Impact of Climate Change on Groundwater: Projections of Future Availability and Sustainable Use
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 596
Special Issue Editor
Interests: hydrology and water resources; water-saving irrigation technology; ecological hydrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Globally, climate change has become a key factor influencing ecosystems and human life. In recent years, extreme climate events have occurred frequently, glaciers have been melting at an accelerated rate, and sea levels have been continuously rising. These phenomena have profoundly altered the hydrological cycle of the Earth. Groundwater, as an important source of fresh water for humans, accounts for approximately 30% of the total global fresh water. It plays an indispensable role in maintaining ecological balance, ensuring agricultural irrigation, and providing water for residents. However, climate change is quietly altering the recharge, runoff, and discharge conditions of groundwater, posing a potential threat to its future availability. If these changes cannot be scientifically predicted and sustainable utilization strategies cannot be formulated, it may lead to a series of serious problems such as water shortages and land subsidence. Therefore, in-depth research on the impact of climate change on groundwater is extremely urgent.
This Special Issue aims to predict future climate trends through different climate scenarios, such as those based on the RCP simulation series. It analyzes the changes in factors like precipitation and temperature and their impacts on groundwater. It quantifies the available groundwater volume under different scenarios and studies sustainable utilization strategies by integrating recharge and discharge processes. It predicts the dynamic of available groundwater volume in future climate change and provides theoretical and data support for responding to climate change and ensuring the long-term stable supply and scientific utilization of groundwater resources. This research closely adheres to sustainability and focuses on the rational development and utilization of groundwater, an important resource under climate change. It can provide key data and theoretical support for sustainable water resource management and takes into account the coordinated development of humans and the environment, pursuing the sustainable utilization of resources.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but is not limited to) the following:
- Assessment of groundwater availability under intense human activities;
- Research on groundwater resource management under climate change conditions;
- Groundwater risk assessment under climate change conditions;
- Assessment of the impact of climate change in different future scenarios;
- Research on the applicability of future climate scenario data;
- The impact of future climate change on groundwater quality;
- Analysis of the available quantity and sustainability of groundwater under future climate change.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Xinlin He
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- future climate change
- climate scenario prediction
- groundwater
- available quantity
- sustainable utilization
- groundwater risk assessment
- water resources management
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