Design and application of an open-source 3D/4D geo-database: the case study of the Volturno Plain in Southern Italy

The European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC) require member states to identify groundwater bodies and monitor their qualitative and quantitative status. Therefore, a comprehensive knowledge on groundwater bodies characteristics, groundwater quality and groundwater availability should be achieved for a sustainable management of water resources. In complex hydrogeological settings and in areas characterised by widespread anthropic activities (i. e., agricultural and livestock activities) and urban settlements, such knowledge is usually represented by a huge amount of data, often non-homogeneous in terms of spatial and temporal distribution. Therefore, an appropriate and uniform data collection, storage and management is necessary. The objective of this study is to implement an interactive 3D / 4D hydrogeological geo -database for the optimization of the handling and storage of spatio-temporal data for the Volturno Plain in Campania Region (Southern Italy). An opensource WebGIS version of the geo-database is under development for data visualisation, exploration and query, and it is proposed to water managers and decision-makers for a proper and sustainable management of groundwater resources.