Climate Change and Responses for Water and Environmental Security

A special issue of Climate (ISSN 2225-1154).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 January 2023) | Viewed by 23073

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: sustainable and integrated water resources management; hydroinformatics; engineering hydrology and modelling; simulation of hydroelectric projects; climate change and integration to water resources
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Guest Editor
Department of Meteorology Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: climatology; synoptic climatology; weather types; dynamic climatology; teleconnection patterns; climate change; regional climate models; dynamical downscaling extremes—climate hazards—statistical climatology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability, as well as mitigation, are core thematic elements of the forthcoming IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), with fresh water being among the principal areas of investigation.

The unpredictability of available water resources in various regions in the near future, the uncertainty of groundwater quality and quantity due to overexploitation, and the increase in extreme events, such as floods or hydrologic droughts, with direct impacts on water infrastructures and facilities and on ecosystems, are crucial issues not only for securing human life, but also for maintaining the associated environmental services.

This Special Issue will focus on the most recent developments/advances in climate change research regarding water resources in diverse areas and their applications. The Special issue is also concentrated on providing research with a focus on climate change adaptation/mitigation measures and actions satisfying future water demands and assessments of climate change impacts with regard to environmental protection.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • Climate change and impacts on river, lake, and groundwater hydrology;
  • Climate change and impacts on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their services;
  • Simulations of the water cycle at basin or regional scales;
  • Climate change and hydrological modeling;
  • Assessments on mitigation measures and gained benefits;
  • Observed and projected water-related hazards, including floods, droughts, and landslides;
  • Adaptation measures, application of actions, and foreseen responses;
  • Sustainability of current or future hydraulic projects under climate change;
  • Integrated water resources management as a solution to climate change.

Dr. Charalampos Skoulikaris
Dr. Christina Anagnostopoulou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change and hydrological modelling
  • water cycle
  • extreme events
  • impacts of climate change on hydraulic structures
  • climate change adaptation

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 4412 KiB  
Article
Climate Scenarios for Coastal Flood Vulnerability Assessments: A Case Study for the Ligurian Coastal Region
by Alice Re, Lorenzo Minola and Alessandro Pezzoli
Climate 2023, 11(3), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11030056 - 1 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3411
Abstract
Extreme sea levels and coastal flooding are projected to be among the most uncertain and severe consequences of climate change. In response, a wide development of coastal vulnerability assessment methodologies has been observed in research to support societal resilience to future coastal flood [...] Read more.
Extreme sea levels and coastal flooding are projected to be among the most uncertain and severe consequences of climate change. In response, a wide development of coastal vulnerability assessment methodologies has been observed in research to support societal resilience to future coastal flood risks. This work aims to explore the scope of application of index-based methodologies for coastal vulnerability assessment, in terms of their suitability to convey information on variations in climate variables potentially leading to sea-level changes and inundation. For this purpose, the InVEST Coastal Vulnerability model was coupled for the first time with the ERA5 reanalysis and used to develop a case study assessment of the biophysical exposure component of vulnerability to coastal flooding for Liguria, an Italian coastal region facing the Mediterranean Sea. Different scenarios of wind speed and wave power were created in order to test the sensitivity of this approach to climate data inputs. The results support the applicability of this approach to provide a preliminary grasp of local vulnerability to coastal inundation. Yet, this work also highlights how the method’s data aggregation and indicator computation processes result in its insensitivity to wind and wave variations, and therefore in its unsuitability to reproduce climate scenarios. The implications of these findings for research methodology and regarding the operationalisation of vulnerability assessment results are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Responses for Water and Environmental Security)
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30 pages, 13168 KiB  
Article
Climate Change Impacts on the Hydrology of the Brahmaputra River Basin
by Wahid Palash, Sagar Ratna Bajracharya, Arun Bhakta Shrestha, Shahriar Wahid, Md. Shahadat Hossain, Tarun Kanti Mogumder and Liton Chandra Mazumder
Climate 2023, 11(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11010018 - 5 Jan 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7265
Abstract
Climate change (CC) is impacting the hydrology in the basins of the Himalayan region. Thus, this could have significant implications for people who rely on basin water for their lives and livelihoods. However, there are very few studies on the Himalayan river basins. [...] Read more.
Climate change (CC) is impacting the hydrology in the basins of the Himalayan region. Thus, this could have significant implications for people who rely on basin water for their lives and livelihoods. However, there are very few studies on the Himalayan river basins. This study aims to fill this gap by presenting a water balance for the Brahmaputra River Basin using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Results show that snowmelt contributed about 6% of the total annual flow of the whole Brahmaputra, 21% of the upper Brahmaputra, and 5% of the middle Brahmaputra. The basin-wide average annual water yield (AWY) is projected to increase by 8%, with the maximum percentage increase in the pre-monsoon season. The annual snowmelt is projected to decrease by 17%, with a marked decrease during the monsoon but an increase in other seasons and the greatest percentage reduction in the upper Brahmaputra (22%). The contribution of snowmelt to AWY is projected to decrease while rain runoff will increase across the entire Brahmaputra and also in the upper and middle Brahmaputra. The impact assessment suggests that the upper Brahmaputra will be most affected by CC, followed by the middle Brahmaputra. The results can be used to support future water management planning in the basin taking into account the potential impact of CC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Responses for Water and Environmental Security)
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23 pages, 4948 KiB  
Article
Hydrological and Meteorological Variability in the Volga River Basin under Global Warming by 1.5 and 2 Degrees
by Andrey Kalugin
Climate 2022, 10(7), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli10070107 - 15 Jul 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3584
Abstract
The idea of the research to assess the impact of 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming in the 21st century on the runoff formation in the Volga basin corresponds to the Paris agreement on climate change 2016 with the main goal to [...] Read more.
The idea of the research to assess the impact of 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming in the 21st century on the runoff formation in the Volga basin corresponds to the Paris agreement on climate change 2016 with the main goal to keep the global air temperature rise to below 2 °C relative to the pre-industrial level and to take measures to limit warming to 1.5 °C by the end of the 21st century. The purpose of this study was to obtain physically based results of changes in the water regime of the Volga basin rivers under global warming by 1.5 °C and 2 °C relative to pre-industrial values. The physical and mathematical model of runoff generation ECOMAG (ECOlogical Model for Applied Geophysics) was applied in calculations using data from global climate models (GCMs). The estimation of flow anomalies of the Volga River and its major tributaries showed a decrease in annual runoff by 10–11% relative to the period from 1970 to 1999. The largest relative decrease in runoff by 17–20% was noted for the Oka and Upper Volga rivers, while the Kama River had only a 1–5% decrease. The Volga winter runoff increased by 17% and 28% under global warming by 1.5 °C and 2 °C, respectively, and negative runoff anomalies during the spring flood and the summer–autumn period turned out to be in the range of 21 to 23%. Despite the increase in precipitation, the role of evaporation in the water balance of the Volga basin will only increase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Responses for Water and Environmental Security)
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16 pages, 2116 KiB  
Article
Hydrology across Disciplines: Organization and Application Experiences of a Public Hydrological Service in Italy
by Alessandro Allodi, Letizia Angelo, Fabio Bordini, Monica Branchi, Elisa Comune, Mauro Del Longo, Giuseppe Nicolosi, Mauro Noberini, Filippo Pizzera, Alessio Pugliese, Giuseppe Ricciardi, Fabrizio Tonelli, Franca Tugnoli and Enrica Zenoni
Climate 2022, 10(3), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli10030032 - 28 Feb 2022
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Abstract
Water is a fundamental resource for human life and nature; flood management, water supply systems and water protection policies are a few examples of equally important disciplines across the whole hydrological cycle. The present work focuses on the creation and sharing of hydrological [...] Read more.
Water is a fundamental resource for human life and nature; flood management, water supply systems and water protection policies are a few examples of equally important disciplines across the whole hydrological cycle. The present work focuses on the creation and sharing of hydrological knowledge within public activities, with regard to materials and methods adopted for developing and supplying hydrological information, suitable to different stakeholders needs, throughout different disciplines and sectors of environment, economy, society, as well as research and analysis. The aim of this work is to better understand the market in order to increase the value of hydrological data, products and services, and to reduce potential gaps and overlapping areas. The method we developed is based on the example of the Hydrological Service of Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy. Institutional, legal and territorial frameworks as well as agency organization, materials, methods, instruments, activities, products and results are briefly described, focusing on those supporting civil and environmental protection, water management, infrastructure design, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. We discuss the role of a public Administration in interdisciplinary activities, the links between the general background (e.g., territory, society, rules), organizations, actors, resources, tools, processes and results, by highlighting, where possible, a potential starting point for future research studies. Finally, this paper adopts a novel linguistic style, based on an informal format, in order to explore the set-up and follow-up of the Hydrological Service’s initiatives, with the final aim of sparking curiosity and building awareness, from different sectors and disciplines, which, ultimately, may benefit from the presented approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Responses for Water and Environmental Security)
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Review

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13 pages, 1382 KiB  
Review
Phosphorous Nanofertilizers for Precise Application in Rice Cultivation as an Adaptation to Climate Change
by Raquel Saraiva, Quirina Ferreira, Gonçalo C. Rodrigues and Margarida Oliveira
Climate 2022, 10(11), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli10110183 - 20 Nov 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4439
Abstract
Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population, which is still growing. The great dependence that agriculture, and rice specially, has on fertilizers alongside extreme events that result from climatic change creates an urge for adaptation. Fertilizers are [...] Read more.
Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population, which is still growing. The great dependence that agriculture, and rice specially, has on fertilizers alongside extreme events that result from climatic change creates an urge for adaptation. Fertilizers are expensive, finite and a potential environmental problem. Their precise application, by the use of slow-release nanofertilizers, thus avoiding losses and consequently reducing the pressure on water resources, is one step forward in this adaptation. It can reduce costs and protect the environment while ensuring food production. Phosphorous is very important for rice, since it is involved in its flowering and root development, and its low availability to the plants constitutes a serious problem. The delivery of phosphorous through the crop cycle in the form of slow-release phosphorus nanofertilizer (Pnf) instead of the conventional annual bulk application reduces the amount of nutrients applied and increases the absorption by the crop. Combining the fertilizing effect with the use of natural stimulant compounds such as chitosan can protect the crop from diseases and increase its resilience to stress. The use of Pnf reduces the pressure on water resources and avoids imbalances in soil nutrients, thus responding to climatic change challenges and abiotic stresses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Responses for Water and Environmental Security)
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