Project name: Enhancing our understanding of Subsidence RISK induced by groundwater exploitation towards sustainable urban development

Project acronym: SubRISK+

Principal Investigator: Prof.ssa Roberta Bonì - https://www.iusspavia.it/it/rubrica/roberta-boni

CUP: H53D23011240001

Description: Groundwater plays a key role in meeting global water demand. Approximately 20% of the world’s aquifers are overexploited, with extraction rates exceeding recharge, resulting in resource depletion, loss of storage in sandy layers, and compaction of adjacent clay beds. Induced land subsidence leads to direct and indirect impacts on urban landscapes (ground depressions, ground fractures, structural damage, increased flood risk, loss of land to water bodies) and economic losses. However, these aspects are often overlooked, as are considerations of how climate change, population growth, and urban expansion may further exacerbate them.

SubRISK+ innovates in this field by providing new Earth Observation-derived products and tools aimed at: 1) improving our understanding of subsidence and its impacts; 2) enabling the community to recognize human-related behavioral, socio-economic, and demographic drivers of this geological hazard and its cascading effects on urban environments and ecosystems; and 3) strengthening our ability to consciously use natural resources, taking a step forward toward sustainable development.

Funding Institution: MUR - Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca

Project starting date: 30/11/2023 

Project end date: 28/02/2026

Website: https://www.subrisk.eu/partners/