The Researchers’ Night was held on 30 September 2022 at many locations in Hungary. The József and Erzsébet Tóth Endowed Hydrogeology Chair welcomed the participants with three programs on the ELTE TTK campus.
Ábel Markó, third-year geophysicist PhD student presented his presentation entitled “Geothermal in the age of the gas crisis, i.e. why is it worth dealing with geothermal energy in Hungary?”.The topic is especially relevant in terms of the current economic and political situation. After clarifying the basic definitions, categories, definitions, sustainable and safe utilization of geothermal energy was discussed. The audience was very interested in the presentation, many questions were asked during and at the end of Ábel’s presentation.
During the second program spectacular experiments demonstrating underground water transport systems were presented with the help of students (Soma Oláh, graduate in earth sciences; Tamara Tóthi, BSc third-year geophysicist specializing in earth sciences; Ádám Lázár and Dániel Gyurmánczi BSc third-year geophysicist specializing in geology). During the experiments, they searched for answers to questions such as: What is the fate of rainwater when it falls on the earth’s surface and starts downward? Does the rock material affect the water going down to the surface? Does the water really flow under our feet or is it just a trickle? Is there a connection between rivers and groundwater? How do pollutants released on the surface get underground and how far can their damage spread? Is there a difference between pollutants in their behavior? Our hydrogeologists, Szilvia Szkolnikovics-Simon and Tímea Trásy-Havril, monitored the events in the lab and answered the questions that arose. The participants included both young and old.
At the last program it was possible to gain an insight into the mysterious world of groundwater through 5 short films. Briefly about them: first film Soma Oláh’s award-winning two-minute short film emphasizes sustainable water management. With the presentation of the hydrogeologist Judit Mádl-Szőnyi, we will trace the underground water conveyance belts. Tamara Tóthi‘s TIK-TOK video reveals what goes into our glass. From the short film of hydrogeologist Anita Erőss, we can learn whether drinking water can be radioactive. Finally, our popularization video shows the daily work of a hydrogeologist.
The participation on the event was part of the RRF-2.3.1-21-2021 National Multidisciplinary Laboratory for Climate Change project.