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 worlds population and it also supplies irrigated agriculture. Groundwater is also important in sustaining streams, lakes, wetlands, and associated ecosystems. But despite this,

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.

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.

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.

Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.

Water Conservation in the Era of Global Climate Change reviews key issues surrounding climate change and water resources. The book brings together experts from a variety of fields and perspectives, providing a comprehensive view on how climate change impacts water resources, how water pollution impacts climate change, and how to assess potential hazards and success stories on managing and addressing current issues in the field. Topics also include assessing policy impacts, innovative water reuse strategies, and information on impacts on fisheries and agriculture including food scarcity. This book is an excellent tool for researchers and professionals in Climate Change, Climate Services and Water Resources, and those trying to combat the impacts and issues related to Global and Planetary Change. - Covers a wide range of theoretical and practical issues related to how climate change impacts water resources and adaptation, with extended influence on agriculture, food and water security, policymaking, etc. - Reviews mathematical tools and simulations models on predicting potential hazards from climate change in such a way they can be useful to readers from a variety of levels of mathematical expertise - Examines the potential impacts on agriculture and drinking water quality - Includes case studies of successful management of water and pollutants that contribute to climate change

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.

The existence of the human race has created inevitable effects on our surrounding environment. To prevent further harm to the world’s ecosystems, it becomes imperative to assess mankind’s impact on and create sustainability initiatives to maintain the world’s ecosystems. Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly material on the scientific, technical, and socio-economic factors related to climate change assessment. Providing a comprehensive overview of perspectives on sustainability protection of environmental resources, this book is ideally designed for policy makers, professionals, government officials, upper-level students, and academics interested in emerging research on climate change.

This book provides insights and a capacity to understand the climate change phenomenon, its impact on water resources, and possible remedial measures. The impact of climate change on water resources is a global issue and cause for concern. Water resources in many countries are extremely stressed, and climate change along with burgeoning populations, the rise in living standards, and increasing demand on resources are factors which serve to exacerbate this stress. The chapters provide information on tools that will be useful to mitigate the adverse consequences of natural disasters. Fundamental to addressing these issues is hydrological modelling which is discussed in this book and ways to combat climate change as an important aspect of water resource management.

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.