Linking Climate Change and Groundwater

Abstract

Projected global change includes groundwater systems, which are linked with changes in climate over space and time. Consequently, global change affects key aspects of subsurface hydrology (including soil water, deeper vadose zone water, and unconfined and confined aquifer waters), surface-groundwater interactions, and water quality. Research and publications addressing projected climate effects on subsurface water are catching up with surface water studies. Even so, technological advances, new insights and understanding are needed regarding terrestrial-subsurface systems, biophysical process interactions, and feedbacks to atmospheric processes. Importantly, groundwater resources need to be assessed in the context of atmospheric CO 2 enrichment, warming trends and associated changes in intensities and frequencies of wet and dry periods, even though projections in space and time are uncertain. Potential feedbacks of groundwater on the global climate system are largely unknown, but may be stronger than previously assumed. Groundwater has been depleted in many regions, but management of subsurface storage remains an important option to meet the combined demands of agriculture, industry (particularly the energy sector), municipal and domestic water supply, and ecosystems. In many regions, groundwater is central to the water-food-energy-climate nexus. Strategic adaptation to global change must include flexible, integrated groundwater management over many decades. Adaptation itself must be adaptive over time. Further research is needed to improve our understanding of climate and groundwater interactions and to guide integrated groundwater management.

Coevolution of Hydrological Cycle Components under Climate Change: The Case of the Garonne River in France

“…For example, a lost from 4 to 10 cm of snowfall per decade have been identified over the last century [9][10][11]. Groundwaters are impacted as well but, in this instance, it is particularly difficult to separate the role of climate change from other anthropogenic interferences [12][13][14]. Their recharge is nonetheless expected to decrease over Europe, with the exception of a short winter period in the northern parts of the continent [15].…”

Analysis of groundwater level trend and groundwater drought using Standard Groundwater Level Index: a case study of an eastern river basin of West Bengal, India

“…In recent years, global warming together with climate change has led to the deficit of precipitation and an increase in evapotranspiration through a temperature rise directly influencing the recharge of a region. Variability of precipitation, temperature and evapotranspiration as predicted from various climate change scenarios will affect the aquifers which depend on physical properties of recharge areas [1]. Recharge in the arid and semi-arid regions sometimes changes due to the minimal changes in the precipitation volume [1].…”

“…Variability of precipitation, temperature and evapotranspiration as predicted from various climate change scenarios will affect the aquifers which depend on physical properties of recharge areas [1]. Recharge in the arid and semi-arid regions sometimes changes due to the minimal changes in the precipitation volume [1]. The rise in mean global temperature will have a 30% decrease in groundwater recharge for 4% of the land area and 70% of the decrease in recharge in 1% of the land area globally [2].…”

The Response of Groundwater Level to Climate Change and Human Activities in Baotou City, China

“…As a "hidden resource", it is more complicated to establish or demonstrate the impact of climate change and climate variability for groundwater than for surface water [13]. For example, groundwater residence times can range from days to tens of thousands of years, which delays and disperses the effects of climate and challenges efforts to detect responses in the groundwater to climate variability and change [14]. Renewable groundwater is directly tied to near-surface hydrological processes and is, thus, intricately tied to the overall hydrological cycle, and thus could be directly affected by climatic change [15].…”