b.zambelliazevedo@studenti.unipi.it

I'm a Brazilian hydrogeologist with a speleology background. I have worked with speleology (mostly) within environmental licensing in Brazil for almost 10 years. As a geologist, I’m very interested in interdisciplinary and applied research. This motivates me to engage with geoethics and science communication, in both national and international levels.
Since water is our most basic human need and most of the liquid freshwater is underground, hydrogeology was an opportunity to match geology with the needs of society. Thus, I’ve got involved in projects regarding gender and groundwater in Brazil (NUCAT/UNESCO), and about the inclusion of marginalised rural communities in Laos and Cambodia through sustainable groundwater access and use (IWMI). From 2022, I’m part of the Socio-hydrogeology Network (IAH) as Task Team Leader for Gender and Groundwater.
My PhD project at UNIPI is part of the project "PlasticUnderground (Integrated Cross-Sectoral Solutions to Micro- and Nanoplastic Pollution in soil and Groundwater Ecosystems)", funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Project: 101072777 - PlasticUndergorund - HORIZON -MSCA-2021-DN-01). My research aims at contributing to understanding the impact of micro- and nanoplastic (MnP) contamination in groundwater and assessing the risk perception of such pollution on local communities. The project is characterised by being highly inter- and transdisciplinary. It includes the development of a stakeholder analysis and public engagement of groundwater users focused on MnP pollution. At the same time, develop a groundwater quality monitoring program to assess the occurrence of MnP at catchment scale, including sampling and measurement of major and trace elements, stable isotopes, emerging contaminants, and MnP analysis. The results will be used to develop an integrated analysis of risk perception on the actual presence of microplastics in groundwater in highly stressed aquifers.
MSc. in Geological Engineering at the Federal University of Ouro Preto (Brazil), with a sandwich year at University College Cork (Ireland), 2017. Thesis: The role of Geology in Ouro Preto’s development; Supervisor: Paulo de Tarso A. Castro.
MSc. in Groundwater Management at the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany), 2023. Thesis: Modelling of groundwater flow to figure out groundwater productivity in the sub-catchments of the Corrente River Basil (Urucuia Aquifer System), Western Bahia, Brazil; Supervisors: Carsten Drebendstedt, Nils Hoth, Johanes Vianney.

RESEARCH INTEREST 

• Socio-hydrogeology
• Microplastics in groundwater
• Hydrogeochemistry
• Karst studies

Research project: Socio-hydrogeological assessment of MnP occurrence in groundwater.

Supervisors:

Professor Viviana Re (DST-UNIPI)
Professor Stefano Viaroli (DST-UNIPI)
Professor Denise Mitrano (ETHZ)

Barbara Zambelli Azevedo

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Università di Pisa
Via Santa Maria 53
56126 Pisa
Italia