The excellent event, including presentations by experts in the field were very informative, the panel discussions thought-provoking, and the contact and networking opportunities with other participants were top-notch.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁 💧🪨👷‍♀️👨‍🔬? Hydrogeologists are scientists who specialise in studying the distribution, movement and physical properties of groundwater in the Earth's subsurface. They play a crucial role in understanding the interaction between water and geology.

𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 : 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀, 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 🛁 Two years ago I explored the Thermae Diocletiani, the Thermae Caracalla, the Thermae Traiani, and the Vicus Caprarius with its ancient aqueduct in Rome. The scale and ingenuity of these infrastructures left me in awe.

Nitrates in karst catchments : an ongoing research project As part of the Epukarst (www.epukarst.be) project led by TRAQUA in collaboration with CWEPSS and SANIFOX, a field visit was organised to the Neuve Fontaine catchment area (Nassogne) to present the project’s preliminary results.

Some Belgian fries with Américain préparé 😎 (prepared American = beef tartar)

I usually don't follow football...but after the whiny cheetos influenced the referee decision, I only have one thing to say. BELGIUM Let's Goooo!!! 🖤💛♥️🍟🍺 (and kick them out)

When I took a closer look at a map of the area around my hostel in Bristol, I noticed something interesting. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴! However, there were no signs of a river once I stepped outside.

When I thought about the 𝗖𝗼𝘁𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀, I pictured gently rolling hills 🌄, charming cottages 🏡 and sheep 🐑. Having now walked the Cotswold Way, I can assure you that the hills are less gently rolling than I had anticipated, with a steep escarpment running from north-east to south-west.

"Water is best" 💧🩵 No argument there... #Bath #cotswolds

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) 🌧️ can be implemented to improve drought resilience, by storing surplus water from rainfall or treated wastewater underground. Water can infiltrate naturally or be pumped into an aquifer. The different MAR schemes have their own advantages, constraints, and risks.

𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 : 𝗟𝘂𝘅𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗵 🛁 Last week, I hiked the Cotswold Way, finishing in the city of Bath in Somerset, UK. Before it became a fashionable Victorian spa, the baths had already been developed by the Romans and were honoured by the pre-Roman Celts.

I've just returned from a week of hiking in the Cotswolds, finishing my trip with visits to Bristol and Bath.

Last week, we were lucky to have great weather (no heatwave yet) for infiltration tests in Brussels.

The Comité Départemental de Spéléologie de l'Ardèche (CDS07) has launched a fluorescent dye tracing campaign in the Saint-André-de-Cruzières basin.

Once in a blue moon, a dye tracing restitution curve in karst behaves exactly as predicted. Textbook-worthy!. Our tracer testing for www.epukarst.be on transfer and storage of nitrates in karst continues. Colleague Amaël was quite enamored 🤩 with this graph. Hydrogeologists are a bit peculiar 😅.

𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺: 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗮 ⛲🛁 Spa is a town in Belgium and the origin of the concept of thermal baths. Spa has attracted visitors for centuries, from the Romans, who called it "Sparsa" or "to gush," to St. Remacle, who performed miracles with its mineral-rich springs in 641.

Wonderful weather for some infiltration tests today. As a good oiled machine our dream team finished 8 infiltration tests and 2 soil profiles in 6 hours.

If you attend a hydrogeological conference, you may hear the terms 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝘅 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝘅, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄. In hydrogeology, we often assume that the flow of groundwater follows Darcy's law, which assumes that the flow rate is directly proportional to the hydraulic gradient.

I'm leaving soon for a week-long hike in the Cotswolds! As usual, whenever I travel somewhere new, I look for unique water features, whether natural or man-made.

Unfortunately, my apartment building is suffering from water ingress, which is probably related to a faulty rainwater drainage system. However, groundwater infiltration is also a possibility.

A popup bookshop with second hand English books recently opened in my neighbourhood. Obviously I had to go check it out. The rest is history 😏📚...

The 4th ed. of the GEM Magazine by The Dewatering Institute is out! I was surprised about how packed to the brim this magazine is with technical insights, case studies, and interesting interviews. As if a foreword by industry legend Martin Preene isn't enough 👉 dewateringinst.com/the-gem-maga...

A groundwater tracing operation The Comité Départemental de Spéléologie de l'Ardèche (CDS07) has just launched a fluorescent dye tracing campaign in the Saint-André-de-Cruzières basin.

𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗮𝘄𝗮 𝗔𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁, 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝗸𝘆𝗼 💧🏯 The Tamagawa Aqueduct, built in 1653 was incredibly important for Tokyo (then Edo) during the Edo-period in Japan and supported the growth and further development of the city.