Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
Estuaries around the world expected to become saltier in the coming decades
In estuaries—the transitional zones between rivers and the sea—fresh and salt water are constantly battling for dominance. But due to climate change, the saltwater is gaining ground. New research by Utrecht University’s Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (IMAU) in collaboration with Deltares shows that saltwater intrusion—where seawater pushes inland into rivers—is on the rise globally. By analysing eighteen estuaries across […]
An acelerated global oxygen cycle drives oxygen depletion in inland waters
Rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs aren’t just scenic parts of our landscape — they’re also vital engines for life on Earth. These inland waters ‘breathe’ oxygen, just like we do. But a new study led by Utrecht University researchers shows that we’ve been suffocating them during the last century, an era also known as the […]
The global clean water crisis looms large
Water scarcity will intensify with climate and socioeconomic change, disproportionately impacting populations located in the Global South. So concludes a new Utrecht University article published in Nature Climate Change on 23 May 2024, which used a state-of-the-art global water quantity and quality model to estimate clean water scarcity until the end of the century. Humans […]
Global study warns water security threatened by droughts and heat waves worldwide
Increased demand for water due to global population growth, coupled with the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, endangers our water security. Nonetheless, little is known about the relationship of water use by sectors and the occurrence of drought-heat-wave events, particularly at the large scale. To explore this issue, a group of researchers from the […]
Then vs. now: Did the Horn of Africa reach a drought tipping point 11,700 years ago?
‘Wet gets wetter, dry gets drier’. That mantra has been used for decennia to predict how global warming will affect the hydrological cycle in different world regions. But if climate models predict that much of tropical Africa will enjoy a future with wetter weather, then why does it keep getting drier in certain parts of […]
Study addresses the future challenges of global surface water quality
As the world's population continues to grow, ensuring access to clean and safe water has become an increasingly important concern, yet little is known about how surface water quality will change in the future. Recent scientific research has shed light on the potential challenges that surface water quality may face in the coming years, particularly in Sub-Saharan […]
Flood risk 10 times higher in many places worldwide within 30 years
After the North Sea Flood of 1953, it took nearly 45 years to finalize the Delta Works. If we want to protect The Netherlands against sea-level rise, we shouldn't wait too long. But how much time do we have left? An international team of researchers from Utrecht University, Deltares, and NIOZ, among others, devised a […]
Making the invisible water crisis visible
While achieving the United Nations (UN) ambitious Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for wastewater treatment would cause substantial improvements in global water quality, severe water quality issues would continue to persist in some world regions. So conclude researchers at Utrecht University. They have developed a new water quality model to further elucidate the current and future […]
Nanoplastic omnipresent in rural and remote surface waters
Over the past few decades, tiny pieces of plastic have found their way, via the air, to remote places on Earth. This is the worrying conclusion drawn by researchers from Utrecht University and other institutes published in Environmental Research Letters. "It is only the beginning of research into the role that nanoplastics play in nature." Nanoplastics […]