Fig. 1. Coldewey, W. G. (2022): Handbuch Hydrogeologie. Das Standardwerk für Lehre und Praxis.
Coldewey, W. G. (2022): Handbuch Hydrogeologie. Das Standardwerk für Lehre und Praxis. First edition. 713 pages, 104 tables, 178 figures and 42 appendices. Vulkan Verlag GmbH Essen (Figure 1).
The importance of water as a geo-resource for the people and the environment has been emphatically brought to the attention of the public in recent years. The orderly handling of water must be the focus of all professionals who are responsible for processes that influence the natural water cycle. This involves the extraction, use, purification and discharge of water, but also the protection of the public from the power of water, its retention and availability. Hydrogeology provides the basis for an understanding of the processes surrounding the geo-resource water.
The Handbook of Hydrogeology lives up to this requirement and undoubtedly offers benefit for all hydro geologically interested professionals in the sense of a standard work for teaching and practice. Thus, already when opening the book, which is widely illustrated with figures, tables and appendices, the competence of the author, who has been known for decades in wide circles as a proven expert in hydrogeology, becomes clear. Indeed, one very quickly feels literally “at home” in the topic and hardly wants to put it down.
The book is divided into the major chapters “General Hydrogeology”, “Applied Hydrogeology” and “Groundwater Characteristics”. From a scientific-technical point of view, the physical-chemical basics covered in this work are very welcome. This includes the numerous definitions of terms used throughout from standards, guidelines and guidance documents. Formula symbols are abbreviated with the letters that are also used internationally, equations are documented by figures that explain the corresponding formula designations and substantiate them with example calculations.
The present work is characterized by an extensive bibliography and a comprehensive compilation of relevant DIN standards. Literature has been compiled according to the usual citation specifications in geology, allows a good overview of the scope and facilitates the finding, even of unusual titles. The appendix contains various thematic maps from the fields of geology, hydrogeology and water management, which are very clearly illustrated in color in the form of a model landscape.
The book facilitates the user’s entry into and in-depth study of all aspects of hydrogeology through its very thoughtful and descriptive layout in terms of graphics and topics. The quality standard of the author, who has a profound experience in the field of hydrogeology, both in practice and in teaching, is evident. Both experienced professionals and young people will certainly be attracted to the work in their interest in hydrogeology. From the point of view of the depth of content, the scope and the elaborate design of the book, the price of 149 € is reasonable.
In the sense of creating transparency and understanding for the manifold questions that arise in view of the complexity of the georesource water, this standard work can be recommended for reading and use by all experts and students dealing with the subject, but also by all other interested parties.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Goerke-Mallet, Research Center of Post-Mining (FZN), TH Georg Agricola University (THGA), Bochum/Germany
