Extreme hydroclimatic events are expected to increase in both frequency and intensity due to climate change. While their immediate socio-economic and environmental impacts are well recognized, their medium- to long-term implications remain insufficiently understood. Aquifer systems are particularly vulnerable to these effects over extended timescales. Consequences include reduced aquifer recharge and groundwater quality degradation, which can induce cascading processes such as land subsidence, threats to food security, freshwater scarcity, and saltwater intrusion. It is therefore essential to advance our understanding of the full spectrum of qualitative and quantitative impacts, and their computational representation through numerical modeling and machine learning approaches. Such knowledge can foster the implementation of effective mitigation and adaptation strategies to ultimately safeguard groundwater resources and ensure their sustainable use. These measures may range from improved forecasting and modeling of the impacts of extreme events on aquifer systems, to targeted engineered interventions and sustainable management practices.
This session invites contributions that provide insights into innovative methodologies, field case studies, or novel perspectives investigating the qualitative and quantitative impacts that extreme hydroclimatic events exert on groundwater systems. In particular, we welcome studies that address: (i) comparative analysis of methodologies and system responses across different spatial scales and climatic contexts; (ii) novel modeling frameworks including past, present, and projected variations of extreme hydroclimatic events; (iii) characterization and modeling of system memory, including how aquifers and subsurface catchments retain the effects of past events; (iv) analysis of aquifer systems recovery times; (v) evaluation of the consequences of combined climatic and anthropogenic stresses on groundwater systems; (vi) identification and assessment of potential mitigation and adaptation strategies.