Download or read book A Case Study for Assessing the Hydrologic Impacts of Climate Change at the Watershed Scale written by Martinus Hubertus Brouwers and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the advent of the industrial era atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have been on the rise leading to increasing global mean temperatures. Through increasing temperatures and changes to distributions of precipitation, climate change will intensify the hydrologic cycle which will directly impact surface water sources while the impacts to groundwater are reflected through changes in recharge to the water table. The IPCC (2001) reports that limited investigations have been conducted regarding the impacts of climate change to groundwater resources. The complexity of evaluating the hydrologic impacts of climate change requires the use of a numerical model. This thesis investigates the state of the science of conjunctive surface-subsurface water modeling with the aim of determining a suitable approach for conducting long-term transient simulations at the watershed scale. As a result of this investigation, a coupled modeling approach is adopted using HELP3 to simulate surface and vadose zone processes and HydroSphere to simulate saturated flow of groundwater. This approach is applied to the Alder Creek Watershed, which is a subwatershed of the Grand River Watershed and located near Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. The Alder Creek Watershed is a suitable case study for the evaluation of climate change scenarios as it has been well characterized from previous studies and it is relatively small in size. Two contrasting scenarios of climate change (i.e., drier and wetter futures) are evaluated relative to a reference scenario that is based on the historical climatic record of the region. The simulation results show a strong impact upon the timing of hydrologic processes, shifting the spring snow melt to earlier in the year leading to an overall decrease in runoff and increase in infiltration for both drier and wetter future climate scenarios. Both climate change scenarios showed a marked increase to overall evapotranspiration which is most pronounced in the summer months. The impacts to groundwater are more subdued relative to surface water. This is attributed to the climate forcing perturbations being attenuated by the shift of the spring snow melt and the transient storage effects of the vadose zone, which can be significant given the hummocky terrain of the region. The simulation results show a small overall rise of groundwater elevations resulting from the simulated increase in infiltration for both climate change scenarios.

Download or read book Watershed Scale Climate Change Projections for Use in Hydrologic Studies written by Muhammad Zia ur Rahman Hashmi and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global Circulation Models (GCMs) are considered the most reliable source to provide the necessary data for climate change studies. At present, there is a wide variety of GCMs, which can be used for future projections of climate change using different emission scenarios. However, for assessing the hydrological impacts of climate change at the watershed and the regional scale, the GCM outputs cannot be used directly due to the mismatch in the spatial resolution between the GCMs and hydrological models. In order to use the output of a GCM for conducting hydrological impact studies, downscaling is used to convert the coarse spatial resolution of the GCM output into a fine resolution. In broad terms, downscaling techniques can be classified as dynamical downscaling and statistical downscaling. Statistical downscaling approaches are further classified into three broad categories, namely: (1) weather typing; (2) weather generators; and (3) multiple regression-based. For the assessment of hydrologic impacts of climate change at the watershed scale, statistical downscaling is usually preferred over dynamical downscaling as station scale information required for such studies may not be directly obtained through dynamical downscaling. Among the variables commonly downscaled, precipitation downscaling is still quite challenging, which has been recognised by many recent studies. Moreover, statistical downscaling methods are usually considered to be not very effective for simulation of precipitation, especially extreme precipitation events. On the other hand, the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events are very likely to be impacted by envisaged climate change in most parts of the world, thus posing the risk of increased floods and droughts. In this situation, hydrologists should only rely on those statistical downscaling tools that are equally efficient for simulating mean precipitation as well as extreme precipitation events. There is a wide variety of statistical downscaling methods available under the three categories mentioned above, and each method has its strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, no single method has been developed which is considered universal for all kinds of conditions and all variables. In this situation there is a need for multi-model downscaling studies to produce probabilistic climate change projections rather than a point estimate of a projected change. In order to address some of the key issues in the field of statistical downscaling research, this thesis study includes the evaluation of two well established and popular downscaling models, i.e. the Statistical DownScaling Model (SDSM) and Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG), in terms of their ability to downscale precipitation, with its mean and extreme characteristics, for the Clutha River watershed in New Zealand. It also presents the development of a novel statistical downscaling tool using Gene Expression Programming (GEP) and compares its performance with the SDSM-a widely used tool of similar nature. The GEP downscaling model proves to be a simpler and more efficient solution for precipitation downscaling than the SDSM model. Also, a major part of this study comprises of an evaluation of all the three downscaling models i.e. the SDSM, the LARS-WG and the GEP, in terms of their ability to simulate and downscale the frequency of extreme precipitation events, by fitting a Generalised Extreme Value (GEV) distribution to the annual maximum data obtained from the three models. Out of the three models, the GEP model appears to be the least efficient in simulating the frequency of extreme precipitation events while the other two models show reasonable capability in this regard. Furthermore, the research conducted for this thesis explores the development of a novel probabilistic multi-model ensemble of the three downscaling models, involved in the thesis study, using a Bayesian statistical framework and presents probabilistic projections of precipitation change for the Clutha watershed. In this way, the thesis endeavoured to contribute in the ongoing research related to statistical downscaling by addressing some of the key modern day issues highlighted by other leading researchers.

Download or read book Extreme Hydrology and Climate Variability written by Assefa M. Melesse and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2019-07-03 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extreme Hydrology and Climate Variability: Monitoring, Modelling, Adaptation and Mitigation is a compilation of contributions by experts from around the world who discuss extreme hydrology topics, from monitoring, to modeling and management. With extreme climatic and hydrologic events becoming so frequent, this book is a critical source, adding knowledge to the science of extreme hydrology. Topics covered include hydrometeorology monitoring, climate variability and trends, hydrological variability and trends, landscape dynamics, droughts, flood processes, and extreme events management, adaptation and mitigation. Each of the book's chapters provide background and theoretical foundations followed by approaches used and results of the applied studies. This book will be highly used by water resource managers and extreme event researchers who are interested in understanding the processes and teleconnectivity of large-scale climate dynamics and extreme events, predictability, simulation and intervention measures. Presents datasets used and methods followed to support the findings included, allowing readers to follow these steps in their own research Provides variable methodological approaches, thus giving the reader multiple hydrological modeling information to use in their work Includes a variety of case studies, thus making the context of the book relatable to everyday working situations for those studying extreme hydrology Discusses extreme event management, including adaption and mitigation

Download or read book Impacts of Urbanization and Climate Change on the Hydrological Cycle written by Lele Shu and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past one hundred years have seen a tremendous migration to towns and cities worldwide. This population movement exerts serious impacts on surface and ground- water supplies, soil health, and the sustainability of ecosystems. At the same time, climate change has become a decisive influence on water systems as land conversion continues. Historically, urbanization and climate change were two important determinants in the sustainability of water, food and energy supplies, as well as the increasing risk of environmental hazards.At the watershed scale the evolving land use change in urban areas does not only change the flood risk because of increasing impervious areas or by directly reducing the consumption of water by trees and plants, but also fundamentally alters the local water balance and the partitioning of water within the land-atmosphere- ecological system. Both land use change and climate change may influence the urban watershed in ways that reinforce or compensate sustainable management.In this study we applied two spatially explicit models to the problem. One is the Penn State Integrated Hydrologic Model (PIHM), a hydrologic model that partitions the water balance in space and time over the urban catchment. The other is the Cellular Automata Land Use Change Model (CALUC), a land use change model, which simulates the evolution of land use classes based on physical measures associated with population change and land use demand factors.We selected two study sites, one modern and one ancient, to highlight the capability of coupling catchment hydrology with land use change models. The goal is to assess the role of hydrologic change in urbanizing watersheds and to evaluate the contemporaneous impacts of climate change. The modern sites are the Conestoga watershed and the Lancaster PA urban center; the historical site is the ancient Maya city of Tikal in Peten region of Guatemala. In each setting, the essential data was developed and the models were used to evaluate how urbanization and land use change gradually altered the entire water balance often in unexpected ways.Chapter 1 introduces the overall problem and carries out a comprehensive literature review for each of the following chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the relevant models used in the study, and the role of model parameterization, particularly the important role that macropores have on maintaining a healthy soil and supporting soil moisture and recharge to groundwater. Chapter 2 also describes the Cellular Automata Land Use Change model, which is adopted here to simulate land use conditions. Chapter 3 then evaluates the past, present and future land use conditions in the Conestoga watershed and develops quantitative metrics of evaluation. Chapter 4 extends the Conestoga case study to evaluate hydrologic performance when dynamic land use and future climate change scenarios from IPCC are the drivers. An evaluation of the relative importance of land use and climate to hydrologic change is presented. Chapter 5 implements the models in a retrospective scenario of the water history of the ancient Maya city of Tikal and discusses the problem of urbanization-deforestation-agriculture land conversion, and the likely sensitivity of their water supply to extreme climate events. Chapter 6 summarizes the two case studies and makes inferences on the resilience and elasticity of the two study sites to climate and land use change.

Download or read book Integrating Multiscale Observations of U S Waters written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2008-05-16 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water is essential to life for humans and their food crops, and for ecosystems. Effective water management requires tracking the inflow, outflow, quantity and quality of ground-water and surface water, much like balancing a bank account. Currently, networks of ground-based instruments measure these in individual locations, while airborne and satellite sensors measure them over larger areas. Recent technological innovations offer unprecedented possibilities to integrate space, air, and land observations to advance water science and guide management decisions. This book concludes that in order to realize the potential of integrated data, agencies, universities, and the private sector must work together to develop new kinds of sensors, test them in field studies, and help users to apply this information to real problems.

Download or read book Impact of Global Climate Change on Extreme Streamflow written by Sabin Shrestha (Civil engineer) and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a widespread concern that climate change will lead to an increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the 21st century. It is essential, from a watershed management point of view to understand how these alterations in the hydrologic regime would affect the existing water resources. This research, therefore, provides an overview of the hydrologic impacts on the Great Miami River Watershed in Ohio, USA due to projected climatic changes on both low flows and high flows. An extensively used hydrological model, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was to evaluate the hydrological impacts of climate change. The multi-site model calibration and validation were performed using the SUFI-2 algorithm within SWAT-CUP. The model was calibrated (2005 - 2014) and validated (1995 - 2004) for monthly stream flows at the outlet resulting in Nash - Sutcliffe Coefficients of 0.86 and 0.83, respectively. An ensemble of ten downscaled and bias-corrected climate models from Fifth Phase Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) under two Representative Concentration Pathways(RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5 were used to generate a probable set of climate data (precipitation and temperature). The climate data were then fed into the SWAT model and hydrological changes in the stream in terms of daily discharge were produced for three time-frames: (2016 - 2043) as 2035s, (2044 - 2071) as 2055s, and (2072 - 99) as 2085s and compared against the baseline period (1988 - 2015). The findings from this research showed that low flows using both hydrological and biological indices would increase more than 100% in 2035s but eventually decrease slightly in the later part of the century (2085s). However, the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM-LR) used in this study predicted that the biological indices iv under RCP 8.5 would increase slightly at the beginning but decrease considerably in the middle and later part of the century. Analysis showed that the variability of the average 7-day low flows in each year would increase considerably for both emission scenarios. Furthermore, 75th percentile exceedance frequency of monthly low flows was found higher in September, October, and November during the study period. As for high flow analysis, the hydrological index for high flows (7Q10) from an ensemble of 10 climate models predicted to decrease consistently in future. When the results from the two RCPs are compared, high flows would decrease maximum by 22% in 2055s under RCP 8.5 and 21% in 2085s under RCP 4.5. However, the MIROC5 model in RCP 4.5 showed 1.2% increase in 7Q10 high flows during 2035s. The frequency of the 75th percentile non-exceedance flows was also projected to increase in the future. Under the RCP 4.5, the frequency becomes higher in 2055s whereas under the RCP 8.5 most frequent 75th percentile flow would occur in 2085s. Meanwhile, on a monthly scale, the peak would increase more on every month except January and December than that of historical records. The variability of peak discharge was also expected to increase in every other month in both scenarios. The peak would increase considerably especially in August, September, and October when compared to historical months, indicating relatively wetter months in the future years. Finally, this study has demonstrated the effects of changing climates projected by the climate models on extreme flow condition in the large agricultural watershed. The next step of the research will focus on further bias correction on simulated climate data and analysis for future.

Download or read book Hydro Environmental Impact of Climate and Land Use Change on Watersheds for Sustainable Development written by T. I. Eldho and published by . This book was released on 2024-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book includes the most up-to-date research findings on the topics of climate change impact assessment, land use change impact assessment, mathematical modelling, and field applications presented as case studies in the water resources engineering discipline. The book covers various aspects of hydrological and environmental processes; provides a comprehensive treatment of climate change and land use changes and their impacts, illustrated with case studies; and demonstrates recent modelling techniques for hydrological and environmental impact studies. The book may serve graduate students, engineers, professors, and researchers in providing a concise overview of climate and land use change and its impacts on hydrology, water resources, and the environment.

Download or read book Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate written by Kathleen A. Miller and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-12-19 with total page 535 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate addresses the current challenges facing western water planners and policy makers in the United States and considers strategies for managing water resources and related risks in the future. Written by highly-regarded experts in the industry, the book offers a wealth of experience, and explains the physical, socioeconomic, and institutional context for western water resource management. The authors discuss the complexities of water policy, describe the framework for water policy and planning, and identify many of the issues surrounding the subject. A provocative examination of policy issues surrounding western water resources, this book: Considers the implications of natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change for the region’s water resources, and explains limitations on the predictability of local-scale changes Stresses linkages between climate patterns and weather events, and related hydrologic impacts Describes the environmental consequences of historical water system development and the challenges that climate change poses for protection of aquatic ecosystems Examines coordination of drought management by local, state and national government agencies Includes insights on planning for climate change adaptation from case studies across the western United States Discusses the challenges and opportunities in water/energy/land system management, and its prospects for developing climate change response strategies Presents evidence of changes in water scarcity and flooding potential in the region and identifies a set of adaptation strategies to support the long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture and urban communities Draws upon Colorado’s experience in defining rights for surface and tributary groundwater use to explain potential conflicts and challenges in establishing fair and effective coordination of water rights for these resources Assesses the role of policy in driving flood losses Explores policy approaches for achieving equitable and environmentally responsible planning outcomes despite multiple sources of uncertainty Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate describes patterns of water availability, existing policy problems and the potential impacts of climate change in the western United States, and functions as a practical reference for the student or professional invested in water policy and management.

Download or read book Geohydrology and Possible Transport Routes of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Haiku Valley Oahu Hawaii written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Climate Change Resilient Agriculture and Agroforestry written by Paula Cristina Castro and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-10-11 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book collects wide-ranging contributions such as case studies, reviews, reports on technological developments, outputs of research/studies, and examples of successful projects, presenting current knowledge and raising awareness to help the agriculture and forestry sectors find solutions for mitigating climate variability and adapting to change. It brings the topic of ecosystem services closer to education and learning, as targeted by the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. Climate change and its impacts on agriculture and agroforestry have been observed across the world during the last 50 years. Increasing temperatures, droughts, biotic stresses and the impacts of extreme events have continuously decreased agroforestry systems’ resilience to the effects of climate change. As such, there is a need to adapt farming and agroforestry systems so as to make them better able to handle ever-changing climate conditions, and to preserve habitats and ecosystems services.

Download or read book Hydrology Handbook written by American Society of Civil Engineers and published by Amer Society of Civil Engineers. This book was released on 1996 with total page 784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MOP 28 serves as a basic reference, providing a thorough, up-to-date guide for hydrologists.

Download or read book Confronting Climate Uncertainty in Water Resources Planning and Project Design written by Patrick A. Ray and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2015-08-20 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Confronting Climate Uncertainty in Water Resources Planning and Project Design describes an approach to facing two fundamental and unavoidable issues brought about by climate change uncertainty in water resources planning and project design. The first is a risk assessment problem. The second relates to risk management. This book provides background on the risks relevant in water systems planning, the different approaches to scenario definition in water system planning, and an introduction to the decision-scaling methodology upon which the decision tree is based. The decision tree is described as a scientifically defensible, repeatable, direct and clear method for demonstrating the robustness of a project to climate change. While applicable to all water resources projects, it allocates effort to projects in a way that is consistent with their potential sensitivity to climate risk. The process was designed to be hierarchical, with different stages or phases of analysis triggered based on the findings of the previous phase. An application example is provided followed by a descriptions of some of the tools available for decision making under uncertainty and methods available for climate risk management. The tool was designed for the World Bank but can be applicable in other scenarios where similar challenges arise.

Download or read book Climate and Land Use Change Effects on Ecological Resources in Three Watersheds a Synthesis Report written by United States Government Environmental Protection Agency and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2012-12-23 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the early 2000s, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Research and Development, Global Change Research Program, supported three watershed assessments to evaluate different approaches and tools for understanding and managing climate and land-use change impacts on watershed ecological resources. Watershed assessments were conducted for (1) several small rivers in southern Maryland, (2) Arizona's San Pedro River, and (3) California's Sacramento River. In this report, we comparatively analyze the three case-study approaches in order to develop recommendations that may be useful as guidance to others conducting similar assessments. Key insights gained from these studies include: 1. Prioritize locations for studies to maximize decision support. 2. Target selection of stakeholders, establish credibility of underlying methods and models, and incorporate incentives for mutually beneficial results. 3. Provide essential climate science capabilities and tools to project teams. 4. Develop model linkages at the onset, carry out assessment activities at multiple scales, and require explicit uncertainty analysis of results. The watershed assessment case studies described in this report yield richness of detail in terms of methods and results, as well as inform more generally on best practices for conducting future watershed assessments. However these were pioneering studies addressing difficult and complex problems. Future assessments will continue to refine the understanding of how to maximize decision support, including providing necessary keystone capabilities and tools to effectively estimate climate change vulnerabilities, developing and supporting successful stakeholder processes, and characterizing uncertainty and scaling or transferring results to increase their relevance.

Download or read book Soil Hydrology Land Use and Agriculture written by Manoj Shukla and published by CABI. This book was released on 2011 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agriculture is strongly affected by changes in soil hydrology as well as changes in land use and management practices and the complex interactions between them. This book aims to develop an understanding of these interactions on a watershed scale, using soil hydrology models and addresses the consequences of land use and management changes on agriculture from a research perspective. It includes case studies that illustrate the impact of land use and management on various soil hydrological parameters under different climates and ecosystems. It is suitable for researchers and students in soil sc

Download or read book Vulnerability of Watersheds to Climate Change Assessed by Neural Network and Analytical Hierarchy Process written by Uttam Roy and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-12-28 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The increase in GHG gases in the atmosphere due to expansions in industrial and vehicular concentration is attributed to warming of the climate world wide. The resultant change in climatic pattern can induce abnormalities in the hydrological cycle. As a result, the regular functionality of river watersheds will also be affected. This Brief highlights a new methodology to rank the watersheds in terms of its vulnerability to change in climate. This Brief introduces a Vulnerability Index which will be directly proportional to the climatic impacts of the watersheds. Analytical Hierarchy Process and Artificial Neural Networks are used in a cascading manner to develop the model for prediction of the vulnerability index.

Download or read book Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources written by Ramakar Jha and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-03-27 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides insights and a capacity to understand the climate change phenomenon, its impact on water resources, and possible remedial measures. The impact of climate change on water resources is a global issue and cause for concern. Water resources in many countries are extremely stressed, and climate change along with burgeoning populations, the rise in living standards, and increasing demand on resources are factors which serve to exacerbate this stress. The chapters provide information on tools that will be useful to mitigate the adverse consequences of natural disasters. Fundamental to addressing these issues is hydrological modelling which is discussed in this book and ways to combat climate change as an important aspect of water resource management.

Download or read book Climate Change in Sustainable Water Resources Management written by Omid Bozorg-Haddad and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-06-29 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive approach to all aspects of water-related subjects affected by climate change that expand readers' attitudes toward future of the management strategies and improve management plans. It summarizes climate change scenarios, models, downscaling methods, and how to select the appropriate method. It also introduces practical steps in assessing climate change impacts on water issues through introducing hydrological models and climate change data applications in hydrologic analysis. The book caters to specialist readers who are interested in analyzing climate change effects on water resources, and related issues can gain a profound understanding of the practical concepts and step-by-step analysis, which is enriched with real case studies all around the world. Moreover, readers will be familiar with potential mitigation and adaptation measures in sustainable water engineering, considering the results of hydrologic modeling.