Despite covering only about 25% of continental land, mountains are an essential part of the global ecosystem. They are also widely recognised as the source of much of the world's freshwater supply. An important portion of the global population relies on their water supply, with around 26% living in mountain communities and 40% living in the downstream plains. Owing to the heterogeneity of elevation-dependent hydro-meteorological conditions, mountain regions are particularly sensitive to climate variability and change. This makes them also unique areas for identifying and monitoring the effects of global change.
This session will bring together the scientific community developing hydrology research on mountain regions worldwide to share new findings and perspectives. We invite contributions that address past, present and future conditions, including changes resulting from climate and/or land use change, their impacts on local and downstream areas, and adaptation strategies to ensure the long-term sustainability of mountain ecosystem services, with a special focus on water cycle regulation and water resource generation.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to
- sources of information for assessing past and present conditions (in either surface and/or groundwater systems);
- methods to disentangle climatic and anthropogenic drivers of hydrological change;
- modelling approaches for assessing and projecting hydrological change;
- evolution, forecasting and impacts of extreme events;
- case studies on adaptation to changes in water resources availability.
Rosemary Carroll