Sustainable and Robust Water Futures in the Context of Global Change

Dear Colleagues,

Water demand increases as a result of population growth, food production, growing industrialisation, land use changes (including urbanisation) and climate change, which puts massive pressure on global water resources and biodiversity. The increasing demand and pressure lead to significant hydrological cycle modifications, challenging the already-critical water security situation. In this context, the interconnection between human activities, the hydrological cycle and the environment is currently stronger than ever, to the point where the traditional representation of the water cycle is considered insufficient and outdated. Particularly, alleviating scarcity in drought periods, combatting flooding, improving the quantity and quality of water and maintaining a sustainable balance between natural ecosystems and human use are crucial for securing robust water futures that do not breach planetary boundaries.

This Special Issue entitled “Sustainable and Robust Groundwater Futures in the Context of Global Change” aims to explore new representations and models, methods and tools for relevant local-scale climate change impact assessments that draw upon the increasing number of global- to continental-scale hydrological models, innovative earth observation and machine-learning-aided methods, and knowledge from local data, models and stakeholders. Climate change impact projections of the hydrological cycle require simulations with coupled hydrologic and climate models, and knowledge-guided machine learning which can be used to enhance the outputs of those models, and to circumvent computational limitations of physically based hydrological models. Studies on indicators and the integrated modelling and monitoring of global change impacts on coastal aquifers or groundwater-dependent or groundwater-associated terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are also welcomed.

Dr. Hans Jørgen Henriksen
Dr. Hélène Bessière
Dr. David Pulido-Velázquez
Dr. Christian Massari
Prof. Dr. Riccardo Rigon
Dr. Klaus Hinsby
Dr. Peter van der Keur
Guest Editors

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