Topic: The Changing Role of Groundwater in the Global Water Cycle under Climate Change

Speaker: Prof. Yoshihide Wada, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology（KAUST）

Time: 3:30-5:00pm October 25, 2024

Venue: Meeting Room A901, IGSNRR

Brief Introduction to the report:

Significant impacts of climate change and human activities have been observed on groundwater resources worldwide. These include changes in groundwater recharge, storage and distribution. Climate change has altered groundwater recharge rates, induced greater groundwater contribution to streamflow in glacierized catchments, and enhanced groundwater flow in permafrost areas.

Human impacts on groundwater include groundwater pumping, regional flow modification, water table and storage alterations, and the redistribution of embedded groundwater in foods globally. Notably, (nonrenewable) groundwater extraction contributes to sea-level rise, which is still one of the largest sources of the uncertainty in global sea level budget. Groundwater’s role in the global water cycle is becoming more dynamic and complex.

Quantifying these changes is essential to ensure availability of fresh groundwater resources for agriculture, industry, households and ecosystem functioning. This talk highlights the current status and future challenges in the changing role of groundwater in the global water cycle.

Welcome to the Forum!

Hosted by Key Laboratory of Water Cycle & Related Land Surface Processes, CAS