Water is a critical part of the Earth system, an important resource (e.g. for food, energy, drinking water) and linked to many hazards (e.g. floods, droughts, transmission/spread of vector borne diseases). Water moves among the oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere, land surface, aquifers, the biosphere, and through human systems and infrastructure, forming an integrated water cycle. USGCRP’s Integrated Water Cycle Group (IWCG) coordinates research across 13 U.S. federal agencies that will help us better understand global change effects on the water cycle and the impacts of those changes through collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches. This work is motivated by key messages in the Program’s recent assessments – including the 4thNational Climate Assessment (https://nca2018.globalchange.gov) , which states “The quality and quantity of water available for use by people and ecosystems across the country are being affected by climate change, increasing risks and costs to agriculture, energy production, industry, recreation, and the environment.” The IWCG seeks to coordinate and integrate global-change relevant water cycle research, including process studies, observational assets, modeling capabilities, and other research infrastructure across USGCRP agencies.  The group employs a three-pronged approach to collaborative interagency research, working from studies of the global and regional water and energy cycles, down through understanding how this translates to Hydrologic system observation, modeling and predictability at the surface and subsurface, and then using insights gained from this work to better translate science and research to inform decisions surrounding preparedness and resilience to water cycles processes and projected or predicted changes in water availability.

Integrated water cycle science in the context of global change: Interagency approaches to water quality challenges

2019 Fall National Meeting

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