×K28. Understanding hydrological processes in a changing environment

The main challenge facing hydrology is to provide reliable prediction of future water availability in the face of a changing environment. Anthropogenic changes such as climate and landuse changes have considerably modified hydrological cycle, leading to hydrological nonstationarity. Yet, many models used in water resources planning and management have been based on the assumption of stationarity. With the increasing speed of socio-economic development and environmental change, there is a pressing need to understand how changes in different drivers affect stationarity and how best represent these changes in hydrological models so that we can accurately predict future hydrological characteristics and water availability under change. In this session we invite contributions that explore drivers of hydrological nonstationarity, methods for improving streamflow prediction under change through better parameterisation and model structure, and implications for water resources management.

Key topics: Hydrological nonstationarity, Climate change, Landuse change, Hydrological prediction