Partner coordinator at DST UniPisa: (Supervisor) Riccardo Petrini (DST-UNIPI), (Co-supervisor) Valter Castelvetro (DCCI-UNIPI)

Partnerns

Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China. Partener coordinator: Chunmiao Zheng

Duration: 36 months, from 11/11/2022 to 10/11/2025

Budget (€): 242.335,68

ERC field: PE10 Earth System Science

ERC subfields: PE10_17 Hydrology, water and soil pollution

Keywords: Microplastics, Emerging contaminants, Antibiotics, Groundwater, Urban aquifer, Numerical models

Scope – SPONGE aims at contributing to improve safe recharge of urban aquifers expanding the Sponge city strategy, in which runoff water could be collected not only to reduce waterlogging but also to foster the recharge of stressed aquifers. In this framework, great attention must be paid to water quality by focusing on microplastics contamination and its relationship with other organic and inorganic emerging contaminants. SPONGE will increase the global scientific know-how on emerging contaminants and unconventional aquifer recharge nexus in urban environments, impacting both in terms of improved water management and environmental protection. The project will open new frontiers for research on runoff and wastewater management to increase the resilience of urban aquifers to climate changes. The main expected results are: (i) quantification of microplastics contamination in rain and runoff water, assessment of their variability in time and evaluation of the relationship between microplastics and other contaminants; (ii) definition of microplastics and emerging contaminants occurrence in groundwater through the realization of experimental models; (iii) evaluation of the stored runoff water as a source to increase the resilience of the urban aquifer to the groundwater scarcity. Outcomes will be assembled in guidelines defining the best practices to manage the urban runoff and evaluate its suitability for aquifer recharge in a sponge city. In the first two years at SUSTech University (China), the researcher will perform field activities and analysis, improving his knowledge of emerging contaminants; in the third year of the project, at the University of Pisa (Italy), the fellow will finalize the elaborations and the set-up of a numerical model of the aquifer recharge. Communication and dissemination actions will be realized in English and Chinese in order to guarantee the maximum diffusion, not only to researchers but also to the civil society and relevant stakeholders.

Website: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101028018

Published papers

• Viaroli, S., Di Curzio, D., Di Sipio, E., Re, V. (2023). Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships: an international opportunity for early career hydrogeologists. Acque Sotterranee – Italian Journal of Groundwater, 12(2): 91–93. https://doi.org/10.7343/as-2023-663 (Open Access). Description of MSCA funding opportunities and short summaries of four MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships in hydrogeology led by Italian researchers.
• Lee, J.Y., Cha, J., Ha, K., Viaroli, S. (2024). Microplastic pollution in groundwater: a systematic review. Environmental Pollutants and Bioavailability, 36(1): 2299545. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395940.2023.2299545 (Open Access). Review of available data on microplastics in groundwater and identification of gaps and lack of standardized protocols.
• Viaroli, S., Lancia, M., Lee, J.Y., Ben, Y., Giannecchini, R., Castelvetro, V., Petrini, R., Zheng, C., Re, V. (2024). Limits, challenges, and opportunities of sampling groundwater wells with plastic casings for microplastic investigations. Science of the Total Environment, 946, 174259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174259 (Open Access). Study addressing the potential use and limitations of PVC monitoring wells for microplastic investigations.
• Galluzzi, M., Lancia, M., Zheng, C., Re, V., Castelvetro, V., Guo, S., Viaroli, S. (2025). Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) nanomechanical characterization of micro- and nanoplastics to support environmental investigations in groundwater. Emerging Contaminants, 11: 100478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emcon.2025.100478 (Open Access). Summary of results on the application of AFM techniques for detection and characterization of micro- and nanoplastics in groundwater.
• Nene, A., Sadeghzade, S., Viaroli, S., Yang, W., Uchenna, U.P., Kandwal, A., Liu, X., Somani, P., Galluzzi, M. (2025). Recent advances and future technologies in nano-microplastics detection. Environmental Sciences Europe, 37: 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-024-01044-y. (Open Access). Review of the most widely used analytical techniques for micro- and nanoplastics detection, focusing on strengths and limitations.

Presentations at scientific congresses:

• August 2024 - 37^th International Geological Congress (IGC) in Busan (South Korea):
  • Keynote presentation: Microplastics and nanoplastics in groundwater: the essential role of hydrogeologists
  • Oral presentation: Characterization of urban aquifers of an Asian megacity (Shenzhen, China) using chemical, antibiotics, and isotope analyses
• September 2025 - international conference of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) in Melbourne (Australia):
  • Oral presentation: Microplastic assessment in urban aquifers: the Shenzhen megacity (southern China) case study
  • Poster presentation: Preliminary numerical analyses of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) transport in saturated porous media

Final workshop: Microplastics and Emerging Contaminants in Groundwater https://www.dst.unipi.it/microplastic.html