Land surface processes play a key role shaping the Earth climate. As a core component of state-of-the-art Earth System Models (ESMs), the representation of these processes critically influences and enables climate feedbacks that are essential for predictions and future climate-change projections, as investigated in international multi-model initiatives such as CMIP6 & CMIP7. However, land hydrology and its numerous interactions with other components of the Earth system (biosphere, biogeochemical cycles, anthropogenic disturbances/practices) is rather poorly represented in most state-of-the-art ESMs, potentially inducing erroneous responses to anthropogenic climate forcings at global, regional and local scales. For instance, ESMs do not represent the decline of groundwater levels that is increasingly observed in water-limited regions, threatening the subsistence of groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and thus leading to the risk of ecosystem shifts and to progressive levels of desertification.
This session is therefore open to observational and modeling contributions aimed at progressing the understanding and the modeling of the hydrological, biophysical and biogeochemical processes and couplings in land surface models. Particular attention will be dedicated to the representation of the interaction between hydrological processes and the biosphere (including the human component) to properly characterize the carbon-water nexus as well as the effects of land-based mitigation/adaptation options to climate change (e.g. involving management of forests, crops and irrigation practices, etc).
The overarching aim of this session is to provide an open and collaborative space that allows to bridge disciplinary gaps between members of the different communities involved in modeling the land surface for climate prediction and climate-change studies. We especially encourage contributions highlighting future priorities, innovative strategies and emerging opportunities to drive the development of next-generation ESMs.
Gonzalo Miguez Macho