Soil is one of the largest ecosystems being ignored by human activities. Our farming practices and urban constructions have contributed to its degradation, with far-reaching consequences for the water cycle’s equi- librium.Reconnect with nature and learn the methods to assist in its recovery are essential for the survival of all inhabitants on this planet.  My degree project consists of a large research into the water cycle of urban areas, studying the particular case of Stockholm, that leads to the problems of degraded soil. The aim is to understand the relation- ship between water cycle and soil ecosystems and explore potential solutions.  As a result, I have designed KURITA, a learning tool founded upon the ecofeminism values of care, that serves as a learning method for citi- zens to reconnect with soil values and actively participate in its restor- ative process.

‘Net Positive Water’ explores the capability of domestic architecture to combat the developing urban water problem. Urban intensification is contributing to the volatility of urban waters and the breakdown of the urban water cycle. Inhabitant water misuse and overconsumption is overwhelming aging municipal utilities, resulting in the decay of urban water quality. LEEDTM and The Living Building Challenge are recognized Green Building Guidelines prescribing sustainable site and building water standards. Case Studies of domestic Green Building projects will showcase water conservation to enable domestic water renewal. Net Zero Water Guidelines based on the Green Building Guidelines outline Potable and Non-Potable water use to achieve a sustainable volume of water demand at 70 litres per capita per day. Sustainable water practices are encouraged by utilizing domestic building systems to increase water value and water awareness. Time-of-Use and Choice-of-Use exposure for household water related tasks establish water savings through the use of best-performing water fixtures and appliances. Net Positive Water Guidelines will establish On-site and Building standards for sustainable harvesting and storage of water resources. Clean and Dirty water management will prescribe Passive design and Active mechanical processes to maintain best-available water quality in the urban domestic environment. Net Positive Water building typology will integrate urban inhabitation as a functional component of the urban water cycle to use, reuse, and renew water resources. The method will be tested using a Mid-rise Pilot project to deploy the necessary Passive and Active mechanisms to generate Net Positive Water quality through Net Zero Water sustainable water use. The pilot project is situated in Waterfront Toronto - The Lower Don Lands development to harness regional interests for water renewal and environmental revitalization.

‘Net Positive Water’ explores the capability of domestic architecture to combat the developing urban water problem. Urban intensification is contributing to the volatility of urban waters and the breakdown of the urban water cycle. Inhabitant water misuse and overconsumption is overwhelming aging municipal utilities, resulting in the decay of urban water quality. LEEDTM and The Living Building Challenge are recognized Green Building Guidelines prescribing sustainable site and building water standards. Case Studies of domestic Green Building projects will showcase water conservation to enable domestic water renewal. Net Zero Water Guidelines based on the Green Building Guidelines outline Potable and Non-Potable water use to achieve a sustainable volume of water demand at 70 litres per capita per day. Sustainable water practices are encouraged by utilizing domestic building systems to increase water value and water awareness. Time-of-Use and Choice-of-Use exposure for household water related tasks establish water savings through the use of best-performing water fixtures and appliances. Net Positive Water Guidelines will establish On-site and Building standards for sustainable harvesting and storage of water resources. Clean and Dirty water management will prescribe Passive design and Active mechanical processes to maintain best-available water quality in the urban domestic environment. Net Positive Water building typology will integrate urban inhabitation as a functional component of the urban water cycle to use, reuse, and renew water resources. The method will be tested using a Mid-rise Pilot project to deploy the necessary Passive and Active mechanisms to generate Net Positive Water quality through Net Zero Water sustainable water use. The pilot project is situated in Waterfront Toronto - The Lower Don Lands development to harness regional interests for water renewal and environmental revitalization.

Evapotranspiration is a nexus for planetary energy and carbon cycles, as yet poorly constrained. Here I use stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen to partition flux of water due to plant transpiration from the direct evaporative flux from soils, water bodies and plant. The study areas, Langat and Kelantan watersheds represent examples of domains dominated by the respective Southwest and Northeast monsoons on the two sides of the main orographic barrier (Titiwangsa mountain range). Mean annual rainfall for the Langat watershed, obtained from 30 years of hydrological data, is 2145 ± 237 mm. Tentatively, 48% of this precipitation returns to the atmosphere via transpiration (T), with 33% partitioned into discharge (Q), 8% into interception (In), and 11% into evaporation (Ed). In the Kelantan watershed, the mean annual rainfall, also based on the 30 year hydrological data, is 2383 ± 120 mm. Similar to Langat, the T accounts for 43% of precipitation (P), 45% is discharged into South China Sea (Q), 12% partitioned into interception (In) and tentatively 0% for evaporation (Ed). Ed for the Langat watershed represents only a small proportion in terms of volumetric significance, up to almost ~11% with strong effect on the isotopic fingerprints of waters associated with the summer Southwest Monsoon (SWM). Note, however, that insignificant Ed for the Kelantan watershed may be an artefact of rain and river water sampling at only coastal downstream portion of the watershed. High humidity (80%) also was recorded for the Malaysian Peninsula watershed. T appropriates about half of all solar energy absorbed by the continents, here ~1000*103 g H2O m-2 yr-1 similar to other tropical regions at 900-1200*103 g H2O m-2 yr-1. The associated carbon fluxes are ~ 1300 g C m-2yr-1, independent of P. Vegetation responses to solar irradiance, via T and photosynthesis reflects the importance of stomatal regulation of the water and carbon fluxes. In order to maintain high transpiration in the tropical region, “constant” water supply is required for continuous pumping of water that delivers nutrients to the plant, suggesting that water and carbon cycle are co-driven by the energy of the sun. The existence of the water conveyor belt may be precondition for nutrient delivery, hence operation of the carbon cycle. Potentially, this may change our perspective on the role that biology plays in the water cycle. In such perspective, the global water cycle is the medium that redistributes the incoming solar energy across the planet, and the anatomical structures of plants then help to optimize the loop of energy transfer via evaporation and precipitation in the hydrologic cycle. The main features of aquatic geochemistry of the Langat and Kelantan rivers inferred from the Principal Component Analysis are controlled by three components that explain 80% and 82% of total variances. These components are reflecting of the geogenic factor with superimposed pollution, the latter particularly pronounced in urbanized sections of the Langat river and dominant in downstream of the Kelantan river. There is no correlation between seasonal variations in major ion chemistry and environmental variables such as precipitation, discharge, temperature or solar activity.

Evapotranspiration is a nexus for planetary energy and carbon cycles, as yet poorly constrained. Here I use stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen to partition flux of water due to plant transpiration from the direct evaporative flux from soils, water bodies and plant. The study areas, Langat and Kelantan watersheds represent examples of domains dominated by the respective Southwest and Northeast monsoons on the two sides of the main orographic barrier (Titiwangsa mountain range). Mean annual rainfall for the Langat watershed, obtained from 30 years of hydrological data, is 2145 ± 237 mm. Tentatively, 48% of this precipitation returns to the atmosphere via transpiration (T), with 33% partitioned into discharge (Q), 8% into interception (In), and 11% into evaporation (Ed). In the Kelantan watershed, the mean annual rainfall, also based on the 30 year hydrological data, is 2383 ± 120 mm. Similar to Langat, the T accounts for 43% of precipitation (P), 45% is discharged into South China Sea (Q), 12% partitioned into interception (In) and tentatively 0% for evaporation (Ed). Ed for the Langat watershed represents only a small proportion in terms of volumetric significance, up to almost ~11% with strong effect on the isotopic fingerprints of waters associated with the summer Southwest Monsoon (SWM). Note, however, that insignificant Ed for the Kelantan watershed may be an artefact of rain and river water sampling at only coastal downstream portion of the watershed. High humidity (80%) also was recorded for the Malaysian Peninsula watershed. T appropriates about half of all solar energy absorbed by the continents, here ~1000*103 g H2O m-2 yr-1 similar to other tropical regions at 900-1200*103 g H2O m-2 yr-1. The associated carbon fluxes are ~ 1300 g C m-2yr-1, independent of P. Vegetation responses to solar irradiance, via T and photosynthesis reflects the importance of stomatal regulation of the water and carbon fluxes. In order to maintain high transpiration in the tropical region, “constant” water supply is required for continuous pumping of water that delivers nutrients to the plant, suggesting that water and carbon cycle are co-driven by the energy of the sun. The existence of the water conveyor belt may be precondition for nutrient delivery, hence operation of the carbon cycle. Potentially, this may change our perspective on the role that biology plays in the water cycle. In such perspective, the global water cycle is the medium that redistributes the incoming solar energy across the planet, and the anatomical structures of plants then help to optimize the loop of energy transfer via evaporation and precipitation in the hydrologic cycle. The main features of aquatic geochemistry of the Langat and Kelantan rivers inferred from the Principal Component Analysis are controlled by three components that explain 80% and 82% of total variances. These components are reflecting of the geogenic factor with superimposed pollution, the latter particularly pronounced in urbanized sections of the Langat river and dominant in downstream of the Kelantan river. There is no correlation between seasonal variations in major ion chemistry and environmental variables such as precipitation, discharge, temperature or solar activity.

Return is a video-based installation which includes sound, performance, and textile elements. Leilani Bascom is the lone actor navigating the water and where the water meets the land in this personal project exploring concepts of the life cycle from birth to death and rebirth. Life's paradox of struggle and release unfolds with imagery of battling through waves to swim deep underwater, fighting a river current and then surrendering to the flow, and carving a hole in the sand to climb into and be held. Viewers are immersed in the movement and sounds of water to witness the power and meaning of our first home and what sustains us.

This thesis, structured in two parts, addresses a series of problems of relevance in the field of Spatial Geodesy. The first part delves into the application of satellite gravity data to enhance our understanding of water transport dynamics. Here, we present two significant contributions. Both are based on satellite gravity data but stem from different mission concepts with distinct objectives: time-variable gravity monitoring and high-resolution, accurate static geoid modelling. First, the fundamental notions about gravity are introduced and a brief summary is made of the different gravity satellite missions throughout history, with emphasis on the GRACE/GRACE-FO and GOCE missions, whose data are the basis of this work. The first application focuses on estimating water transport and geostrophic circulation in the Southern Ocean by leveraging a GOCE geoid and altimetry data. The Volume Transport across the Antartic Circumpolar Current is analyzed and the resulsts are validated validated using the in-situ data collected during the multiple campaigns in the DP. The second application uses time-variable gravity data from the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions to estimate the water cycle in the Mediterranean and Black Sea system, a critical region for regional climate and global ocean circulation. The analysis delves into the analysis of the different components of the hydrological cycle within this region, including the water flow across the Gibraltar Strait, examining their seasonal variations, climatic patterns, and their connection with the North Atlantic Oscillation Index. The second part of the thesis is more focused on data analysis, with the objective of developing mathematical methods to estimate the cross correlation function between two time series that are both unevenly spaced spaced (the sampling is not uniform over time) and observed at unequal time scales (the set of time points for the first series is not identical to the set of time points of the second series). Such time series are frequently encountered in geodetic surveys, especially when combining data from different sources. The estimation of the the cross correlation function for these time series presents unique challenges and requires the adaptation of traditional analysis methods designed for evenly spaced and synchronized time series. The two main contributions in this context are: (i) the study of the asymptotic properties of the Guassian Kernel estimator, that is the recommended estimator for the cross correlation function when the two time series are observed at unequal time scales; (ii) an extension of the stationary bootstrap that allows to construct bootstrap-based confidence intervals for the cross correlation function for unevenly spaced time series not sampled on identical time points.

Tesis por compendio / [ES] El manejo sostenible del agua se ha convertido en una prioridad en todo el mundo, particularmente en aquellos territorios que sufren escasez. En el litoral mediterráneo, la proliferación del turismo y el desarrollo urbanístico, junto al resto de actividades económicas han contribuido a la sobreexplotación de los recursos hídricos naturales. Las Islas Baleares no están exentas de esta problemática. El incremento de la población flotante ha ocasionado que la máxima demanda se produzca en la época estival, coincidente con el periodo de menor recarga natural. Frente a este escenario es básico fijar acciones directas que favorezcan la recuperación y la conservación del agua. Más aún, en el actual contexto de cambio climático. La investigación aborda puntos fundamentales de la gobernanza del agua analizando el marco normativo, económico y social. Su objetivo principal es establecer el diagnóstico actual de los recursos hídricos en las Islas Baleares y, aportar medidas para avanzar hacia un buen estado ecológico, químico y cuantitativo de las masas de agua. Para ello, la tesis da respuesta a los siguientes objetivos específicos: -Analizar los mecanismos de la legislación vigente y la viabilidad de los objetivos planteados de inicio en la Directiva Marco del Agua. En segundo lugar, reflexionar sobre sus logros y carencias y, por último, determinar los retos futuros a los que se enfrenta. -Valorar el manejo y el estado de las masas de agua en la Demarcación Hidrográfica de las Islas Baleares. -Evaluar los resultados de la implementación de una acción concreta de gestión de la demanda. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que las aspiraciones iniciales de la Directiva Marco del Agua no se han cumplido y su progreso ha sido lento. No obstante, se han producido grandes esfuerzos entre ciclos de planificación y la calidad de las masas de agua ha mejorado desde su puesta en vigor. En segundo lugar, se concluye que, el uso de indicadores causa-efecto se erige como un instrumento válido de ayuda a la planificación y la administración del agua. Los resultados del trabajo manifiestan que, en las estaciones desaladoras de agua marina de Palma e Ibiza se reduce la producción de desaladas en los años con una mayor recarga natural de los acuíferos. Dicha gestión del recurso no convencional obstaculiza la recuperación de las masas de agua naturales del entorno. Finalmente, en la investigación se evalúa la implementación de una medida directa de la gestión de la demanda. Se analiza la puesta en marcha de sistemas descentralizados de aprovechamiento de aguas pluviales y de reutilización de aguas grises tratadas, para usos no potables, en edificios a escala municipal. Los resultados confirman distintos valores de disminución de la demanda de agua potable en función del uso y de la tipología del edificio. En conclusión, la Directiva Marco del Agua debe adaptarse a la especificidad hídrica de cada territorio y, por otro lado, es importante dar continuidad a la senda inversionista iniciada asegurando el balance adecuado entre las políticas de la oferta y la demanda. Además, el sector del agua debe apostar por la mejora del conocimiento, el fomento de las nuevas tecnologías y la inserción de los recursos digitales disponibles. En definitiva, en las Islas Baleares a pesar de registrarse periodos de escasez, hasta la fecha se ha garantizado la seguridad hídrica. Ahora bien, es necesario que tanto la planificación territorial como el crecimiento económico se ajusten a la cantidad de recurso disponible. El manejo del agua ha de ser capaz de optimizar el nivel de extracción de las reservas hídricas naturales, priorizando el uso complementario con recurso no convencional, anticipándose a la sobreexplotación y procurando lograr un buen estado en las masas de agua. La tesis integra tres artículos científicos publicados. En cada publicación se analizan cuestiones particulares con el fin de dar respuesta al objetivo principal de la investigación. / [CA] El maneig sostenible de l'aigua ha esdevingut una prioritat a tot el món, particularment en aquells territoris que pateixen escassetat. Al litoral mediterrani, la proliferació del turisme i el desenvolupament urbanístic, juntament amb la resta d'activitats econòmiques han contribuït a la sobreexplotació dels recursos hídrics naturals. Les Illes Balears no estan exemptes d'aquesta problemàtica. L'increment de la població flotant ha ocasionat que la màxima demanda es produïsca a l'època estival, coincident amb el període de menor recàrrega natural. Davant d'aquest escenari és bàsic fixar accions directes que afavorisquen la recuperació i la conservació de l'aigua. Encara més, a l'actual context de canvi climàtic. La investigació aborda punts fonamentals de la governança de l'aigua analitzant el marc normatiu, econòmic i social. El seu objectiu principal és establir el diagnòstic actual dels recursos hídrics a les Illes Balears i aportar mesures per avançar cap a un bon estat ecològic, químic i quantitatiu de les masses d'aigua. Per això, la tesi dona resposta als següents objectius específics: -Analitzar els mecanismes de la legislació vigent i la viabilitat dels objectius plantejats d'inici a la Directiva Marc de l'Aigua. En segon lloc, reflexionar sobre els seus èxits i mancances i, finalment, determinar els reptes futurs als quals s'enfronta. -Valorar el maneig i l'estat de les masses d'aigua a la Demarcació Hidrogràfica de les Illes Balears. -Avaluar els resultats de la implementació d'una acció concreta de gestió de la demanda. Els resultats obtinguts mostren que les aspiracions inicials de la Directiva Marc de l'Aigua no s'han complert i el seu progrés ha estat lent. Tot i això, s'han produït grans esforços entre cicles de planificació i la qualitat de les masses d'aigua ha millorat des de la seua posada en vigor. En segon lloc, es conclou que l'ús d'indicadors causa-efecte s'erigeix com un instrument vàlid d'ajuda a la planificació i l'administració de l'aigua. Els resultats del treball manifesten que, a les estacions dessalinitzadores d'aigua marina de Palma i Eivissa es redueix la producció de dessalades als anys amb una major recàrrega natural dels aqüífers. Aquesta gestió del recurs no convencional obstaculitza la recuperació de les masses d'aigua naturals de l'entorn. Finalment, a la investigació s'avalua la implementació d'una mesura directa de la gestió de la demanda. S'analitza la posada en marxa de sistemes descentralitzats d'aprofitament d'aigües pluvials i de reutilització d'aigües grises tractades per a usos no potables, en edificis a escala municipal. Els resultats confirmen diferents valors de disminució de la demanda d'aigua potable en funció de l'ús i de la tipologia de l'edifici. En conclusió, la Directiva Marc de l'Aigua s'ha d'adaptar a l'especificitat hídrica de cada territori i, per altra banda, és important donar continuïtat al camí inversor iniciat assegurant el balanç adequat entre les polítiques de l'oferta i la demanda. A més, el sector de l'aigua ha d'apostar per la millora del coneixement, el foment de les noves tecnologies i la inserció dels recursos digitals disponibles. En definitiva, a les Illes Balears tot i registrar-se períodes d'escassetat, fins ara s'ha garantit la seguretat hídrica. Ara bé, cal que tant la planificació territorial com el creixement econòmic s'ajusten a la quantitat de recurs disponible. El maneig de l'aigua ha de ser capaç d'optimitzar el nivell d'extracció de les reserves hídriques naturals, prioritzant l'ús complementari amb recurs no convencional, anticipant-se a la sobreexplotació i procurant aconseguir un bon estat a les masses d'aigua. La tesi integra tres articles científics publicats. A cada publicació s'analitzen qüestions particulars per tal de donar resposta a l'objectiu principal de la investigació. / [EN] The sustainable management of water has become a priority throughout the world, particularly in those territories that suffer from scarcity. On the Mediterranean coast, the proliferation of tourism and urban development, along with other economic activities have contributed to the overexploitation of natural water resources. The Balearic Islands are not exempt from this problem. The increase in the floating population has caused the maximum demand to occur in the summer season, coinciding with the period of least natural recharge. Faced with this scenario, it is essential to establish direct actions that favor the recovery and conservation of water. Even more so, in the current context of climate change. The research addresses fundamental points of water governance by analyzing the regulatory, economic and social framework. Its main objective is to establish the current diagnosis of water resources in the Balearic Islands and provide measures to move towards a good ecological, chemical and quantitative status of the water bodies. To do this, this thesis responds to the following specific objectives: -Analyze the mechanisms of current legislation and the feasibility of the objectives set forth in the Water Framework Directive. Secondly, reflect on its achievements and shortcomings and, finally, determine the future challenges faces. -Assess the management and status of the water bodies in the Hydrographic Demarcation of the Balearic Islands. -Evaluate the results of the implementation of a specific action to manage the demand. The results obtained show that the initial aspirations of the Water Framework Directive have not been fulfilled and its progress has been slow. However, there have been great efforts between planning cycles and the quality of the water bodies has improved since their implementation. Secondly, it is concluded that the use of cause-effect indicators stands as a valid tool to help planning and water management. The results of the work show that, in the seawater desalination plants of Palma and Ibiza, there is a reduction in the production of desalinated water in the years with a greater natural recharge of the aquifers. Said non-conventional resource management hinders the recovery of the natural water bodies of the environment. Finally, the research evaluates the implementation of a direct measure of demand management. The implementation of decentralized systems for the use of rainwater and the reuse of treated gray water, for non-potable uses, in buildings at the municipal level is analysed. The results confirm different values of decrease in the demand for drinking water depending on the use and the type of building. In conclusion, the Water Framework Directive must be adapted to the water specificity of each territory and, on the other hand, it is important to continue the investor path started, ensuring the proper balance between supply and demand policies. In addition, the water sector must commit to improving knowledge, promoting new technologies and inserting the digital resources available. In short, in the Balearic Islands, despite registering periods of scarcity, to date water security has been guaranteed. However, it is necessary that both territorial planning and economic growth adjust to the amount of available resources. Water management must be capable of optimizing the level of extraction from natural water reserves, prioritizing complementary use with unconventional resources, anticipating overexploitation and trying to achieve a good status in the water bodies. The thesis integrates three published scientific articles. In each publication, particular issues are analyzed in order to answer the main objective of the research. / Navarro Sousa, S. (2024). Mecanismos de las políticas públicas para la gestión sostenible del agua: hacia un modelo eficiente en las Islas Baleares [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/203170 / Compendio

Que l’on soit un simple promeneur ou un fin observateur, l’eau est présente partout. Pourtant, l’atout qu’elle représente pour les activités anthropiques cache souvent sa réalité environnementale, celle de son cycle. Ce constat se reflète dans l’appréhension juridique de l’eau laquelle est conçue comme un bien ou une chose. Cette qualification l’assigne donc à un statut juridique dont les manifestations révèlent la fonction utilitariste de la ressource. Or, l’émergence des problématiques environnementales confronte le statut juridique de l’eau à sa réalité physique. Ainsi, le droit et les exigences environnementales s’influencent réciproquement pour générer des règles protectrices de l’eau et des représentations juridiques du cycle hydrologique qui engendrent des évolutions du statut. Dès lors, ce dernier s’émancipe des catégories juridiques traditionnelles issues du droit des biens et s’habille d’une finalité protectrice dont les règles et les concepts, qui s’attachent à la fonction écologique de l’eau et à la réalité environnementale du cycle hydrologique, lui façonnent une autre condition juridique. / Along a simple stroll or through fine observations, you will always find water, wherever you go. However, the asset this resource represents for anthropogenic activities often hides its environmental reality, the one of its cycle. This is reflected in the legal definition of water which conceives it as property. This latter qualification assigns it to a judicial status which reveals the utilitarian function of the resource. Yet, the emergence of the environmental issues confronts water’s legal status to its tangible reality. Thus, the conflict between the law and water’s environmental demands makes way for protective regulations. Along with the hydrologic cycle’s legal representation, they both influence the evolution of water’s status. Consequently, the latter goes beyond property law traditional legal categories and arms itself with a protective purpose. Its rules and concepts are tied to the ecological function of water and to the environmental reality of the hydrologic cycle which shape yet another judicial condition for the water.