Olga Kitsou

Administrative associate
O.Kitsou@itia.ntua.gr
+30-2107722845

Participation in research projects

Participation as Researcher

  1. Maintenance, upgrading and extension of the Decision Support System for the management of the Athens water resource system
  2. Investigation of management scenarios for the Smokovo reservoir
  3. Integrated Management of Hydrosystems in Conjunction with an Advanced Information System (ODYSSEUS)

Published work

Publications in scientific journals

  1. G.-F. Sargentis, N. Mamassis, O. Kitsou, and D. Koutsoyiannis, The role of technology in the water–energy–food nexus. A case study: Kerinthos, North Euboea, Greece, Frontiers in Water, 6, 1343344, doi:10.3389/frwa.2024.1343344, 2024.

Details on research projects

Participation as Researcher

  1. Maintenance, upgrading and extension of the Decision Support System for the management of the Athens water resource system

    Duration: October 2008–November 2011

    Budget: €72 000

    Project director: N. Mamassis

    Principal investigator: D. Koutsoyiannis

    This research project includes the maintenance, upgrading and extension of the Decision Support System that developed by NTUA for EYDAP in the framework of the research project “Updating of the supervision and management of the water resources’ system for the water supply of the Athens’ metropolitan area”. The project is consisted of the following parts: (a) Upgrading of the Data Base, (b)Upgrading and extension of hydrometeorological network, (c) upgrading of the hydrometeorological data process software, (d) upgrading and extension of the Hydronomeas software, (e) hydrological data analysis and (f) support to the preparation of the annual master plans

  1. Investigation of management scenarios for the Smokovo reservoir

    Duration: November 2005–December 2006

    Budget: €60 000

    Commissioned by: Special Directorate for the Management of Corporate Programs of Thessaly

    Contractor: Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering

    Project director: D. Koutsoyiannis

    Principal investigator: N. Mamassis

    Programme: Επιχειρησιακά Σχέδια Διαχείρισης Δικτύων Σμοκόβου

  1. Integrated Management of Hydrosystems in Conjunction with an Advanced Information System (ODYSSEUS)

    Duration: July 2003–June 2006

    Budget: €779 656

    Commissioned by: General Secretariat of Research and Technology

    Contractor: NAMA

    Collaborators:

    1. Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering
    2. Municipal Company of Water Supply and Sewerage of Karditsa
    3. Aeiforiki Dodekanisou
    4. Marathon Data Systems

    Project director: D. Koutsoyiannis

    Principal investigator: A. Andreadakis

    Programme: ΕΠΑΝ, Φυσικό Περιβάλλον και Βιώσιμη Ανάπτυξη

    The project aims at providing support to decision-making processes within the direction of integrated management of water resource systems at a variety of scales. Several methodologies and computing tools are developed, which are incorporated into an integrated information system. The main deliverable is an operational software package of general use, which is evaluated and tested on two pilot case studies, concerning hydrosystems in Greece with varying characteristics (Karditsa, Dodecanesus). The end-product of the project is a software system for simulation and optimisation of hydrosystem operation, as well as a series of separate software applications for solving specific problems, aiming at producing input data to the central system or post-processing of the results. The project includes eleven work packages, eight for basic research, two for industrial research and one for the pilot applications.

Published work in detail

Publications in scientific journals

  1. G.-F. Sargentis, N. Mamassis, O. Kitsou, and D. Koutsoyiannis, The role of technology in the water–energy–food nexus. A case study: Kerinthos, North Euboea, Greece, Frontiers in Water, 6, 1343344, doi:10.3389/frwa.2024.1343344, 2024.

    The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus is a basic element of prosperity, yet it is not equally distributed on the land. Human progress has optimized the function of the WEF nexus to bridge the inequality gap. In order to understand this progress, this study compares the preindustrial and modern agricultural practices in an area in Greece. Interviews were conducted with an elderly man who lived in the 1950s, and the process was quantified in units of WEF. The same procedure was also carried out with modern farmers for modern agricultural practices. In comparing the past and present agricultural processes, it is observed that today, a farmer can feed approximately 100 times more people. This feat has been achieved as modern practices push the land with energy sources in multiple ways (fuels and fertilizers). However, energy indices such as energy ratio, net energy gain, specific energy, and energy productivity do not seem to be improved. Furthermore, farmers prefer to pump underground water for irrigation, instead of utilizing the nearby river, as was done in the past when the river provided both energy to the watermill and an abundance of water for irrigation. In addition, as the price of wheat is dependent on the stock market, even in 2023, there are risks to food security, the cultivation of wheat was not economically efficient for farmers in this area in 2023.

    Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/2442/1/documents/frwa-06-1343344.pdf (4149 KB)