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Climate Change Impact on Hydrological Cycle and Water Resources Management, 2nd Edition

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2024 | Viewed by 4287

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xander Wang

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Guest Editor

School of Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada
Interests: regional climate modeling; climate downscaling; hydrological modeling and flooding risk analysis; energy systems modeling under climate change; climate change impact assessment and adaptation studies; GIS; spatial modeling and analysis; big data analysis and visualization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Lirong Liu

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Guest Editor

Center for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
Interests: clean technology; policy development; computable general equilibrium model development and application; inpu–output/supply chain/ecological network/ material flow analysis; system optimization/partial equilibrium models
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global warming can alter the hydrological cycle in various ways, such as increased cloudiness and latent heat fluxes, leading to more intensive and frequent precipitation extreme events (e.g., droughts, storms, and floods). These extreme events have received increased attention in the past few decades because of the associated economic losses, deaths, and many other severe consequences for human society. Climate change can also cause significant shifts in the spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation, bringing many unprecedented challenges for water resource management at regional and local scales. In addition to these common hydrological challenges, coastal communities are further threatened by rising sea levels and increasing storm surge as well as erosion. Adapting to these challenges requires a thorough understanding of the potential impacts of climate change from a long-term and systematic perspective.

This Special Issue focuses on the latest research advances in hydroclimate, coastal hydrology, hydrological extremes, and sustainable water resource management. Submissions in the form of research articles, reviews, perspectives, and case studies are all welcome. Research topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Climate change modeling;
Climate downscaling;
Hydroclimate modeling;
Flood modeling;
Hydrological cycle;
Hydrological extremes (e.g., droughts, storms, and floods);
Coastal hydrological challenges (e.g., sea level rise, coastal erosion, and storm surge);
Water resources monitoring and management;
Sustainable irrigation.

Dr. Xander Wang
Dr. Lirong Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 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 modeling
climate downscaling
hydroclimate modeling
flood modeling
hydrological cycle
hydrological extremes (e.g., droughts, storms, and floods)
coastal hydrological challenges (e.g., sea level rise, coastal erosion, and storm surge)
water resource monitoring and management
sustainable irrigation

Related Special Issue

Climate Change Impact on Hydrological Cycle and Water Resources Management in Water (13 articles)

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5595 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Future Climate Change Impacts on Groundwater Recharge Using Hydrological Modeling in the Choushui River Alluvial Fan, Taiwan

by Thi-My-Linh Ngo, Shih-Jung Wang and Pei-Yuan Chen

Water 2024, 16(3), 419; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16030419 - 27 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1826

Abstract

This research delves into the crucial role of groundwater in underpinning ecosystems and human resilience amidst drastic and unpredictable climate change, particularly as water resources face increasing sustainability concerns due to population surges and climate change. Utilizing a combined approach of SWAT-MODFLOW models, we estimate the streamflow discharge and groundwater recharge in the Choushui River Alluvial Fan, Taiwan. These models allow evaluation of the distribution and proportion of recharge areas as well as the accuracy and the potential influence of future climate change scenarios on groundwater recharge. The findings show a strong correlation between the simulation and actual observations, evidenced by the Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficients (NSE) of 0.920 and 0.846 for calibration and validation in the Choushui River, and 0.549 and 0.548 for the Pei-Kang River, respectively. The model demonstrates a reliable representation of the watershed response, supported by robust statistical performance. The analysis reveals the variable impacts of climate change on groundwater recharge, dependent on the chosen scenario and period. Some scenarios indicate that the maximum observed increase in groundwater recharge is 66.36% under the RCP2.6 scenario in the long-term period (2061–2080), while the minimum observed increase is 29.67% under the RCP4.5 scenario in the initial time frame; however, all demonstrate a decrease ranging from 23.05% to 41.92% across different RCPs in the impact of climate change over time, suggesting a potential long-term decrease in the impact of climate change on groundwater recharge. This study provides indispensable insights into the spatial hotspots in the top fan and the potential range of impact rates of climate change on groundwater recharge, underscoring the importance of continuous research and the thorough evaluation of multiple scenarios. Moreover, we establish a primary framework for using a top-ranked MIROC5 projection of general circulation models (GCMs) to delineate an essential premise that facilitates the advanced exploration of alternative scenario augmentations, bolstering the comprehensive investigation of climate change impacts on groundwater recharge. It is proposed that these findings serve as a guidepost for sustainable water resource management and policy-making in the face of climate change and escalating water demand. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Impact on Hydrological Cycle and Water Resources Management, 2nd Edition)

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16 pages, 9185 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimized Irrigated Water Management Using Numerical Flow Modeling Coupled with Finite Element Model: A Case Study of Rechna Doab, Pakistan

by Muhammad Sanaullah, Xiuquan Wang, Sajid Rashid Ahmad, Kamran Mirza, Muhammad Qasim Mahmood and Muhammad Kamran

Water 2023, 15(23), 4193; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15234193 - 04 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 846

Abstract

The fate of agriculture in Pakistan is predominantly concerned with excessive water mining threats to the subsurface water resources. The current study integrates the Visual MODFLOW-2000 application to estimate the water balance of an aquifer bounded by the Chenab River in the West and the Ravi River in the East, which covers an area of about 2.98 million hectares. An assimilated method of groundwater flow is employed to characterize the flow dynamics of the Rechna Doab aquifer. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and a mesh of discretized cell size (2500 m) were incorporated into the model design. The conceptual model of the alluvial aquifer involves trifold vertical boundaries (an initial fold thickness set up to 150 m). The model input parameters are precipitation, seepage through irrigation, return flow, recharge, hydraulic conductivity and evapotranspiration. Empirical relations are established (at the basin scale) for the discharge input of irrigation canals. Model results confirm that groundwater flow follows the topographic configuration of the study area (i.e., northeast to southwest), and the seepage from irrigating canals and rainfall appeared to be the main source of groundwater recharge among various resources. The zone budget study under steady state simulation showed that the total direct recharge to the aquifer is calculated as 522,910 acre foot. The simulated water balance of the studied aquifer reflects more fluctuations in river leakage. The predictive optimized model reflects an adaptation of canal lining and installation of additional tube wells that will minimize canal seepage by 70% and lead to the reclamation of 37,000 acres of water-logged land for normal cropping. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Impact on Hydrological Cycle and Water Resources Management, 2nd Edition)

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18 pages, 4271 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantifying the Long-Term Performance of Rainwater Harvesting in Cyclades, Greece

by Ioannis Zarikos, Nadia Politi, Nikolaos Gounaris, Stelios Karozis, Diamando Vlachogiannis and Athanasios Sfetsos

Water 2023, 15(17), 3038; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15173038 - 24 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1296

Abstract

South European and Mediterranean countries traditionally suffer from water scarcity, especially the regions around the Mediterranean. In Cyclades, the effects of drought have historically been observed and tackled with small-scale applications, with the most efficient method being rainwater harvesting (RWH). RWH is an inherent aspect of the local population’s culture and architecture, since most houses have built-in water tanks and flat roofs to harvest as much rainwater as possible. In recent decades, the increase in local population and tourism have added additional stress to the limited water resources of the Cycladic islands. To overcome water shortages, most of the islands are equipped with desalination plants. Despite the use of these plants, RWH is still a vital source of water that is free and has zero carbon footprint. Thus, it is important to compare, assess and quantify the performance of this traditional water conserving method as a key water source for the islands’ water resources management, today and for the coming decades. In this research, we investigate and quantify the future performance of rainwater harvesting applications and their contribution to continuous, sustainable, and climate-resilient water supply. The results show a decrease in rainwater harvesting potential in most of the islands, as well as the negative effect of touristic activity on per capita water availability on the islands. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Impact on Hydrological Cycle and Water Resources Management, 2nd Edition)

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