scholarly journals Climate Change Impacts on Sediment Quality of Subalpine Reservoirs: Implications on Management

Author(s):  
Laura Marziali ◽  
Gianni Tartari ◽  
Franco Salerno ◽  
Lucia Valsecchi ◽  
Clara Bravi ◽  
...  

Reservoirs are characterized by accumulation of sediments where micropollutants may concentrate, with potential toxic effects on downstream river ecosystems. However, sediment management such as flushing is needed to maintain storage capacity. Climate change is expected to increase sediment loads, but potential effects on their quality are scarcely known. In this context, sediment contamination by trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) and organics (PAHs, PCBs, C>12) was analyzed in 20 reservoirs located in Italian Central Alps. A strong As and a moderate Cd, Hg and Pb enrichment was emphasized by Igeo, with potential ecotoxicological risk according to PEC quotients. Siltation, granulometry, total organic carbon (TOC) and altitude resulted as the main drivers governing pollutant concentrations in sediments. According to climate change models, expected increase of rainfall erosivity will enhance soil erosion and consequently the sediment flow to reservoirs, potentially increasing coarse grain fractions and thus potentially diluting pollutants. Conversely, increased weathering may enhance metal fluxes to reservoirs. Increased vegetation cover will potentially result in higher TOC concentrations, which may contrast contaminant bioavailability and thus toxicity. Our results may provide elements for a proper management of contaminated sediments in a climate change scenario aiming at preserving water quality and ecosystem functioning.

Water ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marziali Laura ◽  
Gianni Tartari ◽  
Franco Salerno ◽  
Lucia Valsecchi ◽  
Clara Bravi ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 1025-1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben O. Sonnenborg ◽  
Klaus Hinsby ◽  
Lieke van Roosmalen ◽  
Simon Stisen

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 762-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo A. Mendoza ◽  
Martyn P. Clark ◽  
Naoki Mizukami ◽  
Andrew J. Newman ◽  
Michael Barlage ◽  
...  

Abstract The assessment of climate change impacts on water resources involves several methodological decisions, including choices of global climate models (GCMs), emission scenarios, downscaling techniques, and hydrologic modeling approaches. Among these, hydrologic model structure selection and parameter calibration are particularly relevant and usually have a strong subjective component. The goal of this research is to improve understanding of the role of these decisions on the assessment of the effects of climate change on hydrologic processes. The study is conducted in three basins located in the Colorado headwaters region, using four different hydrologic model structures [PRMS, VIC, Noah LSM, and Noah LSM with multiparameterization options (Noah-MP)]. To better understand the role of parameter estimation, model performance and projected hydrologic changes (i.e., changes in the hydrology obtained from hydrologic models due to climate change) are compared before and after calibration with the University of Arizona shuffled complex evolution (SCE-UA) algorithm. Hydrologic changes are examined via a climate change scenario where the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) change signal is used to perturb the boundary conditions of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model configured at 4-km resolution. Substantial intermodel differences (i.e., discrepancies between hydrologic models) in the portrayal of climate change impacts on water resources are demonstrated. Specifically, intermodel differences are larger than the mean signal from the CCSM–WRF climate scenario examined, even after the calibration process. Importantly, traditional single-objective calibration techniques aimed to reduce errors in runoff simulations do not necessarily improve intermodel agreement (i.e., same outputs from different hydrologic models) in projected changes of some hydrological processes such as evapotranspiration or snowpack.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Bindi ◽  
Paulo A.L.D. Nunes

This special symposium focuses on the analysis of climate change impacts on the spatial dimension of vineyard land use. This includes the analysis of projections of current vineyard areas that are lost due to climate change, those that are retained despite climate change, and new vineyard areas that are created due to climate change. The analysis explores the use of GIS over regional and global scales. Furthermore, this symposium sheds light on the socioeconomic dimension of climate change impacts on the wine industry and viticulture by exploring the use of an ecosystem service approach. Such an economic sector is responsible for the provision of a wide range of cobenefits in addition to wine products. These include biodiversity protection and cultural services, including landscape values and ecotourism benefits (see Nunes and Loureiro, forthcoming). In this context, this symposium endorses the ecosystem service approach to the management of vineyards as a regional strategic plan to promote sustainable development. This embraces a broad range of issues including (1) the improvement of people's quality of life; (2) the increase of prospects for more jobs in rural areas; and (3) the protection of regional commons, including both biodiversity and cultural heritage–oriented commons.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Keys ◽  
Matthew Keys

Story-based futures serve an important role in climate change scenario development. Stories are particularly useful in exploring sea level rise possibilities, since we know many coastal areas are specifically vulnerable to accelerating rises in sea level. This discrete change in coastline is different from most other climate change impacts, and offers a clear basis for scientifically-informed, future scenarios. We demonstrate this with a creative world-building effort set in Lagos, Nigeria, in the year 2199. Further, we employ story-based scenario development, and create a learning-oriented, web-based game that allows users to experience stories in an open-ended, text-based adventure style. This collaborative process blended scientific research, story-telling, and artistic co-creation to iteratively construct the game ‘Lagos2199’. The first use-case of Lagos2199 is documented herein, with corresponding survey results from the student users. This work has three core conclusions. First, the unique reality that sea level rise will literally re-draw maps can be leveraged as an entry-point for world-building and scenario development of the future. Second, such a scenario can be blended with storytelling, art, and music to create a multi-dimensional, immersive exploration of ecological and social change. Third, this kind of game experience can serve an important pedagogical role in climate change education. Providing the next generation of citizens with fluency in both climate change impacts and how society will interact with such impacts, is critical for providing adaptive capacity over the coming decades and centuries of accelerating global change.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2247
Author(s):  
Ching-Nuo Chen ◽  
Samkele S. Tfwala ◽  
Chih-Heng Tsai

This study analyzed the influence of climate change on sediment yield variation, sediment transport and erosion deposition distribution at the watershed scale. The study was based on Gaoping River basin, which is among the largest basins in southern Taiwan. To carry out this analysis, the Physiographic Soil Erosion Deposition (PSED) model was utilized. Model results showed a general increase in soil erosion and deposition volume under the A1B-S climate change scenario. The situation is even worsened with increasing return periods. Total erosion volume and total sediment yield in the watershed were increased by 4–25% and 8–65%, respectively, and deposition volumes increased by 2–23%. The study showed how climate change variability would influence the watershed through increased sediment yields, which might even worsen the impacts of natural disasters. It has further illustrated the importance of incorporating climate change into river management projects.


Author(s):  
Dharumarajan S. ◽  
Veeramani S. ◽  
Kalaiselvi Beeman ◽  
Lalitha M. ◽  
Janani N. ◽  
...  

Land degradation and desertification have been graded as a major environmental and social dispute in most of the emerging countries. Changes in temperature, wind speed, and precipitation patterns will influence plant biomass production, land use, land cover, soil moisture, infiltration rate, runoff and crop management, and ultimately, land degradation. Close relations between climate change and land degradation processes have been perceived in the past decades. Climate change models and land use models should be combined with hydrologic/erosion models to accurately compute or predict climate change impacts on land degradation. This chapter introduces the advancements in modeling of impact of climate changes in land degradation and need for the critical investigation to better understand and forecast the responses of land degradation processes to a changing climate in the future.


Oryx ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-61
Author(s):  
Shaun W. Molloy ◽  
Allan H. Burbidge ◽  
Sarah Comer ◽  
Robert A. Davis

AbstractTranslocation of species to areas of former habitat after threats have been mitigated is a common conservation action. However, the long-term success of reintroduction relies on identification of currently available habitat and areas that will remain, or become, habitat in the future. Commonly, a short-term view is taken, focusing on obvious and assumed threats such as predators and habitat degradation. However, in areas subject to significant climate change, challenges include correctly identifying variables that define habitat, and considering probable changes over time. This poses challenges with species such as the western ground parrot Pezoporus flaviventris, which was once relatively common in near-coastal south-western Australia, an area subject to major climate change. This species has declined to one small population, estimated to comprise < 150 individuals. Reasons for the decline include altered fire regimes, introduced predators and habitat clearing. The establishment of new populations is a high priority, but the extent to which a rapidly changing climate has affected, and will continue to affect, this species remains largely conjecture, and understanding probable climate change impacts is essential to the prioritization of potential reintroduction sites. We developed high-resolution species distribution models and used these to investigate climate change impacts on current and historical distributions, and identify locations that will remain, or become, bioclimatically suitable habitat in the future. This information has been given to an expert panel to identify and prioritize areas suitable for site-specific management and/or translocation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 8683-8698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Rogério de Mello ◽  
Léo Fernandes Ávila ◽  
Marcelo Ribeiro Viola ◽  
Nilton Curi ◽  
Lloyd Darrell Norton

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