Name
IAH8 Assessing Groundwater Quantity in a Changing Climate: Models, Data, and Uncertainty
Description
Groundwater quantity responds to long-term climate change and shorter-term regional climate oscillations. These climate drivers alter the complex interconnections of the terrestrial water cycle, including recharge, evapotranspiration, and groundwater interaction with surface water. Yet temporally and geographically sparse monitoring, and the delayed response of groundwater leads to gaps in our understanding of how groundwater quantity evolves under changing climatic conditions. The impacts of climate variability are intensifying across Canada and globally, so the goal of this session is to explore approaches to climate integrated groundwater quantity assessment. This session invites contributions that quantify interactions between climate drivers and groundwater quantity. We welcome presentations that: (1) demonstrate methods for integrating climate projections into applied groundwater models; (2) illustrate how climate-groundwater integration improves forecasting, planning, and adaptive management; (3) advance methods for quantifying and communicating uncertainty; and (4) reflect on the challenges and opportunities in applying different approaches under conditions of climatic change. By bringing together methodological advances and case studies from diverse settings, this session will showcase how quantitative groundwater-climate integration is advancing. The session will emphasize how models, methods, and data analysis can support adaptive strategies and sustainable decision-making in the face of a changing climate.
Convenors
Melissa Bunn, Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canad, Brian Smeardon, Steven Frey, Stephanie Bringeland, Georgia Fotopoulos, Hazen Russell