Climate Change Effects on Groundwater Resources ─ A Global Synthesis of Findings and Recommendations

While groundwater is a key source for fresh drinking water for almost half of the world's population, little is known about the impact of climate change on its quality and quantity. This book includes case studies from a variety of aquifer systems, scientific methods, and climatic settings that have been performed under the umbrella of the UNESCO-IHP project Groundwater Resources Assessment Under the Pressure of Humanity and Climate Change. A sampling of topics includes the distinct types of climates (such as tropical, arid and continental climates) and impacts on groundwater, major scientific findings, policy recommendations, and work to be done in the future. Editors are Triedel and Martin-Bourdes (UNESCO, International Hydrological Programme, France), Gurdak (San Francisco State U.), and 61 authors provided contributions to the book. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Holger Treidel is an environmental scientist and works as project coordinator with UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme in Paris. His work is related to the sustainable management of groundwater resources under the effects of climate change & variability, with particular focus on the complex challenges related to the management of transboundary aquifer systems. He is coordinating the UNESCO project Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (GRAPHIC) and global and regional transboundary groundwater management projects in cooperation with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

Jose Luis Martin-Bordes is a civil engineer specialized in groundwater resources management and works as project coordinator in the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) within the Division of Water Sciences of UNESCO, Paris, France. He provides support to the coordination of the IHP Groundwater activities including the Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (GRAPHIC), the International Shared Aquifer Resources Management Initiative (ISARM), Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems and Groundwater for Emergency Situations (GWES).

Jason J. Gurdak is Assistant Professor of hydrogeology in the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University, California, USA. He and his research group address basic and applied questions about sustainable groundwater management, vadose zone and soilwater processes that affect recharge and contaminant transport, groundwater vulnerability to contamination and climate extremes, and the effects of climate change and interannual to multidecadal climate variability on water resources. Since 2004 he has served on the UNESCO project Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (GRAPHIC) that promotes science, education, and awareness of the coupled effects of climate change and human stresses on global groundwater resources.