Lab Activities
VG Vodoopskrba d.o.o. water supply company from Velika Gorica and the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, on 15.11.2016. signed an agreement for scientific and professional cooperation. As part of this cooperation, the project under name "Quantification of effective precipitation infiltration and identification of hydraulic parameters of Zagreb aquifer unsaturated zone by establishing a research polygon, Pilot area - Velika Gorica wellfield" was launched, which includes research of aquifer (unsaturated and saturated zone).
Teaching-research polygon is designed as a pedological pit which is 3,25 m deep and has external floor dimensions of 3.4 × 3.4 m (internal dimensions 3 × 3 × 3 m). The pedological pit has glass walls which enable visual inspection of the unsaturated zone profile and the installation of the probes for unsaturated zone processes monitoring. Teaching-research polygon also has a weather station installed on the surface and a pluviometer.
The main purpose of this scientific research is to quantify the value of effective infiltration which infiltrates all the way down to the water table and to determine the main geochemical processes that are occurring in the unsaturated zone. The research will enable detail quantification of amount of precipitation, and also the precipitation infiltration in the unsaturated zone and aquifer. The research will improve the knowledge about aquifer boundaries and parameters, which will further upgrade the regional groundwater models as well as the unsaturated flow models through the Zagreb aquifer.
Head of the Lab:
| Analytical procedure and test method
TDR probes TRIME PICO 64 for measuring electrical conductivity, temperature and moisture content, Suction Cups for water sampling for isotope and chemical analyses, as well as tensiometers for matric suction measurement were installed in the eastern wall of the pedological pit. All data is stored on the data storage devices data logger IMKO globeLog and dataTaker DT80 which are located in the pit. The Davis Vantage Pro2 meteorological station is installed on the surface next to the pedological pit at a height of 2,5 meters, and measures the amount of precipitation, solar and UV radiation, humidity, wind strength and direction. Beneath meteorological station is pluviometer for precipitation sampling. The installation of devices at the research site was completed in early 2019, and from February 1, 2019. the measurements are continuously collecting data of electrical conductivity, temperature, moisture content and matric suction, and the amount of precipitation, solar radiation, humidity, wind strength and direction and air temperature. The collection of water samples for chemical and isotope analyses is carried out on a monthly basis. All data that are continuously collected and stored, are processed in accordance with the research program. |
| Small and medium sized equipment
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Teaching in the Lab (students' practical work)
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Teaching in Lab (Students’ research)
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Projects in Lab
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Figure 1 Teaching-research polygon (the pit and meteorologic station).
Figure 2 Glass walls for visual inspection of the unsaturated zone profile and the installation of the probes.