Profile
Natural water systems and the corresponding water balance are essential bases of all life forms but are subject to enormous anthropogenic stress. In particular, the observed climate changes imply a change in the dynamics of the hydrosphere. On the one hand, the number and intensity of extreme events (heavy rainfall, flash floods; droughts, etc.) is increasing, and on the other hand, the effect pattern of subsystems (lack of snowmelt, earlier onset of vegetation growth, etc.) on the water balance is changing. This has not yet predictable effects on the available water resources and the water supply in the coming decades. In specific, the changes affect not only water quantity, but also water quality, as they also influence the coupled mass transports of both natural substances and anthropogenic pollutants.
The changes in the hydrosphere will affect a wide variety of surface and groundwater systems connected to it. This applies, for example, to (i) the displacement of river sediments with associated pollutants, (ii) the function of raised and lowland peatlands as water and solute reservoirs, (iii) water and corresponding solute transport through the soil zone, (iv) groundwater levels, and (v) coastal flood events.
