REMIND: Call for Abstracts AOGS 2026-HS43 Impact of Climate Change on Groundwater Quality and Quantity
pankajk...@gmail.com
Description
Groundwater sustains nearly half of global drinking-water withdrawals and a major share of irrigation in agricultural activities. Yet climate change is altering recharge regimes, intensifying hydro-climatic extremes, and amplifying geochemical risks (e.g., salinity intrusion, arsenic/fluoride mobilization, nitrate persistence, heavy metals intrusion in aquifers etc.). Warming trends, shifting monsoon dynamics, sea-level rise, and land-use transitions jointly influence groundwater levels, residence times, and redox conditions. It ultimately affect availability and equity of access of groundwater. This session convenes scientists, engineers, planners, and policy practitioners to synthesize emerging evidence and practical tools for assessing and managing climate risks to aquifers across diverse hydrogeological settings. We will bridge field observations, remote sensing, modelling, and community-scale adaptation to inform resilient groundwater governance aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely SDGs 6, 11, and 13. The themes of session will be hydro climatic drivers for groundwater; Quantity impacts: trends in water table, storage anomalies (using remote sensing); Quality impacts: salinity intrusion, heavy metals (As, F, Cr), nutrients, pathogens, emerging contaminants; Coupled models: groundwater–surface water–biogeochemistry; projections under CMIP6 scenarios; Remote sensing & in-situ networks: GRACE/GRACE-FO, SMAP, GPM, IoT sensor fusion, citizen science; Risk mapping & decision support: vulnerability indices, early-warning systems, AI/ML tools; Nature-based and engineered solutions: MAR/ASR, spring shed management, green–gray hybrids; Governance & policy: allocation, water quality standards, monitoring frameworks, data sharing; Case studies: Himalayan uplands to Indo-Gangetic plains, arid/semi-arid basins of various countries; deltaic/coastal aquifers of various countries.
