The book collects seven original contributions in the field of climate and underlying human influences on renewable groundwater resources and/or stream–aquifer interactions. The first contribution introduces the following six ones into the overall framework of the topic. The second contribution assesses the impact of climate change scenarios on land subsidence related to groundwater level depletion in detrital aquifers. The third contribution studies the patterns of river infiltration and the associated controlling factors by using a combination of field investigations and modeling techniques. The fourth contribution introduces a method to improve the modeling of streamflow in high-permeability bedrock basins receiving interbasin groundwater flow. The fifth contribution discusses the role of resilience of hydrogeological systems affected by either climate and/or anthropic actions in order to understand how anticipating negative changes and preserving its services. The sixth contribution analyzes the water balance of wetlands, which are systems highly sensitive to climate change and human action. The seventh contribution identifies groundwater bodies with low vulnerability to pumping to be used as potential buffer values for sustainable conjunctive use management during droughts.

Climate change is expected to modify the hydrological cycle and affect freshwater resources. Groundwater is a critical source of fresh drinking water for almost half of the world’s population and it also supplies irrigated agriculture. Groundwater is also important in sustaining streams, lakes, wetlands, and associated ecosystems. But despite this, knowledge about the impact of climate change on groundwater quantity and quality is limited. Direct impacts of climate change on natural processes (groundwater recharge, discharge, storage, saltwater intrusion, biogeochemical reactions, chemical fate and transport) may be exacerbated by human activities (indirect impacts). Increased groundwater abstraction, for example, may be needed in areas with unsustainable or contaminated surface water resources caused by droughts and floods. Climate change effects on groundwater resources are, therefore, closely linked to other global change drivers, including population growth, urbanization and land-use change, coupled with other socio-economic and political trends. Groundwater response to global changes is a complex function that depends on climate change and variability, topography, aquifer characteristics, vegetation dynamics, and human activities. This volume contains case studies from diverse aquifer systems, scientific methods, and climatic settings that have been conducted globally under the framework of the UNESCO-IHP project Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (GRAPHIC). This book presents a current and global synthesis of scientific findings and policy recommendations for scientists, water managers and policy makers towards adaptive management of groundwater sustainability under future climate change and variability.

National and global security can be assessed in many ways but one underlying factor for all humanity is access to reliable sources of water for drinking, sanitation, food production and manufacturing industry. In many parts of the world, population growth and an escalating demand for water already threaten the sustainable management of available water supplies. Global warming, climate change and rising sea level are expected to intensify the resource sustainability issue in many water-stressed regions of the world by reducing the annual supply of renewable fresh water and promoting the intrusion of saline water into aquifers along sea coasts, where 50% of the global population reside. Pro-active resource management decisions are required, but such efforts would be futile unless reliable predictions can be made about the impact of the changing global conditions on the water cycle and the quality and availability of critical water reserves. Addressing this wide spectrum of issues, a team of expert authors discusses here the impacts of climate change on the global water resources, the long-term resource management goals at global and local scales, the data requirements and the scientific and technical advances necessary to mitigate the associated impacts.

Academic Paper from the year 2014 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Meteorology, Aeronomy, Climatology, language: English, abstract: Climate change poses uncertainties to the supply and management of water resources. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the global mean surface temperature has increased 0.6 0.2 oC since 1861, and predicts an increase of 2 to 4 oC over the next 100 years. Temperature increases also affect the hydrologic cycle by directly increasing evaporation of available surface water and vegetation transpiration. Consequently, these changes can influence precipitation amounts, timings and intensity rates, and indirectly impact the flux and storage of water in surface and subsurface reservoirs (i.e., lakes, soil moisture, groundwater). In addition, there may be other associated impacts, such as sea water intrusion, water quality deterioration, potable water shortage, etc. While climate change affects surface water resources directly through changes in the major long-term climate variables such as air temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration, the relationship between the changing climate variables and groundwater is more complicated and poorly understood. The greater variability in rainfall could mean more frequent and prolonged periods of high or low groundwater levels, and saline intrusion in coastal aquifers due to sea level rise and resource reduction. Groundwater resources are related to climate change through the direct interaction with surface water resources, such as lakes and rivers, and indirectly through the recharge process. The direct effect of climate change on groundwater resources depends upon the change in the volume and distribution of groundwater recharge. Therefore, quantifying the impact of climate change on groundwater resources requires not only reliable forecasting of changes in the major climatic variables, but also accurate estimation of groundwater recharge. This art"

There is a general consensus that for the next few decades at least, the Earth will continue its warming. This will inevitably bring about serious environmental problems. For human society, the most severe will be those related to alterations of the hydrological cycle, which is already heavily influenced by human activities. Climate change will directly affect groundwater recharge, groundwater quality and the freshwater-seawater interface. The variations of groundwater storage inevitably entail a variety of geomorphological and engineering effects. In the areas where water resources are likely to diminish, groundwater will be one of the main solutions to prevent drought. In spite of its paramount importance, the issue of 'Climate Change and Groundwater' has been neglected. This volume presents some of the current understanding of the topic.

A methodology is developed for linking climate and groundwater models to investigate future impacts of climate change on groundwater resources using two case study sites of unconfined aquifers in southern British Columbia and northern Washington State. One semi-arid site is compared with one wet coastal site. The two groundwater systems differ in river-aquifer interactions, recharge, aquifer heterogeneity, scale, and groundwater use. Climate change scenarios from the Canadian Global Coupled Model 1 model runs for 1961-2000,2010-2039,2040-2069 and 2070-2099 are downscaled to local conditions, modelled at daily time scales using a stochastic weather generator, and applied to the spatially-distributed infiltration model. At one site the basin-scale runoff is also downscaled to predict river discharge and river-aquifer interactions in future climates. The impacts of predicted climate change on the groundwater system for each site are modelled in three-dimensions using Visual MODFLOW. Results and methodologies are compared and discussed.

Water Interactions with Energy, Environment, Food and Agriculture is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The theme discusses water's importance to energy generation, the environment, food, and agriculture. It begins with an analysis of the interrelations between water and the environment. Consideration is given to the relationship between water and human health. Water's dynamic role in the food production process; Ecosystem Character; Water Quality and Environment; Climate Change and Water Resources; Water Resources For Agricultural and Food Production; Water Balance in Agriculture Areas; Water Contamination from Rural Production Systems; Water Interactions with Human Development ;Economic Development; and Cultural Development are considered. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, Managers, and Decision makers and NGOs

This volume discusses climate change impacts on groundwater quality in arid and semi-arid regions, and provides human health risk assessments due to pollution of surface and groundwater. The book presents recent trends in monitoring groundwater management and implementing pollution mitigation strategies, including practices involving remote sensing and GIS techniques, entropy water quality index, weighted arithmetic water quality index, fuzzy logic applications, and improved irrigation methods. The book also outlines hydrological processes in arid and semi-arid regions and hydrochemical properties of surface and groundwater as a necessary background for understanding how pollution impacts groundwater quality and resources, and how geographical modeling of hydrological processes can aid in human health risk assessments. The book is intended for academics, administrators, policymakers, social scientists, and professionals involved in the various aspects of climate change impact on groundwater quality, hydrological process, pollution mitigation strategies, sustainable development, and environmental planning and management.

Climate Change Impacts on Coastal Soil and Water Management discusses the latest approaches for monitoring soil and water degradation in coastal regions under current climate conditions as well as potential further changes in the future. It presents an overview of climate change impacts on soil and water resources and summarizes the adaptation of practical options and strategies to minimize the potential risks, such as land degradation, seawater intrusion, droughts, ocean acidification, etc. The book aims to promote the adoption of best practices, which can be selected and implemented according to the respective local conditions. In addition, the recommendations for specific soil and water use planning strategies to address climate change can also be incorporated into national and international development plans. Features: • Presents the general properties and analysis of soil and water resource conditions for coastal regions • Offers practical advice for adapting to climate change through case studies from diverse coastal settings around the globe • Presents information in an accessible format for practitioners in soil and water sciences, as well as for those working in related disciplines • Includes end-of-chapter summaries and homework problems Written primarily for practicing soil, water, agricultural, and environmental scientists, this book provides the latest research on soil and water resources management, soil processes and properties, and the related effects of climate change. It assesses the effectiveness of the methods currently in use and under future climate change scenarios as well.

HYDROGEOLOGY Hydrogeology: Principles and Practice provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of hydrogeology to enable the reader to appreciate the significance of groundwater in meeting current and future environmental and sustainable water resource challenges. This new edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect advances in the field since 2014 and includes over 350 new references. The book presents a systematic approach to understanding groundwater starting with new insights into the distribution of groundwater in the Earth’s upper continental crust and the role of groundwater as an agent of global material and elemental fluxes. Following chapters explain the fundamental physical and chemical principles of hydrogeology, and later chapters feature groundwater field investigation techniques in the context of catchment processes, as well as chapters on groundwater quality and contaminant hydrogeology, including a section on emerging contamination from microplastic pollution. Unique features of the book are chapters on the application of environmental isotopes and noble gases in the interpretation of aquifer evolution, and a discussion of regional characteristics such as topography, compaction and variable fluid density on geological processes affecting past, present and future groundwater flow regimes. The last chapter discusses future challenges for groundwater governance and management for the long-term sustainability of groundwater resources, including the role of managed aquifer recharge, and examines the linkages between groundwater and climate change, including impacts on cold-region hydrogeology. Given the drive to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the interaction of groundwater in the exploitation of energy resources, including renewable resources and shale gas, is reviewed. Throughout the text, boxes and a set of colour plates drawn from the authors’ teaching and research experience are used to explain special topics and to illustrate international case studies ranging from transboundary aquifers and submarine groundwater discharge to the hydrogeochemical factors that have influenced the history of malting and brewing in Europe. The appendices provide conversion tables and useful reference material, and include review questions and exercises, with answers, to help develop the reader’s knowledge and problem-solving skills in hydrogeology. This highly informative and accessible textbook is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students primarily in earth sciences, environmental sciences and physical geography with an interest in hydrogeology or groundwater topics. The book will also find use among practitioners in hydrogeology, soil science, civil engineering and landscape planning who are involved in environmental and resource protection issues requiring an understanding of groundwater.