About Gualbert Oude Essink
Gualbert Oude Essink, PhD (Civil Engineering, Delft University of Technology) is senior hydrogeologist at Deltares and associate professor at the Utrecht University. His drive is to understand complex dynamic groundwater processes in subsiding coastal zones under paleo, anthropogenic, climate change and storm surge conditions, aiming for sustainable management of water resources in coastal zones under different spatial and time scales.
Gualbert participates in scientific research programs on groundwater salinity mapping via rapid airborne electromagnetic surveys, smart salinity monitoring (e.g. using fiberglass techniques) and high-performance variable-density groundwater flow and salinity transport modelling.
He likes to share knowledge, data and methodologies with colleagues, partners and clients in projects in The Netherlands, Belgium, Vietnam, Egypt and Bangladesh and on a global level (e.g. the impacts of sea-level rise on groundwater systems in deltaic areas).
He is a member of the Scientific Council of Deltares, and programs like ‘Redesign the Dutch Delta’ and ‘Long term delta developments’. Gu gives international courses and keynote lectures at several universities; reviews proposals within scientific programs in The Netherlands, Belgium and Australia; convenes scientific sessions; teaches since 1999 at IHE Delft; publishes in journals; and supervises ~4 MSc students per year and 7 PhD-candidates.
Gu participates in:
- research projects on vulnerable fresh groundwater resources in the Netherlands (NatureCoast, ‘De Zandmotor’), Vietnam (FAME Freshwater Availability in the Mekong delta, Vietnam; UDW Rise and Fall), Egypt (Nile Delta, effects GERD and extraction rates on fresh groundwater volumes, NUFFIC), Singapore (Jurong Island) and Bangladesh (SWIBANGLA).He leads a Aquifer Storage & Recovery consortium on promising solutions for local freshwater supply to reduce drought and salinity stresses (www.GO-FRESH.info)
- several numerical modelling projects on variable-density and coupled salt transport (Dunea brackish groundwater extraction strategies, DOW fresh groundwater storage, National Hydrological Modelling fresh-salt
- groundwater salinity mapping programs FRESHEM Zeeland (Helicopter Electromagnetic survey for fresh-salt groundwater distribution) and TOPSOIL FRESHEM Vlaanderen, a INTERREG VB programme
- the NWO-STW Water Nexus program (Salt water where possible, fresh water where necessary; Resource analysis and regional water management). In the latter project, PhD research is supervised on rapid mapping and rapid modeling deltaic areas, and on operational management of regional salt-fresh water resources
- a project on fresh groundwater reserves in 40 major deltas under global and climate change
- the program COASTAR: COastal Aquifer STorage and Recovery
- Europe GEOERA collaboration between European geological surveys (Tools for assessment of climate change impact on groundwater and adaptation strategies)