Understanding precipitation recycling over the Tibetan Plateau using tracer analysis with WRF

The precipitation recycling (PR) ratio is an important indicator that quantifies the land-atmosphere interaction strength in the Earth system’s water cycle. To better understand how the heterogeneous land surface in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) contributes to precipitation, we used the water-vapor tracer (WVT) method coupled with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model. The goals were to quantify the PR ratio, in terms of annual mean, seasonal variability and diurnal cycle, and to address the relationships of the PR ratio with lake treatments and precipitation amount. Simulations showed that the PR ratio increases from 0.1 in winter to 0.4 in summer when averaged over the TP with the maxima centered at the headwaters of three major rivers (Yangtze, Yellow and Mekong). For the central TP, the highest PR ratio rose to over 0.8 in August, indicating that most of the precipitation was recycled via local evapotranspiration in summer. The larger daily mean and standard deviation of the PR ratio in summer suggested a stronger effect of land-atmosphere interactions on precipitation in summer than in winter. Despite the relatively small spatial extent of inland lakes, the treatment of lakes in WRF significantly impacted the calculation of the PR ratio over the TP, and correcting lake temperature substantially improved both precipitation and PR ratio simulations. There was no clear relationship between PR ratio and precipitation amount; however, a significant positive correlation between PR and convective precipitation was revealed. This study is beneficial for the understanding of land-atmosphere interaction over high mountain regions.

     

Response of inland lake dynamics over the Tibetan Plateau to climate change

The water balance of inland lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) involves complex hydrological processes; their dynamics over recent decades is a good indicator of changes in water cycle under rapid global warming. Based on satellite images and extensive field investigations, we demonstrate that a coherent lake growth on the TP interior (TPI) has occurred since the late 1990s in response to a significant global climate change. Closed lakes on the TPI varied heterogeneously during 1976–1999, but expanded coherently and significantly in both lake area and water depth during 1999–2010. Although the decreased potential evaporation and glacier mass loss may contribute to the lake growth since the late 1990s, the significant water surplus is mainly attributed to increased regional precipitation, which, in turn, may be related to changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation, including the intensified Northern Hemisphere summer monsoon (NHSM) circulation and the poleward shift of the Eastern Asian westerlies jet stream.     

Simulations of the Impact of Lakes on Local and Regional Climate Over the Tibetan Plateau

ABSTRACT

Because of the high elevation and complex topography of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the role of lakes in the climate system over the Tibetan Plateau is not well understood. For this study, we investigated the impact of lake processes on local and regional climate using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, which includes a one-dimensional physically based lake model. The first simulation with the WRF model was performed for the TP over the 2000–2010 period, and the second was carried out during the same period but with the lakes filled with nearby land-use types. Results with the lake simulation show that the model captures the spatial and temporal patterns of annual mean precipitation and temperature well over the TP. Through comparison of the two simulations, we found that the TP lakes mainly cool the near-surface air, inducing a decreasing sensible heat flux for the entire year. Meanwhile, stronger evaporation produced by the lakes is found in the fall. During the summer, the cooling effect of the lakes decreases precipitation in the surrounding area and generates anomalous circulation patterns. In conclusion, the TP lakes cool the near-surface atmosphere most of the time, weaken the sensible heat flux, and strengthen the latent heat flux, resulting in changes in mesoscale precipitation and regional-scale circulation.     

黄河源区鄂陵湖湖面和湖边草地对流边界层湍流结构特征的大涡模拟研究

为研究黄河源区边界层湍流特征及其对物质和能量输送的影响,本文首次采用大涡模拟的方法,对比分析了黄河源区两种不同下垫面上（鄂陵湖和湖边草地）对流边界层（CBL）中精细的湍流结构特征。使用资料为2012年夏季黄河源区鄂陵湖流域野外观测实验的GPS探空资料、涡动相关观测资料。分析表明,模拟的黄河源区草地和湖上CBL的平均结构与实测结果吻合较好,但草地和湖上CBL的湍流结构特征差异较明显。模拟结果显示,草地CBL内湍能收支、湍流特征量的时空分布和湍涡结构特征均与陆地上热力驱动CBL的研究结果一致;湖上CBL顶部存在明显的对流卷特征,且夹卷层的湍流强度比草地的强,而草地近地面湍强则更大。通过改变水平分辨率的模拟试验,发现两个不同下垫面上模拟结果对模式分辨率的敏感性不同,湖面CBL的模拟要选择较高的水平分辨率（50～100 m）,以提高近湖面和夹卷层对湍流动能和湍流通量模拟的精度,也充分模拟出各种尺度的波对湍流通量的累积贡献。考虑到计算时间等影响,模拟草地边界层精细的湍流结构时建议选择网格距为100～200 m。     

Role of Climate in the Modern Condition of Lake Victoria

Summary Comparison of historical and recent climatic data for Lake Victoria, a great lake in the high elevation tropics of East Africa, demonstrates changes in surface temperature, air moisture, atmospheric transparency, and wind shear from conditions 35 years ago. The changes appear to be part of a global change in climate conditions of the high elevation tropics. The physical and ecological conditions of Lake Victoria appear responsive to lake-atmosphere interactions through mechanisms of wind stress and surface heat fluxes. Lake temperatures, mixing regimes, oxygen levels, and primary production have changed in parallel to air temperature, humidity, atmospheric transparency, and wind speeds between about 1960 and the present. Data indicate strong coupling between meteorological components of lake heat balance and both biological and chemical conditions. Many features of the apparent modern eutrophication of Lake Victoria may have been accelerated or exaggerated by the climate effects. The analysis suggests a mechanism for feedback of climate on lake condition which, if general, might provide a modern analog for periodic changes reported in the fossil diatom community of the lake over the past 10 millenia. Received April 20, 1997 Revised January 1, 1998     

基于多源陆面通量数据相融合的新资料及其在中国夏季风影响过渡区的应用

夏季风影响过渡区是陆面能量交换与区域气候相互作用显著的热点区域。然而,目前缺乏适用于该区域的高精度长期通量数据集,这限制了陆面水热交换与气候相互作用的研究。如何融合目前已有的多源通量资料进行重构建以及应用显得十分必要。本研究综合包括中国北方协同观测试验和中国通量网的多种下垫面通量观测以及多种格点资料,试图重构中国夏季风影响过渡区的陆面能量通量数据集。在筛选具有优良下垫面代表性站点并考察模拟和观测散点分布规律的基础上,利用多元回归模型构建了一套适用于夏季风影响过渡区并且受观测资料约束的月平均感热、潜热和净辐射数据集。交叉验证结果表明构建的数据集相对于几种原始格点数据集精度有一定提高,最大程度上消除了原始格点资料的系统偏差。进一步分析表明在地表能量平衡分量中,陆面湍流通量对夏季风的响应更为显著,并且夏季风影响过渡区陆面湍流热通量对夏季风持续时间呈现对数分布的年际变化规律;当夏季风处于低持续影响状态时陆面湍流热通量年际变化更为显著,偏弱的夏季风系统可能导致陆面过程对气候变化更强的影响。本文基于多源通量数据融合构建的新数据集可以为气候变化研究提供数据支撑,同时增加了对陆面过程与季风系统相互作用的认识。     

Quantifying recent precipitation change and predicting lake expansion in the Inner Tibetan Plateau

Lake expansion since the middle of the 1990s is one of the most outstanding environmental change events in the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This expansion has mainly occurred in the Inner TP, a vast endorheic basin with an area of about 708,000 km² and containing about 780 lakes larger than 1 km². The total lake area of the Inner TP has increased from 24,930 km² in 1995 to 33,741 km² in 2015. The variability of the lake area in the coming decades is crucial for infrastructure planning and ecology policy for this remote region. In this study, a lake mass balance model was developed to describe the lake area response to climate change. First, the model was used to inversely estimate the change in precipitation from the change in lake volume. The result shows that precipitation has increased by about 21?±?7% since the middle of the 1990s, as seen in GPCC global data set. Then, the lake size in the coming two decades was predicted by the model driven with either current climate or a projected future climate, showing the lake area would expand continuously, but at a lower rate than before. Both predictions yield a total lake area of 36150?±?500 km² in 2025 and a rise of average lake level by about 6.6?±?0.3 m from 1995 to 2025. However, the two predictions become disparate in the second decade (2026–2035), as the future climate is more warming and wetting than the current climate. It is noted that the prediction of lake expansion is robust for the entire inner TP lake system but not always applicable to individual subregions or specific lakes due to their spatiotemporal heterogeneity.     

Projections of Climate Change Effects on Water Temperature Characteristics of Small Lakes in the Contiguous U.S.

To simulate effects of projected climate change on water temperature characteristics of small lakes in the contiguous U.S., a deterministic, one-dimensional year-round water temperature model is applied. In cold regions the model simulates ice and snow cover on a lake. The lake parameters required as model input are surface area, maximum depth, and Secchi depth as a measure of radiation attenuation and trophic state. The model is driven by daily weather data. Weather records from 209 stations in the contiguous U.S. for the period 1961–1979 were used to represent present climate conditions. The projected climate change owing to a doubling of atmospheric CO₂ was obtained from the output of the Canadian Climate Center General Circulation Model. The simulated water temperature and ice characteristics are related to the geometric and trophic state lake characteristics and to geographic location. By interpolation, the sensitivity of lake water temperature characteristics to latitude, longitude, lake geometry and trophic status can therefore be quantified for small lakes in the contiguous U.S. The 2× CO₂ climate scenario is projected to increase maximum and minimum lake surface temperatures by up to 5.2°C. (Maximum surface water temperatures in lakes near the northern and the southern border of the contiguous U.S. currently differ by up to 13°C.) Maximum temperature differences between lake surface and lake bottom are projected to increase in average by only 1 to 2°C after climate warming. The duration of seasonal summer stratification is projected to be up to 66 days longer under a 2×CO₂ climate scenario. Water temperatures of less than 8°C are projected to occur on lake bottoms during a period which is on the order of 50 days shorter under a 2×CO₂ climate scenario. With water temperature change projected to be as high as 5.2°C, ecological impacts such as shifts in species distributions and in fish habitat are most likely. Ice covers on lakes of northern regions would also be changed strongly.     

Turbulent flux observations and modelling over a shallow lake and a wet grassland in the Nam Co basin,Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau plays an important role in the global water cycle and is strongly influenced by climate change. While energy and matter fluxes have been more intensely studied over land surfaces, a large proportion of lakes have either been neglected or parameterised with simple bulk approaches. Therefore, turbulent fluxes were measured over wet grassland and a shallow lake with a single eddy-covariance complex at the shoreline in the Nam Co basin in summer 2009. Footprint analysis was used to split observations according to the underlying surface, and two sophisticated surface models were utilised to derive gap-free time series. Results were then compared with observations and simulations from a nearby eddy-covariance station over dry grassland, yielding pronounced differences. Observations and footprint integrated simulations compared well, even for situations with flux contributions including grassland and lake. The accessibility problem for EC measurements on lakes can be overcome by combining standard meteorological measurements at the shoreline with model simulations, only requiring representative estimates of lake surface temperature.     

CMIP6全球气候模式对青藏高原中东部地表感热通量模拟能力评估

利用青藏高原（以下简称高原）气象台站常规观测资料、国家青藏高原科学数据中心的青藏高原地气相互作用过程高分辨率（逐小时）综合观测数据集（2005～2016）、国际耦合模式比较计划第六阶段（CMIP6）的历史模拟试验数据和卫星辐射资料,定量评估了12个全球气候模式对1979～2014年高原中东部地表感热通量的模拟能力,并对其模拟偏差进行了成因分析。结果表明,CMIP6模式可较好地重现高原地表感热通量的年循环和季节平均的空间分布型,但数值较计算感热通量偏低,主要表现为对感热通量大值区严重低估。区域平均而言,12个模式模拟的春季高原中东部感热通量的时间演变序列整体较计算感热通量偏低,其中偏差最大的模式为MIROC6,其多年均值仅为计算值的1/3左右。进一步分析发现多模式模拟的春季高原10 m高度处风速和地气温差分别偏强和偏弱,说明CMIP6模拟的春季高原感热通量偏低可主要归因于地气温差的模拟冷偏差。地气温差的模拟冷偏差在高原中东部地区普遍存在,且地表温度和空气温度均存在明显冷偏差,尤其地表温度偏差更大,这很大程度上可能与CMIP6多模式模拟的春季高原降水偏强有关。     

黄河源区土壤温湿和大气参量变化特征

利用中国科学院西北生态环境资源研究院玛曲土壤温湿观测网2008-2009年、2013-2014年数据验证了3套再分析资料ERA-Interim,CFSR（Climate Forecast System Reanalysis）和JRA-55（Japanese 55-year Reanalysis）在黄河源区的适用性,结合中国气象数据网玛曲气象站1980-2014年观测资料与CLM4.5（Community Land Model 4.5）进一步分析了黄河源区近35年气候变迁、土壤温湿分布和变化,结果表明:CFSR能够较好地描绘黄河源区土壤湿度变化,ERA-Interim对于土壤温度刻画能力更强,JRA-55效果较差;35年来气温、土壤温湿总体呈上升趋势且发生突变;近年来10 cm土壤温湿有暖干化趋势,降水量稍有增加,土壤冷季冻结周期变短,暖季持续时间拉长;CLM4.5模拟精度高,能够较好地刻画源区土壤温湿变化细节,两湖及黄河周边暖季为冷湿中心,冷季为暖干中心。     

Response of hydrological cycle to recent climate changes in the Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) surfaces have been experiencing an overall rapid warming and wetting while wind speed and solar radiation have been declining in the last three decades. This study investigated how climate changes influenced the hydrological cycle on the TP during 1984??2006. To facilitate the analysis, a land surface model was used to simulate surface water budget at all CMA (China Meteorological Administration) stations on the TP. The simulated results were first validated against observed ground temperature and observation-derived heat flux on the western TP and observed discharge trends on the eastern TP. The response of evaporation and runoff to the climate changes was then analyzed. Major finding are as follows. (1) Surface water balance has been changed in recent decades. Observed precipitation shows insignificant increasing trends in central TP and decreasing trends along the TP periphery while evaporation shows overall increasing trends, leading to decreased discharge at major TP water resource areas (semi-humid and humid zones in the eastern and southern TP). (2) At the annual scale, evaporation is water-limited in dry areas and energy-limited (radiation and air temperature) in wet areas; these constraints can be interpreted by the Budyko-curve. Evaporation in autumns and winters was strongly controlled by soil water storage in summers, weakening the dependence of evaporation on precipitation at seasonal scales. (3) There is a complementary effect between the simulated actual evaporation and potential evaporation, but this complementary relationship may deviate from Bouchet??s hypothesis when vapor pressure deficit (or air temperature) is too low, which suppresses the power of vapor transfer.     

Climate change drives coherent trends in physics and oxygen content in North American lakes

Using a 25-year record of monitoring data, we show that recent climate change has affected the thermal properties and oxygen content of seven lakes in south-central Ontario, Canada, and five lakes in north-central Wisconsin, USA. Coherent patterns in autumnal lake warming were driven by increased autumn air temperature in both lake districts. Temperature increases were restricted to the epilimnion and metalimnion of the lakes, resulting in increased thermal stability of the water column. Mixing depths also decreased over the study period. Shallower mixing depths in the Ontario lakes were due to climate-driven increases in lake-water dissolved organic carbon concentrations. Collectively, changes in the thermal regime of the lakes suggest autumn mixing of the water column may be delayed. Metalimnetic oxygen also increased in the Wisconsin lakes, perhaps in response to increased algal production as lake thermal regimes changed. The response of individual lakes to climate change was modified by lake chemistry in the Ontario lake district and by lake chemistry and morphometry in the Wisconsin lake district. Our results demonstrate coherent lake response to climate change and highlight the importance of both regional and local factors in regulating individual lake response to global climate change.     

A Radar-Based Investigation of Lake Breezes in Southern Manitoba,Canada

Lake breezes are thermally direct circulations that form as a result of the differential heating of land and water and are important in modifying local climate and triggering convection; they have also been linked to tornadogenesis. Although lake breezes are generally well understood, studies of smaller lakes have been relatively scarce, and none have examined lake-breeze circulations in southern Manitoba even though they are seemingly apparent on weather radar. The objectives of this paper are to provide a radar-based analysis of lake-breeze frequency and characteristics in southern Manitoba, determine the detectability of lake-breeze fronts using the radar analysis with data collected in 2013, assess the types of lake-breeze circulations that occur, and examine the meteorological conditions in which they occur. Between 2008 and 2013, lake-breeze fronts were noted on 205 days using radar over the summer months, accounting for 37% of study days, with an average of 11–12 days with lake-breeze fronts each month. These findings agree fairly well with, and are only slightly less than, frequencies reported for Lake Michigan but are lower than the most recent findings for southern Ontario. In an effort to validate the results, a broad comparison between the radar analysis and a more complete analysis using satellite and surface stations is provided for 2013 demonstrating that radar is more useful for detecting lake breezes around Lake Manitoba than around Lake Winnipeg. Lake-breeze circulations originating on Lake Manitoba and the Shoal lakes were classified into three types. The distribution of types for the Shoal lakes was similar to previous findings by other authors with “moderate deformation” circulations being the most frequent. Finally, a brief meteorological analysis was completed for each month of this study. The results of the analysis were inconclusive with no single meteorological factor being consistently well correlated to higher or lower lake-breeze frequency.     

黄河源高寒湿地-大气间暖季水热交换特征及关键影响参数研究

湿地是由陆地和水体形成的自然综合体,具有重要的生态、水文和生物地球化学功能,黄河源高寒湿地作为黄河重要的水源涵养区,对其下垫面水热交换特征及关键影响参数的研究具有非常重要的意义。本文利用中国科学院西北生态环境资源研究院麻多黄河源气候与环境变化观测站2014年6~8月观测资料,分析了黄河源区高寒湿地-大气间暖季水热交换特征,并利用公用陆面模式（Community Land Model,简称CLM）模拟了热通量变化,提出针对高寒湿地的粗糙度优化方案。主要结果如下:（1）暖季向上、向下短波与净辐射的平均日变化规律一致,向上、向下长波平均日变化平缓,地表温度升高相对于向下短波具有滞后性,潜热通量始终为正值并大于感热通量;（2）温度变化显著层结为20 cm以上土壤浅层,存在明显的日循环规律,土壤中热量09:00（北京时,下同）下传至5 cm深度,温度升高,11:00至10 cm深度,13:00至20 cm深度,18:00后开始上传,温度降低,40 cm及以下深度受此影响较小,热量在土壤中整体由浅层向深层输送;（3）土壤湿度平均日变化小,5 cm深度为土壤湿度最小层,10 cm深度为最大层;（4）麻多高寒湿地动力学粗糙度Z_0m在暖季变化稳定,可作为常数,Z_0m=0.0143 m;（5）提出更加适合高寒湿地下垫面暖季附加阻尼kB-1参数化方案,使得热通量模拟效果较CLM原始方案有所提高。以上结果对于研究湿地下垫面陆面过程具有重要意义。     

A quantitative assessment of the contributions of climatic indicators to changes in nutrients and oxygen levels in a shallow reservoir in China

Climate change has an indirect effect on water quality in freshwater ecosystems, but it is difficult to assess the contribution of climate change to the complex system. This study explored to what extent climatic indicators (air temperature, wind speed, and rainfall) influence nutrients and oxygen levels in a shallow reservoir, Yuqiao Reservoir, China. The study comprises three parts—describing the temporal trends of climatic indicators and water quality parameters during the period 1992–2011, analyzing the potential impacts of climate on water quality, and finally developing a quantitative assessment to evaluate how climatic factors govern nutrient levels in the reservoir. Our analyses showed that the reservoir experienced substantial cold periods (1992–2001) followed by a warm period (2002–2011). The results showed that increasing air temperature in spring, autumn, and winter and increasing annual wind speed decrease total phosphorus (TP) concentration in the reservoir in spring, summer, and winter. According to the quantitative assessment, the increase in air temperature in spring and winter had a larger contribution to the decrease in TP concentration (47.2 and 64.1%), compared with the influence from decreased wind speed and rainfall. The field data suggest that nutrients decline due to enhanced uptake by macrophytes in years when spring was warmer and the macrophytes started to grow earlier in the season. The increasing wind speed and air temperature in spring also significantly contribute to the increase in dissolved oxygen concentration. This study helps managers to foresee how potential future climate change might influence water quality in similar lake ecosystems.     

Comparison of the climate simulated by the CCM3 coupled to two different land-surface models

We present results from a coupled atmosphere-biosphere model CCM3/IBIS (the Community Climate Model coupled to the Integrated BIosphere Simulator), which is designed to study the dynamic interactions between climate and vegetation and the global carbon cycle. We analyze the climate simulated by CCM3/IBIS with fixed vegetation conditions and we compare it to the climate simulated by the standard CCM3, which includes the LSM (land surface model) land-surface package. Important differences between the two models include simple parametrizations of lakes, wetlands and crops in CCM3/LSM not taken into account in CCM3/IBIS. CCM3/IBIS and CCM3/LSM share common biases (compared to observations) in the temperature field in boreal winter and in the precipitation field annually, making the atmospheric model the most probable cause of those biases. The models differ in the temperature field and surface energy balance in the Sahara annually and in the mid-to high latitudes from spring through fall. CCM3/IBIS simulates global annual air temperatures that are on average 1.7 °C higher than CCM3/LSM and 0.5 °C higher than the observed climatology. Differences in albedo and/or snow parametrization explain most of the Sahara and high-latitude temperature disagreement. Our sensitivity study with CCM3/LSM shows that the presence of lakes and wetlands in CCM3/LSM can account for about half of the difference in temperature in summer over the lake and wetland regions of the mid-latitudes. A second sensitivity study shows that higher surface roughness length in CCM3/IBIS can also explain part of the difference in summer surface temperature in the mid-latitudes. Surface roughness length affects the surface temperature through a feedback mechanism linking surface wind speed, planetary boundary layer height, low level cloudiness and radiation     

Simulated effects of land immersion on regional arid climate: a case study of the pre-Saharan playa of Chott el-Jerid (south of Tunisia)

The potential effects on the regional climate induced by partially immersing the arid pre-Saharan playa basin of Chott el-Jerid (south of Tunisia) are investigated by comparing two multi-year (1991–2011) sets of numerical simulations each consisting of ten-member ensemble and performed using the WRF regional climate model. The first WRF ensemble is performed under current land use and land cover, while the second is carried out after introducing a virtual large and shallow surface water reservoir (a lake) in Chott el-Jerid. The most pronounced effects generated by the artificial lake are circumscribed over its surface and slightly spread downwind to the other parts of the Chott. The lake has a clear moderating effect on near-surface air temperatures by increasing (decreasing) the wintertime (summertime) air temperatures. Sensible heat fluxes are remarkably increased in winter and decreased in summer over the lake following the temperature gradient between the lake surface and the overlying atmosphere. Latent heat fluxes, moisture convergence, and water vapor mixing ratio are increased over the lake throughout the year, especially in winter. The lake also induces domain-wide decreased (increased) surface pressures and land (lake) breeze circulation in winter (summer). Simulated rainfall amounts are most increased over the lake in winter likely because of an enhanced atmospheric instability, while they slightly decrease in summer.     

Changes in Water Use Efficiency Caused by Climate Change,CO2 Fertilization,and Land Use Changes on the Tibetan Plateau

Terrestrial ecosystem water use efficiency(WUE) is an important indicator for coupling plant photosynthesis and transpiration, and is also a key factor linking the carbon and water cycles between the land and atmosphere. However,under the combination of climate change and human intervention, the change in WUE is still unclear, especially on the Tibetan Plateau(TP). Therefore, satellite remote sensing data and process-based terrestrial biosphere models(TBMs) are used in this study to investigate ...     

Assessment of climate change impacts on the quantity and quality of a coastal catchment using a coupled groundwater–surface water model

The hydrology of coastal catchments is influenced by both sea level and climate. Hence, a comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change on coastal catchments is a challenging task. In the present study, a coupled groundwater–surface water model is forced by dynamically downscaled results from a general circulation model. The effects on water quantity and quality of a relatively large lake used for water supply are analyzed. Although stream inflow to the lake is predicted to decrease during summer, the storage capacity of the lake is found to provide a sufficient buffer to support sustainable water abstraction in the future. On the other hand, seawater intrusion into the stream is found to be a significant threat to the water quality of the lake, possibly limiting its use for water supply and impacting the aquatic environment. Additionally, the results indicate that the nutrient load to the lake and adjacent coastal waters is likely to increase significantly, which will increase eutrophication and have negative effects on the surface water ecology. The hydrological impact assessment is based on only one climate change projection; nevertheless, the range of changes generated by other climate models indicates that the predicted results are a plausible realization of climate change impacts. The problems identified here are expected to be relevant for many coastal regimes, where the hydrology is determined by the interaction between saline and fresh groundwater and surface water systems.