This research area focuses on water flow in a variety of man-made and natural systems. We investigate engineering solutions for efficient management of water resources, including protection from floods and droughts, as well as the effect of engineering structures and land use change on natural hydrosystems. We cover most of the major hydrosystems, including rivers, channels, lakes, reservoirs, coastal marine waters, groundwater, urban water, pipelines and industrial systems. We carry out theoretical studies, mathematical modeling, laboratory and field scale experiments and measurements.  

Specific topics include, among others: 

  • runoff from natural watersheds and urban areas, 
  • unsteady flow and flood routing in open channels, 
  • unsteady flow over floodplains and in shallow reservoirs and lagoons, 
  • ice phenomena in open channels and reservoirs; 
  • pollutant transport in surface water, soil, groundwater and across different hydrological compartments (numerical modeling, lab and field measurements); 
  • theory and numerical modeling of flow in porous media (including saturated and unsaturated soils, multiphase flow, heterogeneous media); 
  • coupled models for surface-subsurface flow and unsaturated-saturated flow (theoretical studies, numerical modeling) 
  • unsteady flow in pipe systems; 
  • dynamics of hydraulic systems in hydro power plants, and water and waste–water treatment plants.  
  • vulnerability and protection of groundwater - estimation of groundwater recharge and renewable resources, wellhead protection zones (analytical and numerical modeling, lab and field measurements),  
  • influence of subsurface structures on groundwater flow (numerical modeling) 
  • flow to wells, drains and dewatering systems (analytical and numerical modeling, design principles) 
  • hydraulic properties of soils (theoretical studies, lab and field measurements) 
  • coupling flow and deformation in soils (theoretical studies, numerical modeling) 
  • offshore pipelines (theoretical studies, numerical modeling, design principles) 

Keywords 

Hydraulic structures, Open channel flow, Groundwater flow, Flood protection, Groundwater protection, Urban water 

Sample projects (completed and current) 

  • Szydłowski M.: Controlling rainwater and snowmelt retention and forecasting flood risk in the coastal urbanized catchment area, subsidized by the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Gdańsk (2015-2017). 
  • Szydłowski M.: Hydrodynamic model of urban area flooding, offered by polish National Science Center (2011-2013). 
  • Research grant from the Polish National Science Centre NCN 2015/17/B/ST10/03233 Groundwater recharge on outwash plain (2016-2020) 
  • "Coupled mathematical models for surface and subsurface flow on flooded areas", bilateral scientific cooperation with Nankai University, Tianjin, China (2018-19) 
  • WaterPUCK (5 institutions including Gdańsk University of Technology): "Modeling the impact of farms and land use structures in the catchment area on the example of the Puck Commune on the quality of inland and sea waters located in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea - Integrated Information and Prediction Service WaterPUCK" BIOSTRATEG3/343927/3/NCBR/2017, 2017-2020. 
  • NOAH Interreg Baltic See Region: Efficient management of natural resources. To increase efficiency of water management for reduced nutrient inflows and decreased discharges of hazardous substances to the Baltic Sea and the regional waters based on enhanced capacity of public and private actors dealing with water quality issues. Lasts until December 2021,