Water Pollution 2012

11th International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Water Pollution

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10 - 12 July 2012
New Forest, UK

 Overview

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The eleventh International Conference on Water Pollution: Modelling, Monitoring and Management (Water Pollution XI) took place in the Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT) Campus in the New Forest, UK, organised by that Institute and sponsored by the WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, and the International Journals of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements and of Sustainable Development and Planning.

The conference started in Southampton, England in 1991 and has been held in Milan, Italy in 1993; Porto Carras, Greece in 1995; Lake Bled, Slovenia in 1997; Lemnos, Greece in 1999; Rhodes, Greece in 2001; Cadiz, Spain in 2003; Bologna, Italy in 2006; Alicante, Spain in 2008, and Bucharest, Romania in 2010.  The meeting has always been very successful providing a friendly forum for the discussion and exchange of information between scientists, managers and academics from different areas of water contamination.

Water pollution problems are essentially multidisciplinary and require specialists from different areas to work together on a wide variety of issues.  The conference creates an international arena for the discussion and dissemination of work related to water quality and environmental problems caused by the increase of pollution levels and the inappropriate management of water resources.

The meeting was opened by the Conference Chairman, Professor Carlos A Brebbia, who explained the importance of the meeting within the strategy of WIT which objective is the dissemination of knowledge at international level.  The Institute – Carlos said – organises a programme of 25 or so international conferences every year in a variety of fields, with the emphasis on those dealing with multidisciplinary topics.  Many of the meetings are focussed on environmental and ecological problems as well as specific areas of engineering and scientific research.  WIT understands – in Carlos’ words – the importance of looking for integral solutions in order to arrive at optimal results.

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Prof. Brebbia giving the opening Address
Carlos continued by explaining that the papers presented at the conference are published by WIT Press – the publishing arm of the Institute – in digital as well as hard cover format, aiming to reach the widest possible audience.  In addition they are permanently archived in the Institution website, at http://library.witpress.com/, where they are easily available to the international community.  This wide dissemination is a trademark of WIT conferences and differentiates these from other types of meetings.

The research carried out at the institute has also been well received by industry, particularly the series of computer codes based on the boundary element method, the trademark of WIT.  The resulting software is now well regarded by industry, particularly in engineering and aerospace applications.

Carlos concluded by explaining that the conferences are an integral part of the services provided by WIT to the community and thanking all delegates for their presence at Water Pollution XI.

 Kenote Address

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Prof. G Zappala
Next Carlos introduced the Keynote Speaker at the conference, Professor Giuseppe Zappala as follows:

Professor Giuseppe Zappala has worked since finishing his studies as a Research Officer at the Institute for Coastal Marine Environment of the Italian National Research Council in Messina.

He has a PhD in Electronics from the Politecnico of Milano and a PhD in Safety Engineering from the University of Rome La Sapienza.

Giuseppe has published over 100 scientific publications including book translations.  He has produced important pieces of software.

He has been collaborating with the University until recently as an Adjunct Professor in Information Systems.

More recently he has been appointed Adjunct Professor at Viterbo University, also in the field of Computer Science and Oceanographic Measurements.

Giuseppe has been responsible for a series of innovations in the field of remote sensing, the design of advanced platforms for automatic monitoring and more recently an automatic marine monitoring buoy.  These are jest a few of the most important projects which include work on the Venice Lagoon System and preparation of databases for marine ecology resulting from Italian Antarctic expeditions.

He has participated in many scientific meetings, including being on the Scientific Committee of several WIT conferences and has contributed as a reviewer in different journals and other publications plus being a member of several research assessment Boards.

Giuseppe is not only well versed in the theoretical aspects of Marine and Computer Sciences but also an experimentalist and designer, whose products contribute to a better understanding of the hydrodynamics of seas and coastal areas.

The title of his keynote address was:

‘Microbiological risk assessment in a coastal marine environment through the use of mathematical models’  by G Zappala, S Bonamano, A Madonia, G Caruso, M Marcelli

 Hromadka Medal

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Prof. Brebbia & Prof Zappala
Following the kenote address Professor Carlos A Brebbia proceeded to award the 2012 Hromadka Medal to Professor Zappala as follows:

‘Because of all his achievements I would like to take this opportunity to award Giuseppe the Hromadka Medal that was instituted by a member of our Board of Directors.

‘The Medal and Prize was launched by Professor Ted Hromadka, who sits in WIT’s Board, in memory of his late father.  Ted is recognised worldwide for his pioneering research in developing new computational techniques, as well as for his professional engineering work on hydrates and hydrology.  He has numerous publications, including papers and books and has helped to develop better standards of practice in his native California.  Ted is currently Professor at the West Port Academy’

The medal is given to a colleague in recognition of outstanding work in the water resources field.  Carlos then explained that on this occasion it was a great pleasure to offer it to Giuseppe.

 Conference Topics

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Delegates during the conference
Papers presented at the conference were grouped under the following topics:
  • Water quality
  • Lakes and rivers
  • Groundwater and aquifer issues
  • Pollution and oil spills
  • Environmental monitoring and control
  • Wastewater treatment and management
  • Remediation
  • Emerging technologies

 Invited Presentations

The two invited presentaions at the conference were:

‘Hydrochemical evaluation of bottled mineral water and springs at Corumbatai City, Sao Paulo State, Brazil’
by D M Bonotto, Sao Paulo State University, Brazil

‘Management conception for meadow soils, located downstream to mining dumps’
by F Jaenig, CDM Consult GMBH, Germany

 Social Occasions

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BBQ at the WIT Campus
There were numerous occasions for the delegates to interact with each other and hold discussions outside the conference rooms.

The first day they were invited to a lamb BBQ that was held in the gardens of the Institute.  It took place during lunch break and offered the opportunity of getting to know each other.  The food of excellent quality consisted of slowly roasted Hampshire lamb and accompanying vegetables and other dishes.

The International Scientific Advisory Committee met to discuss the conference and how it can be improved when it is reconvened in 2014.  The general agreement was that the current list of topics is appropriate and should be retained, but a few new topics added to reflect the new directions of research.  A series of colleagues who attended the conference and gave excellent presentations were nominated for the Committee.  The meeting – which took place over dinner in a nice Italian restaurant – proceeded to discuss locations for 2014, which will now be investigated by WIT’s Conference Division.

The delegates were offered a lunch time excursion to a place in the New Forest where wooden boats were built in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Some of them became famous for having participated in battles such as Calvi (where Nelson lost the vision of his right eye) and Trafalgar itself.  The place, called Bucklers Hard, rests on the shore of the Beaulieu River, near where it flows into the Solent.

Bucklers Hard was a ship building village and some of the original houses are still there, including a large one for the Master Builder, now converted into a pub and hotel.  There is an excellent museum at the entrance which describes the history of Bucklers Hard and details of many different ships built there.

The Conference dinner took place in what is reputed to be the best hotel in the New Forest, called Lime Wood.  The totally renovated and recently extended building was originally the property of the Queen Consort of Edward II, Queen Isabella and later on other Queens of England.

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Some of the delegates after the Conference Dinner
The house seems to have fallen into a state of neglect and leased to different tenants by the Crown.  In later times it was used as a school for gentlemen until it closed at the beginning of World War I, and eventually turned into a hotel.

During World War II the house was requisitioned by the Southampton Fire Brigade who responded from there to the fires caused by the frequent bombing of the town (as Southampton Fire Brigade was dispersed in the neighbourhood towns).

The house was to revert to its use as a hotel after the war.  The recent high standard renovation, the beauty of the surroundings, the friendly service and the excellent cuisine make it one of the most pleasant hotels in the South of England.

The guests were able to partake of a dinner whose main dish was well prepared lamb, accompanied by good wines.  At the end of the dinner Carlos thanked the participants and gave them a souvenir to remind them of the occasion.  It consisted of a hand made ceramic bowl crafted and decorated by a local artist.  The pottery was made in the traditional way, from preparation of the clay to the final glazing and firing, the latter in an old fashioned wood kiln. The potter is now gaining a wide recognition and has recently held a major exhibition of his work.

 Close of the Conference

Carlos closed the conference by commenting on the success of the meeting which was characterised by the number of discussions in a very friendly environment.  This – Carlos thinks – will ensure that the conference is reconvened in 2014, in a place and at a time to be decided shortly.

 Conference Proceedings

The proceedings of Water Pollution, 508pp (Print ISBN:978-1-84564-608-0; eISBN: 978-1-84564-609-7) are available from WIT Press. Orders can be placed on the WIT Press web site at www.witpress.com or by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., telephone: +44 (0) 238 029 3223 or fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853.

Papers from the conference will also be hosted online at the WIT eLibrary as Volume 164 of WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment ISSN: 1746-448X, Digital ISSN 1743-3541). For more details visit the WIT eLibrary at http://library.witpress.com